We’re creatures of habit and when we find something we like, we don’t want it to change. Nowadays, social media is a big part of our lives, and just like our lives, it’s always changing.
Among all social media platforms, TikTok has become one of the biggest platforms out there. Its FYP (for you page) has changed social media like no other app has. The FYP allows people to keep up with all the latest trends and stay informed while also allowing people to express themselves in creative ways.
The platform alone has always been a simple app to work with. One could open the app and all its essential features were displayed at the bottom ready to go. People liked that it was simple and got straight to the point as soon as you opened it. However, over the last year and a half, the app has changed in ways that people have deemed as both good and bad.
One of the most recent changes were the random commas that were added. The commas were added if anything related to the video (views, likes, comments, favorites, and shares) or the person’s followers or following reached over a thousand. The commas were definitely strange. Like many others, I was confused as to whether the commas had always been there or not. It was definitely something random and unexpected; however, now I don’t even notice them.
The biggest and most controversial update introduced by TikTok so far has been the TikTok shop. The shop was added to help small business owners expand and allow them to sell their products on other platforms. The shop offers many coupons that benefit the customers without harming the seller at the same time. So what’s the big deal?
I don’t have much to say in regards to actually using the shop, however, I do agree with the people in the sense that its placement on the app is annoying, especially when you’re trying to go from the FYP to the following page since you have to go through the shop before getting to the other. I found myself accidentally clicking on the shop instead of the following or FYP button quite often. I resorted to scrolling instead of clicking, since it became more of an instinct to quickly scroll again after scrolling once.
The shop as a whole caused mixed reactions from people, some showing excitement while others didn’t find the point. It also seems to have caused some problems for business owners since their products were being promoted on random videos, which are scams, causing them to have to deal with all the backlash from people claiming their actual business is a scam.
The shop has also influenced the amount of ads one sees on the FYP. Unfortunately, scrolling on the FYP isn’t the same as it used to be. Now, every other video is either an ad or someone promoting one of their products. It’s annoying since the purpose of the FYP is to show you things in your interest and not things you should buy instead.
An update that seems to be popular within the app are the blue comments. Blue comments are completely random, so it’s not like all comments are blue or the commenter decides to turn their comment blue. These comments are used to search things related to the video or a topic being talked about in the comments. I, along with many others, did indeed find the blue comments to be helpful and think it was a great change to the app. This is because every now and then, I’ll find myself watching a video and it’ll mention something I’m unsure of. I can simply look through the comments, find a blue comment relating to the topic, click on it and have my question answered.
TikTok’s repost button is one that seems to be very well liked by a lot of TikTok users. The repost button works just as its name suggests – you click the button and the video will be displayed on your profile as if you posted the video. I love it. I love to see the videos my friends repost since usually I get a good laugh out of it. It is also a good way to see videos you otherwise wouldn’t have seen and in general. Other people seem to like it as well because they are able to repost videos they find relatable, funny, or helpful. They are also able to see what other people are reposting.
Finally, TikTok’s friends button. In the past, TikTok had two search buttons, one in the top right corner and one at the bottom. With this new change, it permanently removed the search button from the bottom and replaced it with the friends button. The friends button works almost the same as the following button, except it’s only difference is that you only see the videos of your mutual friends and not those of other people you follow. Personally, I found the friends button useless because if I wanted to see the videos my mutuals were posting, I could just click on the following button at the top of the screen and watch them there. Many people also disliked this new update since most were used to a search button at the bottom of their screen and because they felt there was also no purpose for it.
As time goes on, TikTok will more than likely continue to change. When that time comes, it will all come down to the user to adjust to those changes no matter their feelings. Sure, everyone is allowed to not like some things, but let’s not let these minor inconveniences affect how we feel about the overall product. Instead, let’s try to enjoy the things we do like.
