TikTok: The App Built Off Of Information Cascades
The One That Never Got Away
It’s August of 2011 and I’m listening to, “The One That Got Away”, by Katy Perry in my bedroom because I thought it was a song about summer ending and the dread of going back to school. 11 years later, I’m still listening to the same song — not because I’m a Katy Perry stan or dreading going back to school, but because I’m doing the sturdy dance trend on TikTok.
Trends like getting sturdy to “The One That Got Away” on TikTok is one of the main reasons for the platform’s rapid and massive success because it promotes user originality and creativity. It’s the reason why, “I don’t have to say you were the one that got away” to Katy Perry, because she’s still very much relevant, just in a different way.
TikTok is different from other social media platforms because of how easy it is for users to create, digest, and share content. It’s more casual than Instagram (curated content), more artistic than Twitter (mostly text), and more accessible than Snapchat (mostly for friends). It’s a platform where any users are able to express themselves freely and share their creative ideas to a large community. Anyone has the chance to become famous, and it’s all really up to luck to start a trend. There’s no formula or shortcut to starting a trend, so users simply have to be themselves. Trends can start from a dance, song, filter, or challenge. In a way, they’re similar to information cascades because once a trend starts, people start copying each other until it blows up and becomes a trend.
TikTok information cascades follow three principles:
- Everyone makes decisions sequentially: Users decide what content to post and what audio to use.
- Everyone has private information that no one else knows: Users have personal accounts and have access to information only they can see — their favorites, likes, and For You Page.
- Everyone can observe what others do: Users can view content other people are posting on TikTok
Information cascades are just another way to describe joining trends on TikTok. One person creates a dance challenge for fun, and then another user who doesn’t know what to post copies that dance, until 1 million other users do too, creating a trend. These trends or information cascades are the reason why creators like Charli D’Amelio ended up rising to fame with 100 million followers with the Renegade dance, and how “The One That Got Away” by Katy Perry became a trending song again.
Trends make users engaged with TikTok and makes them feel included on the platform because anyone can do it, something other platforms lack. Although copying other users might seem bad, it actually helps us grow closer together on the platform. Users put their own twists on trends, or do them with friends. TikTok cascades have revived classic songs from our childhood, helped us discover new music, promote pop culture, enhance our creativity, and create new memories to share with the digital world.
https://www.iconosquare.com/blog/how-trends-are-born-on-tiktok