Sai Kulkarni '23
Production Editor
Two years ago, I had my first front-page article in this newspaper, and it was—in a completely on-brand move—the most unserious thing I’ve ever written. And that is a high claim; I use this newspaper as my stream of consciousness every week, simply blathering about the newest pop culture events, my weekend plans, or whatever Law School event has occupied us now. In honor of that first article, I wanted to revisit TikTok as an app, a cultural touchstone, and the ultimate time waster.
When I first wrote about the app, I wrote the article as a pitch to all of you to join. I took advantage of the season and wrote about the excellent Halloween-based trends. I don’t have to do that now. With a lot of the old people gone,[1] there are plenty of you on the app already. It’s much easier to reference trends and not be shown blank faces in return. But in the time since then, the app has changed dramatically on the user side. You can now swipe right/left and switch between the For You Page (FYP) and Following feeds, rather than having to press a button. Notifications and messages are all centralized, and users can scroll past ads much more easily.
However, with the concerning rise of BeReal over the course of this semester, it is no surprise that people think there’s a new kid on the social media block.[2] And to that, I say, have you learned nothing from Meta, one of our four great overlords?[3] As of last week, TikTok introduced the “TikTok Now” feature, replacing the “Friends” tab. No one I know has used it yet, but that’s what I said about Instagram Stories years ago, and now all my followers can tell you that I am obsessed with the feature. So, I look forward to the time when the BeReal app gets bought and crushed so that I can see everyone’s “TikTok Now” posts.
My previous iteration of this article had only the lightest reference to the Law School, through the appeal at the end. But much like my mental health, my approach to article writing has absolutely improved in the last two years. Two years ago, I mentioned a dancing TikToker to all of you. This time, I point you all to @rebmasel, who produces delightfully real content about life as a real attorney, mixed with dramatic readings of hilarious court transcripts. If you instead want to consume a distilled daily explanation of pop culture legal issues, I recommend @the.law.says.what as an alternative. I will warn you, though, that the account is much like watching that annoying couple from your section seem like they are having much more fun being much more successful than you.
Beyond the legal side of the app, TikTok has changed over the last two years from being the home of many distinct communities to having a clear culture of its own. The trends set on the app tend to have many real-world impacts. Political campaigns have used content on the app to up their microtargeting of younger voters. Coverage of important social issues has tended to start or grow there. And the largest change has been the impact on the music industry. Rather than being a tool to increase virality of existing projects two years ago, songs are now made entirely to go viral on TikTok. Look no further than Charlie Puth’s upcoming album, “CHARLIE,” which was marketed almost entirely on the app, with the hit single “Light Switch” allegedly made on the app as well.[4] Truly, the app has gone from being a hub of parts of communities to a cultural touchstone.
With all that in mind, why did I write this article? Was it to stroke my massive ego and brag about how I predicted that this app would blow up? No.[5] Was it to make you all sit through another one of my pointless late-night ramblings? Never.[6] The truth is that I wrote this article for the same reason I wrote the last one, two years ago. I want anyone who isn’t on the app to get with the times. Even this year, there have been plenty of moments where people have been confused at some of my references. It’s been even worse with the plague of Instagram Reels—people see the memes, but three weeks late. I would like the student body and the professors to join in on the cultural event embodied by the app while it exists.[7] I just don’t want people to continue missing out on such fabulous works of art as the Miami Boys Choir.
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omk6cg@virginia.edu