By Joshua Clement
TikTok! A new kid on the block that everyone including the news media are talking about. One might think that the talks are the traditional newsworthy issues, but no…some are as silly as feeding a cat. While many have criticized how the new generation has embraced TikTok, others feel that it is no longer what the elite think. Instead, it is about how inclusive TikTok has become. Indeed TikTok has defied the traditional social media platform rules as we see the almost non-relevant individuals from different parts of the world emerge and transform into celebrities.
A single case of Dora Moono Nyambe explains it all. Dora started off as a teacher in China, and then visited the village of Mapapa, Zambia to then help the kids get more access to food, water, and a mud hut to get a better education. She then went on to capture moments of the students lives, and experiences the go through all on this new and upcoming app TikTok.
Who is not on tiktok today? Everyone you ask, their point of reference is TikTok.. ‘Did you see or watch that video on tiktok?’ TikTok’s rise grew exponentially during the pandemic in 2020. People from all over the world, and of all ages created entertaining videos that sparked interest in the 2.5 Billion people who downloaded the app.
TikTok has given many people around the world opportunities not only to grow their fame but also put in the work to change the world and help people in need get the access to things they didn’t have before. Creators like Dora Moono Nyambe had the help from her followers that aided her goal in raising $80,000 for the kids in Zambia. With over 3.5 million followers and 128.2 million likes on her TikTok Dora has continued to raise awareness to the poverty in the village of Mapapa as well as the lack of a source for water and food.
“Her initial goal was to be able to teach five days a week, feed the children one meal per day to supplement the small amount of food they often received at home and put in two boreholes to pump clean water. Thanks to the substantial amount of donations from her followers, Nyambe is now able to do so much more.”
This rising empowerment to people who don’t have a voice has not only influenced Dora to bring awareness to the world’s problems but has risen across all over the world. This empowerment has given many creators who never would have had the opportunity on any other platforms like facebook and instagram to perform in front of millions. TikTok has given these creators the opportunity to share their stories and reach a bigger audience from different parts of the world.
New York Times times stated “And for many users, who consume without creating, the app is shockingly good at reading your preferences and steering you to one of its many “sides,” whether you’re interested in socialism or Excel tips or sex, conservative politics or a specific celebrity. It’s astonishingly good at revealing people’s desires even to themselves.”
TikTok is known for its “For you page” or FYP where they take your interactions, interests, and most searched topics and create a stream of videos that relate to what you like. The importance of TikTok is that it provides the opportunity to go viral for different people everywhere.
As for Khaby Lame who is a 21-year-old Senegalese-Italian social media influencer, who once worked in an Italian factory before the COVID-19 pandemic. He started making videos of different comedy sketches, Lame shared in an interview with Fanpage, “However, in the end it started from these little sketches of these little videos, and most important part of my videos at the end people are glued to look at me and just because they wait for my reaction and my expressions to funny videos.”
Instead of focusing the attention on the newest pop celebrities over social media like Instagram and Facebook TikTok has created a new world of fame for people in different parts of the world.
with food and smiles.
For more information on Dora Moono Nyambe, and Khaby Lame check out their videos with millions of views and followers:
Dora moono Nyambe (@doramoononyambe) on TikTok | 128.6M Likes. 3.5M Fans.
Khaby lame (@khaby.lame) on TikTok | 2.3B Likes. 145.8M Fans.
Leave a Reply