3, 2, 1...TikTok

Alexis Cannon, a sophomore at Bradley University enjoys making/watching TikTok videos in her dorm room.

As college students, what's a better way of wasting more than two hours of our time watching/recreating TikTok videos? NOTHING. Tiktok is a video-sharing platform that connects youth around the world through dances and lip-syncing. According to BuzzFeed News, the most popular dance of 2019 was "The Woah." TikTok fans will have to see which dance will take the win in 2020, but my money is on the popular song "Renegade."

Although this is a great way for social networking, questions have been raised on whether or not TikTok is the new wave for upcoming journalists?

TikTok is a great platform to share news content, however, it does not release breaking news like other social media platforms (Twitter, Instagram, etc.) This can be an issue for news consumers who like to stay updated on issues in the world. According to Fannin, Tiktok focuses more on making sales through ads and clickbait news. TikTok may fail at the breaking news aspect but journalists that work for organizations could pay for advertising to gain more viewer engagement from teens.

If news companies are trying to use TikTok as a way to promote their news content, then the smartest strategy is to hire teenage interns. Journalist, James Wellemeyer, mentioned how one of the famous on TikTok, Josh Richards, started uploading videos with him playing around with friends. He instantly received 26,000 followers and now he has over 11.6 million followers. Teenagers will follow the trends of other teenagers, not adults.

Speaking of trends, news organizations such as; BuzzFeed, The Washington Post, NBC News and Dallas Morning News is using TikTok as a social media platform for brand-building. However, BuzzFeed is using TikTok as a way to get more teens involved in politics. Buzzfeed is looking for three teens (16-19) to make weekly TikTok videos about their political issues. But will this strategy be effective? As mentioned before, TikTok is a teen based audience, therefore will teens genuinely care about politics? Or will this be a failed attempt at a trend? Very bold move I would say.

This idea of "bold moves," raise the question of if news organizations are ready to risk the ethics behind their organizations? TikTok is a world of memes, teenagers could take serious content and turn the news into dark humor, this can negatively impact the organization as a whole. Or will there be certain guidelines for what organizations could post? This is another issue because this media platform was made for self-expression and fun.

Wrapping up this TikTok debate, this media platform could help gain readers for news organizations or it could harm the brand of the organizations. Will videos or memes be the new way of receiving news? Well it's a mystery to me as well, but I will not be surprised because teens today does not like to read long new stories.

So, which news source will survive this TikTok battle? Let me know what you all think in the comments or email!