In just a few short months, TikTok has taken the internet and almost every social media platform by storm. The biggest question going around is, is it the new Vine?
After first launching in 2016, the short-video based social media app gained 100 million users in its first year.
The idea behind the app is pretty simple. Just like Vine, which officially shut down in January of 2017 due to lack of earnings, many followers of the app use it as a platform to make certain videos in a limited amount of time. Videos on TikTok can be up to 15 seconds and allows users to be a bit more creative with filters and other unique features offered by the app.
Adamrayokay, a noted TikToker who has gone viral on several occasions, uses the app for comedic purposes through portraying an amateur persona, Rosa.
“I actually had my notifications on TikTok turned off when I posted the first video,” Adam Martinez, a well known user, told theinsider.com. “I looked at my TikTok and thought this is crazy. I already had 30,000 views and 15,0000 likes.”
Because of the traffic that both TikTok and Vine have been able to garner, it’s almost natural to compare them to one another. TikTok produces a similar amount of content in terms of funny videos and ironic memes.
While many people openly admit that TikTok is entertaining, others believe it can’t be the new Vine because the apps just aren’t the same.
Erin Coleman, a third-year public relations student and an avid user of TikTok, says that despite the fact that she uses the app, Vine was far more entertaining.
“Vine was in a lane of its own. There are still vines that I laugh at until this day. The humor part isn’t there for TikTok. It’s more so dancing than comedy to me,” Coleman said.
Some FAMU students, however, differ in this opinion and believe that Vine began to be played out —which ultimately led to its demise.
“I feel as though TikTok is a revamped app for the new generation. It’s the same thing, you know people post videos, you watch other people’s videos, people’s videos go viral just like Vine. When I was in high school we would find new music and artists off of Vine and now it’s the same thing with TikTok. It’s a new and improved version of Vine and that’s OK,” said Kyarra Jackson, a second-year nursing major at FAMU.
While there are a lot of mixed feelings on this topic, one thing fans don’t deny is the impact that Vine had on this culture. It forced content creators to come up with original content through a simplistic approach. Resources on the app were limited and many users had to work with what they had in a 7-second time frame without the cool, techy add-ons that TikTok has.
And yes, though TikTok has infiltrated mainstream social media the same way Vine did, it too has and will make a mark of its own.