Quarantine During COVID Takes A Turn With TikTok
By Emily Butler
The spread of the coronavirus has affected the world in many different ways. It has prevented family and friends from socially interacting with each other. Many people turned to an alternative: social media. Social media allows people to keep in touch with family and friends and to see what is going on in the world around them. During quarantine, the amount of downloads of TikTok, (a video making, sharing, and viewing app) skyrocketed.
Using TikTok during quarantine helped to pass time, since there was nowhere to go. Some people preferred going on TikTok as opposed to watching movies or TV shows. Whether you needed a good laugh during hard times or just wanted to learn something new, TikTok provided it all. People created all different kinds of videos: dancing, singing, comedy, impressions, cooking, fashion, art, storytelling, etc. Anything you could think of, you could find videos about it. “TikTok kind of took over my life during quarantine. When there is nothing to do, I would just go on Tiktok and watch or make videos. Everything on TikTok is so relatable” said Junior, Kayla Adams. Throughout all of the negativity in the world, TikTok was a place where people were uplifting and encouraging. From commenting nice things about one’s video to duetting their reactions to somebody singing, TikTok is full of positivity. This started getting more and more people to learn new hobbies or try things they have never done before, since they were stuck in the house with nothing to do.
People also started using TikTok as a way to keep in contact with friends and family by sending each other videos or even making them together by duets. By duetting videos, you can make it look like you made a video together, yet be in completely different locations. As many people were stuck in quarantine for months, this became a popular way to stay in touch and have fun with friends. “Learning new dances and duetting my friend Kylie’s videos made me feel closer to her since we couldn’t be physically close. I would also send funny videos back and forth with a few of my friends and it made me feel close to them even though we were quarantined,” said Senior, Morgan Mustoe.
This past year has been a rough time for many people. With TikTok, people were able to cure their boredom as well as keep in close touch with friends and family by sending each other videos and duetting each other’s content. As people continue to use the app, they are discovering new hobbies and interests as well as making new friends in the process.
