‘Like the stillness of a lizard in danger’: Students call app captivating
By Nick Dill, student reporter
TikTok is a trending app that many Northwestern students say they are using to entertain themselves and portray their bright personalities. TikTok is an app where users can create and share quick videos about any topic.
Kenlee Netherton, a senior psychology major, says she is a huge fan of TikTok. She loves watching and making videos. Netherton believes TikTok is different from other apps.
“TikTok brings opportunity for artists to express their work and reach a broader audience than many other social media platforms,” Netherton said.
Netherton said she can express her true self on TikTok.
“I’ve always loved to dance, and I’m a huge goofball,” Netherton said. “I use TikTok for humor purposes and to express the ‘goofball’ inside of me.”
She said she uses the app for joy, but she does believe there is some negative content on TikTok.
“I find humor in many of the artists’ work,” Netherton said. “I do think there is a bad side of TikTok, where it may express sexuality and giving young children the viewing opportunity that may be too vulgar and extreme for their eyes.”
Yosbelli Lora, a senior psychology major, uses TikTok as if it is her daily newspaper.
“TikTok truly paralyzes me,” Lora said. “I’ll watch it for 45 minutes in whatever position I was in when I opened it – like the stillness of a lizard in danger. I’m always on it. I’ll be there scrolling away on recipes on how to make a triple-layer pull-apart cheesy bread when I can microwave a pop tart. It’s a great self-esteem booster.”
TikTok is popular because of how entertaining it is, Lora said.
“It’s quite entertaining,” Lora said. “You can pick and choose what kind of content you want. It doesn’t always have to be humor. It can be educational as well. I’ve learned a few things here and there and have applied it to my college life. One thing about me is that I’ll be the most awkward person ever, so people feel comfortable being themselves around me. TikTok is the place to do so. Plus, I love entertaining people. It’s fun for me to watch people smile, which is why I make cheesy content.”
Lora agrees with Netherton that TikTok is different from other social media apps.
“I want to say TikTok is sort of like the new Vine. It’s all videos,” Lora said. “With other social media apps, it’s always pictures or posts – nothing wrong with that, but on TikTok, there’s always something interesting on the next scroll. I feel like TikTok ties in all social media. If there’s a trend I don’t understand, I go over to TikTok and scroll to find out.”
Erika Hernandez, a junior business administration major, loves to show her dance moves and share her recipes on TikTok.
“I make TikToks to have fun with my friends and show everyone else my horrible dance moves,” Hernandez said. “I express myself on TikTok by sharing some fun and easy recipes I love.”
“TikTok as a whole, I believe, is a good concept for artists to express themselves and for joy to be shown across the screen,” Netherton said.