TikTok and the United States: how will the world of social media change now? | ANALYSIS

Are we experiencing the slow end of an era? TikTok It is the social network with the greatest growth after the covid-19 pandemic: it changed our way of entertaining ourselves, informing ourselves and even working. But, his possible departure from USA leaves a lot of questions.

US President Joe Biden signed the law that has been debated in parliament in recent weeks and that gives ByteDance (Chinese parent company of TikTok) 270 days to find an investor from a country that is not a “foreign adversary” to sell to it. the company.

These are 270 days of uncertainty in which the world of social networks could take a new turn. Who can benefit? How will the use of networks change?

Héctor Mendoza, a professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP), has two readings about this situation. “There are definitely other competitors that will benefit. The first one that comes to mind is Instagram, because it was in tandem with TikTok. This entire platform was united for content creators”he commented to Diario El Comercio.

And it is not the first time that users migrate from one network to another. It happened with Twitter that, when it changed ownership (Elon Musk bought the social network in 2022) and named X, it lost users to Mastodon, or with Twitch that gained notoriety compared to YouTube. However, for the specialist in planning and developing communication strategies, the current context is something particular.

“The second scenario is perhaps not so pleasant for the United States, especially because it will be seen as the bad father, the father of a transgressor who takes away your freedom. So, when you are banned from something, it can become more attractive.”indicated about the possible veto of TikTok and not only because of the manipulation of the Internet, but because it would encourage a reaction from users who work, who make a living from social networks and who could file a series of lawsuits because their freedom to decide is taken away. . “It has already been signed, but that does not mean that acceptance will be peaceful”, he pointed out.

The network that changed the world

The success of TikTok It is a phenomenon that continues to cause interest. The social network that was born in 2017 under the name Douyin in China has experienced unstoppable success as a result of the covid-19 pandemic, during quarantine periods.

According to the Digital 2024 Global Overview Report, TikTok has 1.56 billion users, only behind Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Whatsapp. Its growth also occurred as a result of its entry into the US market during the last decade and today the United States is the country with the largest audience, according to the Statista website.

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On the one hand, part of its success is due to its algorithm. Alonso Vilchez, director of the Administration and Marketing Program at the Autonomous University of Peru, told El Comercio that TikTok ““It has been able to make that match between the curiosity that human beings have and the amount of content alternatives that there are.”

“All of this leads us to optimize what we may like. So, TikTok The algorithm works in such a way that it can finally lead us to, let’s say, show something that we are going to like. Maybe we didn’t even know we were going to like it.”he commented.

On the other hand, Mendoza also highlights the evolution of this network that was born only as a means of entertainment, then became a means of information and persuasion, as was seen during the demonstrations against Dina Boluarte.

“TikTok, being essentially an entertainment network, became an information channel. Many TikTokers began to broadcast live information about the marches through this, on the one hand. Does it persuade? Definitely, because many businesses start selling through TikTok”he told this newspaper.

Does it affect Peruvians?

The Chinese social network also grew in Peru during the pandemic. A report from the Supervisory Body for Private Investment in Telecommunications (Osiptel) shows that in 2020, after the first months of quarantine, TikTok was the social network with the greatest growth: the preference rose to 387.88% and for Facebook up to 349.28%, compared to the week before the quarantine.

This change was due, according to Mendoza, because many people saw an opportunity to do business in the networks. Currently, these people have returned to their previous state or have evolved within social networks, becoming content generators, “or they have even quit their old jobs because they have seen that content creation is better for them”.

Under this scenario it is very likely that if the main market for TikTok Peruvian content creators are also affected. “Going to another platform is not easy, it is very difficult to get all your thousands of followers that you have had, that you have achieved through time, effort, years, finding a style and so on, now you simply say “Well, “Guys, we’re moving on to another scenario.” The public does not react the same, they may not follow you, they may not know how to locate you or they may not want to have another account”he indicated.

This also translates into economic losses, especially in advertising and content campaigns that come from the main brands in the United States.

“Human beings are very adaptive, but that does not mean that the impact will not be felt. They will definitely adapt, they will look for solutions, the big brands with greater speed. “Small content creators and people who make a living from business will suffer the most.”commented on this change.

In other words, 270 days of suspense are coming, while TikTok It defines whether it will sell its brand or move away from the United States, opening the field to more local and smaller markets, to new practices on social networks.