The Source for Bite-Sized Entertainment!
1
There is something about lip-synching and dancing to a favorite song turned up loud that is pure bliss. In 2014, Musical.ly, a social media app, offered users the chance to share their lip-synching skills with the world. Over the next few years, the app racked up hundreds of millions of users. A rival app called Douyin, which was developed by the company ByteDance, appeared on the scene in 2016. Outside of China, Douyin was rebranded as TikTok, which is now a household name. In late 2017, ByteDance acquired Musical.ly, instantly—and substantially—increasing TikTok's user base.
2
As of 2021, TikTok had more than one billion monthly active users in more than 150 countries, but it is undoubtedly a young person's app. TikTok videos can take many forms and be about practically any subject. There are videos of people completing challenges, sharing photos, responding to other TikTok creations, and, yes, lip-synching and dancing.
3
TikTok can be described as a form of micro-entertainment. Unlike movies or episodes of a television series, most TikTok videos are mere seconds long. So, TikTok does not require users to invest a substantial amount of time. People with just a few minutes to spare before a sports practice or class can log in and escape with some lighthearted fun. The popularity of TikTok among young users suggests they would prefer to see many videos in a given amount of time instead of just one.
4
Interestingly, while TikTok is known for short videos, the maximum video length seems to keep going up. At first, a TikTok video could only be 15 seconds long, but this was later changed to 60 seconds. In 2022, the maximum length was increased to 10 minutes. This change could be an effort to appeal to a broader range of users, and it might reflect TikTok's desire to compete with YouTube more effectively.
5
Some people who spend a lot of time generating TikTok videos want to know: Can I make money doing this? The answer is yes! TikTok does have an ad revenue sharing program, but the payout is a drop in the bucket compared to what some TikTokers can make by becoming "influencers." If TikTokers have a huge following, corporations will sometimes pay these influencers to feature and promote brands in their videos. And earnings can be mind-boggling. For example, TikTok personality Addison Rae earned an estimated $5 million in 2020. Success stories like these do have a downside, however. They can mislead people into thinking they, too, can make millions from TikTok, something only a miniscule percentage of people can do. If someone wants to make TikTok videos, the main goal should not be getting rich quick, but simply having fun.
Multiple Choice Question
Which detail in paragraph 5 of “TikTok” best supports the author’s claim that people can make money from TikTok?
A.
Some people who spend a lot of time generating TikTok videos . . .
B.
. . . Can I make money doing this?
C.
TikTok does have an ad revenue sharing program . . .
D.
. . . Addison Rae earned an estimated $5 million in 2020.
1 answer
The detail in paragraph 5 of “TikTok” that best supports the author’s claim that people can make money from TikTok is:
D. . . . Addison Rae earned an estimated $5 million in 2020.
This statement provides a concrete example of a TikTok personality making a significant amount of money, thus supporting the claim that people can earn money on the platform.
