Sophomore Matheus Guia props his phone upon his windowsill, selects music and records himself. He proceeds to make hilarious and engaging videos, some of which have gained over a million views. Not only does Guia have over 59-thousand fans and 1.6 million hearts on his page- @matguia, but he also earns money through every video he posts. From getting paid by the app to having a huge following, Guia is most certainly TikTok Famous.
“TikTok is a social media app where you can upload short videos that are 15-60 seconds. All the videos are either funny, showing a talent, or sometimes even sad,” said Guia.
Like Guia, many people downloaded TikTok to share videos of themselves and watch the content of other creators. The app makes it easy to find people that appeal to you, and the TikTok community is one of the strongest media platforms.
“I first got TikTok in December of 2018. The reason I got it is quite silly: My girlfriend at the time had told me too, so I made an account to see her posts. I myself didn’t start posting on TikTok until February of 2019,” said Guia.
When viewing any social media posts, most people tend to like things that they can relate to, or have a preference for. Since all types of audiences enjoy humor, comedy videos are one of the most viewed on TikTok, and #funny is the third most used hashtag on the whole app.
“I usually post TikToks that are funny and those that people can relate to. I have over five videos they have received 1 million views. People liked these certain ones because they were either funny or relatable,” said Guia.
Guia and many other TikTok users spread amusing, positive, empathetic and relatable messages through their videos. And although most TikTok users are 13-18 years old, there are a lot of negative comments and haters always circling around posts.
“The TikTok community is very bi-polar. Depending on the post, there could be hate or it could be moved. On my page, my fans all like my content, so I’ve never gotten much hate. Obviously there are haters out there, but I’ve learned to just ignore the hate and keep making content for my followers,” said Guia.
Hate comments and threats certainly make any social media platform less pleasant and sometimes intimidating. Since this is the digital age, almost everybody is on social media, and it should be a completely positive environment where everyone can be themselves without receiving embarrassment for it. Like Guia, being a unique individual and spreading positivity is right can make the platform a better place for all users.
“My advice to anybody that is trying to gain followers on TikTok is never giving up. It doesn’t matter if you’re only getting minimal views and likes. Keep putting in hard work and effort in your videos and one day you will receive the recognition you deserve,” said Guia.
