TikTok is a social media video app known all over the world for its lip-syncing videos. The app has over 500 million active users each month, which is more than double the amount of people who used Vine.

The app first started with the name Musical.ly. Musical.ly was first created in April of 2014 and was a huge hit worldwide. Five years later, ByteDance, the Chinese company that owned Musical.ly, decided to make a greater app and renamed it TikTok. They chose the name TikTok because they wanted a new name that would draw people’s attention and represent the users better.

In February of 2019, TikTok hit one billion downloads globally, and it is now available in 154 countries and 33 languages. The app is filled with many different diverse communities, from teenagers to celebrities.

Another feature about TikTok is the different dances you can learn. You can watch videos of other people doing dances and learn them. Dance challenges have become extremely popular on TikTok with over one billion views for the hashtag #DanceChallenge. Middle schooler Keira Pycior says, “I love TikTok. It is really fun and it is so much fun to learn dances and stuff.”

TikTok is on a high right now, but how are they acquiring their money? According to The Verge, “For the most part, TikTok doesn’t offer creators a way to make money on its platform. Creators can secure sponsorships and brand deals for individual posts, but those deals have to be secured without TikTok’s help.”

“I don’t go to sleep until 11:00 because of TikTok. It is so addictive,” states seventh-grader Sofia Bugarin.

Overall, TikTok is getting more popular by the minute and is displaying a major impact on teens in our society today.