In August of 2017, Beijing-based app TikTok became available to download in the U.S. after merging with a popular music video app, Musical.ly. It then took only a month for TikTok to take the social media world by storm. 

Fast forward to 2020, when COVID-19 caused the world to shut down. TikTok only continued to climb App Store charts while we sat at home, exceeding two billion all-time downloads –– 100 million of which were users in the U.S. alone –– which is why you voted watching TikTok for hours as the “Best Quarantine Plans” for 2020-21. Because what else would we rather be doing than scrolling and watching short videos of people dancing, lip-syncing or sharing funny and embarrassing stories from their daily lives? 

Caroline Boyt, a senior computer science major and TikTok campus representative during the spring 2020 semester, shed some light on why we found so much joy scrolling this quarantine season. 

“I think since the videos can be anywhere from a few seconds to a minute long, it’s really easy just to keep scrolling and get absorbed in the videos,” said Boyt. “I think it was a good way to pass the time without having to think about all the crazy stuff happening at the time and also get a good laugh. There were also a lot of people sharing creative ways to have fun and stay connected with your friends while you couldn’t see them in person.” 

And far be it from us to squelch your love of endless watching or making short videos to try and counteract the quarantine blues! We advise you to hold onto these quarantine plans and TikTok on, fellow Tigers!