For those of you who have been living under a rock like a Flintstone, TikTok is a social media platform for amateur videographers. Formerly known as Musical.ly, TikTok became infamous this school year for its wonderful addition to Cringe Culture. The app expanded from lip syncing videos to challenges that gained global media attention and participation from our very own GP peers.

Katherine Lee, Glacier Peak junior who participated in the “Juice, Sauce, Little Bit Of Dressing” trend, is one of the many that started from humble beginnings and reached stardom. “At first my friends peer pressured me to get TikTok and make videos. Shortly after one of my videos went viral with 240k views”. When asked about her feelings regarding her overnight success, Lee said, “I honestly don’t feel the fame from my one hit wonder. Still an amazing experience though, would not trade it for anything. Peer pressure is great I highly recommend it.”

TikTok’s main contributors are typically one of four social subsections: eGirls, Country boys, divorcees, and furries. In this way, TikTok is the social media equivalent of Florida: none of the groups that make up the population would get along if put in a room together, yet somehow they decide who the president is.

Senior Baily Shaefer is one of such self-proclaimed eGirls. “An eGirl stands for ‘internet girl’ who usually looks goth and has heavy eyeliner,” Shaefer says. “They tend to have LED lights that change colors and are very flirty in their videos.” Shaefer has recently become popular on TikTok, accumulating more than 2,000 fans. “My most famous TikTok was a video of me getting my hair dyed using a Jenna Marbles audio. When it blew up I was hanging with my friends and didn’t look at my phone, so when I picked it up and checked TikTok I started screaming because it was so weird.”

“TikTok is fun,” Shaefer tells The Edge. “You can put effort into your videos or they can be completely silly. It’s up to you. We asked for Vine to be reborn, but we got TikTok instead and I think it’s almost better.”

In a post-Vine world, the internet has found solace in a new platform for memes and cringe alike. Whether you appreciate it ironically or unironically, I think we can all agree on one thing: Ke$ha’s 2009 Tik Tok is still superior.