Due to being in quarantine, students are finding different ways to entertain themselves. One of the most useful apps is TikTok, used to create short videos whether it is of the user dancing, lip-syncing, or creating comedy videos. In August of 2018, it became available after it merged with a well-known app called Musical.ly. The app became very popular in February of 2019, now it is the most downloaded mobile app in the world as it had reached number 1 on the App Store. 

Some students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have recently been receiving a large number of views and followers while in quarantine. Senior Leo Scopino started to gain a following in late October after one of his videos went viral. The video was a point of view, a popular form of video in which an individual acts as if he is in a certain situation. Leo now has 35.1k followers and continues to gain more each day. 

“It feels really cool knowing I have a lot of followers and that people actually like watching my videos. Being in quarantine has given me a lot of time to be able to make different videos like dancing and lip-syncing videos,” Scopino said. “I also really like to interact with my followers and getting to know them by going live and having them on other social media platforms.”

TikTok videos can be up to one-minute long. The platform continues to grow, with celebrities and thousands of others joining consistently. Teenagers feel that it is a place where they can truly be creative when posting, due to the various categories of videos that are posted. If a video seems interesting, it is then reshared on the “For You Page” where it can gain many views.  

Students have established many different hobbies while being in quarantine that they have found on TikTok. Junior Rachel Kuperman always liked to draw but being on TikTok, she felt inspired to draw more and began posting videos of her art on TikTok. After a video of her hanging out with friends went viral, she has gained a big following and now has 120.4k followers. 

“When I first downloaded TikTok, it was just something I would goof around with but as I began to post more I realized that I was gaining a lot of views. I wanted to try something new while being in quarantine, so I started to draw more and noticed people actually liked what I drew,” Kuperman said. “I don’t consider myself famous but it’s nice to know that I can use this to express myself and have people enjoy it as well.”

As quarantine continues, students are finding more ways to be creative as they post on TikTok. One way they are doing so is by duetting people that have many followers and creating content to make their followers laugh. Users would then find these videos entertaining and share it with others, helping the creator to obtain more followers. 

“I mainly post satire and funny videos, but nowadays people gain followers from the ‘hype’ and being good looking. I struggled with gaining followers since my priorities were at school first and during this time I had stopped posting videos but I have now reached 120.9k followers and I have been posting now to pass the time in quarantine,” junior Fabian Cazorla said. “I do really love my fans and I appreciate them but it isn’t something I pride myself on.”

TikTok has given students a way to feel entertained and it continues to become popular every day. They offer teenagers a new and unique approach to interact with one another. The app also provides educational, inspirational, and business-related videos as it gives viewers a wide variety of choices. It has enabled students to come together and provides them with something to relate to and talk about.