Samantha Massad, 27
Social Media tends to play a big role in today’s society. Sixty-four percent of the world's population today have, and actively use, social media. TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms, alongside Facebook and Instagram. Whether you're a content creator or just like to keep up with today’s trends, do you ever wonder what makes certain trends or videos go viral?
There are a few things that can cause videos to gain popularity. Videos that make the audience feel a certain emotion, such as laughter or compassion towards the video, are more likely to be shared. Another tactic that influencers use to get more engagement on their account is they make one long video into multiple shorter segment videos. This will give the creator more videos from one event. This will keep followers checking the creator’s account often to see when the next part will be uploaded. People who find a video relatable or funny will send it to their friends, thinking it will cause their friends the same emotions as the video did for them; this causes more people to engage with the video, giving it more likes, comments, and shares. When a video gets a surplus of engagement, the creator's content will start to be featured on people’s “For You” pages that have liked or commented on similar videos.
While many might think that what you like, comment, or even rewatch multiple times on TikTok doesn't affect anything, that is not true. TikTok’s algorithm specifically relies on this information to curate your “For You” page. The types of videos that you engage in decide what is going to appear on this page. TikTok’s “For You” page feature specifically puts videos from those you follow and videos that are similar to videos that you have previously engaged with. This strategic algorithm mixes familiar and brand-new videos similar to videos you seem to have liked in the past. As you watch more videos, the algorithm becomes more accurate.
Some even claim TikTok to be “addictive” due to its extremely accurate algorithm. When a new TikTok account is first made, the new user is asked to give basic information about their age and location. Next, they will be asked to choose a few trend options that they would like to see on their “For You” page. There are options such as lifestyle, sports, humor, fashion, and many more. When their “For You” page is opened for the first time, it will show some of the most popular recent videos among users who fit their demographics. It will also include videos from the trend options that were previously chosen. The viewer may like a video, follow a creator, or even go to TikToker's profile to watch more of their content. Every one of these simple actions affects the algorithm and signals how much the user likes the content they're watching.
The more TikTok is used, the more the algorithm learns about them. Furthermore, predictions of the content they want to see become more accurate. All of these small actions affect what videos are on each individual viewer's “For You” page and can cause videos to go viral just by clicking the like or share button. TikTok’s algorithm has changed the way viewers previously have interacted with content. This specific algorithm will continue to become more precise with its prediction, which will continue to affect the type of media and the way we perceive it over time.