GRAPHICBY DEVYN KELLYBY GARY LEE
STAFF WRITER
“Houses, like people, have personalities, and, like the personalities of people, they are partly molded by all that has happened to them.”
TikTok, what is TikTok? Is it merely just your typical, run of the mill video-sharing app, or is it what users across the globe are calling the “reincarnation” of the now-retired Vine? Whatever the answer, one thing is clear: TikTok is rapidly taking over the world.
Originally launched in September of 2017, the popular video-sharing app has reached over one billion downloads worldwide in 2019, and has since then become one of the leading platforms for discovering new talent.
In late 2019, YouTube vlogger Thomas Petrou collaborated with famous TikTok star Chase Hudson to create the ultimate playground for young stars—The Hype House.
The content creator collective features 19 of today’s most popular TikTok stars, as well as Instagram and YouTube influencers that ultimately reside in a Spanish-style mansion in Los Angeles. Currently, the members within the Hype House include Thomas Petrou, Chase Hudson, Charli D’Amelio, Dixie D’Amelio, Addison Rae, Nick Austin, Alex Warren, Avanni Gregg and many others.
Essentially, these ordinary teenagers went from filming 15 second videos in their bedrooms to gaining millions of followers on all social media platforms.
To put in perspective, one of TikTok’s fastest-growing personalities, 15-year-old Charli D’Amelio, currently holds the undisputed title of the reigning queen of TikTok. Most known for her dance routines, D’Amelio has amassed more than 15 million followers since joining the app this summer, and a fan base that keeps on growing. Ever since Charli was a kid, she always had a passion for dancing and acting. In her childhood, she was always greatly supported by her parents, which would ultimately play a key role in her rapid fame today.
Amidst the house’s “hype,” its creation also came a massive amount of controversy. For instance, one of the glaring key problems with the infamous collab house is its lack of cultural diversity. The Hype House has almost no cultural diversity, being predominantly White. In addition, the group’s questionable content spurs their audience’s thoughts on the line between simply goofing off in front of a camera or possessing pure, genuine talent.
Sure, it is fun to watch a couple of videos, but after a while, it becomes so repetitive to the point where it seems overdone. Additionally, almost all of their content are structured the same way, featuring the young stars lip-syncing to a song while doing a variety of dances. Honestly, if people are going to be famous, they should be famous for their originality and hard work.
In the real world, people have to work, pay for college and actually have to worry about life’s finances. However, in today’s modern society, more and more individuals, especially young people, are earning huge money through social media.
Back in the 2000s, the idea of being famous off of social media was just the pipe dreams of college drop-outs and unsuccessful adults. Essentially, it used to be just a dream for someone to live off of online entertainment, but now with apps such as TikTok, making a significant amount of money is literally one click away,
Ultimately, it is upsetting that young kids these days can become famous without really doing anything tedious, but in a world of social media and technology, it is unfortunately possible.
In summation, although TikTok may be praised as the undoubted 2.0 reincarnation of Vine, the fact that more and more young people are making big bank because of it can ultimately set the wrong influence on today’s younger generation.