Aired Wednesday (01/06/21) at 12:30PM EST AND 8:30PM EST and at 4:30AM EST on Thursday (01/07/21)
One of the most popular apps in existence right now is TikTok, a short form video sharing app. At last count, TikTok had over 50 million daily active users in the US– but over 5 hundred million globally. In fact, it is the first foreign-based, social media app that has achieved this level of success in the US. The interest in TikTok is both due to how much fun it is to use, and also the foreign-based ownership I mentioned.
It is owned by the Chinese company, Bytedance. It is the tension between the millions of adoring TikTok users and creators, and the concerns over Chinese government intervention, that keep TikTok in the news. On today’s Media Inside Out we talk about the influence of TikTok on teens and their mental health, its influence on the music industry, and its influence on entertainment and information globally.
GUESTS:
Bethany Ao is a health reporter at the Philadelphia Inquirer, focused largely on mental health and other issues that affect young people. She has written about TikToks effect on teens.
Kavita Ku-tay is an undergraduate student majoring in public health at Temple University She just finished doing research on TikTok, looking at TikTok’s affect on the music industry.