TikTok – Page 4 – Dispatches From The Front

SOCIAL NETWORKS WALK a fine line between being a useful tool and a crippling addiction. They’re also fraught with critics, who say that they damage our personal privacy, and can convey misinformation. Whether you want your free time back or don’t like your personal info scattered about on the internet, you may be considering deactivating some accounts.

Wanting to delete your account is one thing, but actually being able to hit the delete button is another story. Social media outlets make money off of you and your information, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that they don’t want to let you go. Because of this, the biggest networks have made it overly complicated to delete your account. But if you are set on getting rid of them, here’s what you’ll have to do.

If you’ve heard of TikTok, chances are you’ve got a teenager somewhere in your life. The app, launched by Chinese company ByteDance in 2016, has been described as a mashup of Vine, Twitter, and Instagram, allowing its 500 million monthly users to create short-form, music-focused videos and edit them with lenses, filters, and AR features.

Originally known as Musical.ly, TikTok stepped neatly into the void left by Vine after its untimely departure in 2017 and has been steadily gaining the attention of young users and business owners alike ever since with its short, highly engaging content. Over 40% of the app’s users are between the ages of 10 and 19, making it a prime target for any brands seeking the elusive attention of Gen Z.