Persuasive Argument

Tiktok is considered the fastest growing media among social media brands. Many people are shifting to Tiktok as it is a video-focused social networking service that allows people to view other people’s content and create their own. It hosts several short-form user videos ranging in various genres such as pranks, jokes, stunt entertainment, and dance. Tiktok Is considered an upgrade of Douyin, which operates on the Chinese market to an international version. Since its launch in 2016, it has gained popularity in most continents worldwide (Rosen, et al., 374). As a result of its influence, most people in 2022 argue that every trend starts in Tiktok. The platform is expected to grow bigger every day as it is a preference for most, especially those in need of entertainment. According to the data released by Sensor Tower, a mobile research firm, Tiktok was downloaded more than 130 million times in the United States, and its users had surpassed 2 billion by October 2020 (Levi, et al., 120). Considering the trend in social media growth, the channel has gained millions of users since the research. Many argue that the growth is associated with the fact that the platform has allowed individual users to choose their content of interest.

Additionally, while considering the video-focused social networking services, allowing the users to share and edit what has been shared into any form they want seems to have given Tiktok a competitive advantage over other media. Additionally, limiting the length focusing more on short videos allows the users to access thousands of contents quickly, thereby eliminating monotony which results in boredom. Choice satisfaction leads to a better experience, allowing Tiktok to tap into existing talent within the social media market.

To retain and improve their dominance, there is a need for the company to become more creative and innovative into realizing what their users’ needs are and invest in it to allow their comfort while using the platform. “Automatic categorization of videos in a Web-scale unconstrained collection such as YouTube is a challenging task” (Zheshen, et al., 883). Hence, Tiktok needs to develop a system that allows videos to fall into their intended genre through the press of a button. This will improve users’ experience by easing the hustle of finding the content one is searching for. To allow diversity, Tiktok is also required to develop a section for written content to capture the users who prefer reading and writing creative articles. Additionally, for a better experience, the platform should allow content to be divided into age groups as people tend to enjoy and search for certain content differently depending on the age. Therefore, decentralizing the server would allow same age group sharing as “peers are linked to each other” (Narayanan, 1226).

Additionally, considering the growth of technology and the change in human behavior, there is a need for Tiktok to invest more in ensuring safety and assuring the users of the security of their data as every individual possesses a right to privacy. This can be done by deriving safety measures and regulations that govern and guide the users. Due to the growth of Tiktok, most people have converted the media as a marketing platform selling their goods and products. Additionally, most people opt for online shopping as it reduces the hustle of searching for certain products from one shop to the other. Tiktok management should be stricter while approving sellers and goods to ensure the consumers’ quality and reliability. This would eliminate the current situation where “Customers are afraid that the ordered goods will not be sent to them, will not meet their expectations, or will be destroyed during transport” (Ingaldi, Brožova, 79).

Additionally, despite the focus on dominance, there should be regulations on the platform, especially for minors, as long hours on the Tiktok may affect their physical and mental health. Additionally, due to the diversity of videos uploaded, Tiktok is highly addictive; hence, it is important to regulate users by ensuring they access entertainment videos and educative materials. According to research, “Social media use may be a risk factor for mental health problems in adolescents.” (Riehm, et al., 4) and thereby, while joining the platform, they should ensure the collection of the right information from users. This would help regulate the amount of time consumed by teenagers by instilling restrictions on time and content. Additionally, the platform should encourage its users to adopt a healthy lifestyle by exercising and eating healthy meals. Some lifestyle disorders such as obesity are associated with children spending more time on social media, thereby failing to exercise.

Since Tiktok is at its peak, it is important to ensure they retain its dominance and allows growth to promote users’ diversity. Therefore, to improve their customers’ experience, there is a need to focus on readability, customizability, and findability of content. Additionally, there is a need to ensure that the media provides a learning platform that allows research and exploration. Notably, customer safety is key to the success of the media. Therefore, there is a need to ensure the privacy and right of users are observed in the best way possible. They should also become stricter in regulating the content posted to ensure zero consumption of illegal and misleading information. Personalized user experience and certainty of security would give the media an upper hand increasing its dominance and growth.

Work cited

Zheshen Wang ; Ming Zhao ; Yang Song ; Kumar, S ; Baoxin Li YouTubeCat: “Learning to categorize wild web videos” 2010 IEEE Computer Society Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, 2010-06, p.879-886

Narayanan, M ; Arun, C “Categorize the video server in P2P networks based on seasonal and normal popularity videos using machine learning approach” 2015 2nd International Conference on Electronics and Communication Systems (ICECS), 2015-02, p.1220-1228

Ingaldi, Manuela ; Brožova, Silvie “Safety of Online Shopping According to Customers” System safety (Poland), 2020-03-01, Vol.2 (1), p.73-81

Levi, Sharon ; Calif, Elad ; Aronin, Alexandra ; Gesser-Edelsburg, Anat “Shopping online for children: Is safety a consideration?” Journal of safety research, 2021-09, Vol.78, p.115-128

Rosen, L.D ; Lim, A.F ; Felt, J ; Carrier, L.M ; Cheever, N.A ; Lara-Ruiz, J.M ; Mendoza, J.S ; Rokkum, J “Media and technology use predicts ill-being among children, preteens and teenagers independent of the negative health impacts of exercise and eating habits” Computers in human behavior, 2014-06, Vol.35, p.364-375

Riehm, Kira E ; Feder, Kenneth A ; Tormohlen, Kayla N ; Crum, Rosa M ; Young, Andrea S ; Green, Kerry M ; Pacek, Lauren R ; La Flair, Lareina N ; Mojtabai, Ramin “Associations Between Time Spent Using Social Media and Internalizing and Externalizing Problems Among US Youth” JAMA psychiatry (Chicago, Ill.), 2019-09-11, Vol.76 (12), p.1-9