Tik Tok, the social media app that allows users to post their own short-form videos, is wildly popular among teenagers.
In fact, according to news reports, nearly 70 percent of teens regularly use the app.
Harrisburg University Interactive Media Program Lead Professor Charles Palmer recently discussed what triggers the continued emergence of new and improved social media apps like Tik Tok with ABC27News.
To help dial in what users want from an app, developers study defunct and existing ones, Palmer said.
“We see a kind of revolving door with social media apps, and with each app that fails, developers learn more about what works and what doesn’t,” he said. “Tik Tok would not have been nearly as successful even just a few years ago. We’re seeing the age get younger and younger for users on social media.”
The creative tools and information Tik Tok incorporates into its app is what experts believe lies behind its popularity, according to ABC27. The app incorporates artificial intelligence to suggest videos to users that are similar to prior ones they watched.
“The algorithm identifies what the system thinks that you would be interested in seeing next, and because technology has advanced so much, the algorithm is usually right,” Palmer said.
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