During the height of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic is when TikTok really blew up (at least in my mind). Back then, I thought it was all about dancing and I felt like I was too cheugy to be on an app with that purpose. I felt that way for a while, and then my mind started to change after I watched The D’Amelio Show. It was a little annoying, because whenever my sisters or friends would send me a video on TikTok, I would follow the link and only be able to watch about 15 seconds of a video and would somtimes miss the joke.
What Lead to Me Joining TikTok?
Still, I didn’t join TikTok until March or April of this year, and I joined because of my new position as Her Campus UCF’s Event Director. It kind of felt like I wasn’t supposed to, because a week later, Florida public schools had banned the use of TikTok on campus. Now I’ve heard that it’s been banned in the state of Montana.
Luckily, I don’t live on campus, so it doesn’t affect me too much. Like all social media platforms, I can see the appeal of this one. However (and I think this is true of how I feel about the Instagram algorithm too) I really try and use social media to stay connected to my friends, and I think the algorithm that generates content based on interests is a little distracting.
It is a little too easy to end up going down a random rabbit hole of funny videos, or currently the mission to find this missing submarine that went searching for more remains from the Titanic. That would have to be the benefit of the “Friends” tab that exists on both platforms, at least for me. It is comforting to follow my friends, because they’re not out doing crazy things that make me feel inept for doing normal things.
Social media is something that I’ve always loved because it is a space for me to be myself, to love what I love and share that. You won’t find any crazy dance videos, but if you’re interested in following me, my username is @kristimydarling, just like my Instagram. Here are a few of the videos that I have posted so far:
- Travel Videos: There are some videos of my time in Vegas and San Francisco on TikTok. It is so much easier and quicker for me to crank those videos out than to write about them, so I think that, if you’re interested in following my adventures, TikTok and Instagram might be the best place to get the most up-to-date information.
- Book Videos: I feel like BookTok is a very trendy place, but I don’t quite know if I fit into what it is yet. I am posting some video reviews there though, most recently for It’s Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han.
- Writing Adjacent Videos: Not of me writing (I don’t know if that is interesting to see), but I think it is important to support people within the writing community. This past April was National Poetry Month, and I tried to highlight poets who I was a fan of and had discovered through school. Actually, I am planning a video where I reflect on something that I wrote a year ago, so I guess there is something related to my writing process.
- Her Campus Videos: Honestly, it started with a lot of videos related to Fenty Beauty’s Hella Thicc mascara, and they will just forever live there.
What is your opinion on TikTok? Do you have content that you would like me to make for TikTok? Is there a new up-and-coming social media platform that I should be signing up for instead? Let me know in the comments down below.
As always, thank you so much for taking the time to read this blog. If you enjoyed it, please make sure to let me know by liking this post, commenting your thoughts down below, and sharing this post with your friends. And of course, you have the ability to make my day if you subscribe to this blog, which means that you will be notified anytime I put out more content like this.
Love Always,
Kristi My
Kristi My Dao 