Everyone knows that social media is one of the main causes of bullying. People put new apps on the internet and others jump on the opportunity to criticize others while hiding behind a screen.
A new app called Tik Tok lets users make lip-syncing videos to their favorite songs. It was formally known as Musical.ly, which was bought for one billion dollars on November 9, 2017 by a company called ByteDance. The name was changed to Tik Tok on August 2, 2018.
It is a fun way to connect to your favourite music, and multiple teens have shot to stardom with the use of this app. They move on to bigger things such as Disney movies and appearances on popular teen shows. Former Musical.ly stars, such as Loren Beech, have had their Instagram followers skyrocket; she currently has 14.8 million followers and she’s only 16. A lot of Musical.ly teens have moved on to making music and some have even made the charts.
The problem with many apps these days, however, are the ‘trollers’ who have too much time and are flat out mean. Hate comments on the posts are common, such as, ‘This is autism’ and, ‘Who else wants to bash this girl @$%^** head in?’ It’s obviously not a safe app for young kids. The duet feature that lets users react or interact with the person on the other side of the screen has, unfortunately, not been used in the positive way it was intended to. Trollers go on the app and use the duet feature to make fun of the person on the other side of the screen with horrible reactions. Some trollers write on paper horrible messages to tear down the other person.
Tik Tok has proven itself to be a very non-safe app because of the dangers of getting bullied. The company has not come out with a statement about the bullying. It is a sad world when a positive, fun app is turned into an opportunity for hate.
