What did my parents do during the Covid-19 lockdowns? They watched TikTok videos and shared them with half of their contact list on Viber. The endless loop of videos of people dancing and lip-syncing to Hindi movie songs and dialogues kept them entertained, engaged, and out of each other’s hair. The popularity of the free-for-all app for making and sharing short videos that was launched in 2016 has snowballed—and how.
It became the most popular global app in 2019 and 2020 with 693m and 850m downloads respectively. As of 2021, TikTok had 1.1bn users worldwide. In Nepal, too, TikTok is a household name with people of all ages either watching or making content. Quite a few Nepali TikTok makers have a steadily increasing fan base and celebrity-like status.
Shubham Shukla, founder of AS Dance Academy in Bhairahawa who has 4.2m followers on TikTok, says there was a time when he too didn’t understand the craze. His friend convinced him to make funny videos during the Covid-19 lockdown in April 2020. He did, posted the content on TikTok, and got an overwhelming response. “I got messages telling me to keep making these fun and light videos as they cheered people up during the lockdown. Some said it even helped them cope with the grim situation. It was very encouraging,” says Shubham who had 100 followers then. He gave himself a target of 10,000 followers within a month. At the end of the month, he had 100,000.
“I was motivated by the following I was getting and I made all kinds of videos—dance numbers, comedy skits, and other personal acts,” he says. He started by posting at least two videos a day (he still does) but during the lockdown, with so much time on his hands, he would post 10 to 15 videos in a day. With things returning to normal, it’s becoming difficult for Shubham to make regular content as he has other businesses to manage. Besides the dance studio, he also runs an advertising agency. But TikTok is his claim to fame and he’s not giving up easily. His strategy now is to film 14 videos on Saturdays and then ration them throughout the week.
But all’s not hunky-dory for TikTokers as they receive a fair amount of hate too. Asmi Bhandari, 19, from Parbat district, who got 50,000 views in 24 hours when she posted her first video on TikTok and currently has 2.5m followers, recalls the time India first banned the video sharing app in June 2020 and her relatives and friends rejoiced. They said it was over for her, that all she could do now was reminisce her short-lived glory. “It was heartbreaking to see people be so mean. They would write ‘RIP’ below my posts and photos,” she says. For a while, she was even afraid of stepping out of her home. The hate was palpable.
Manjil Basnet from Udayapur says it’s normal for people to judge and diss you on social media. Everyone will have an opinion, especially if you are doing well. The 24-year-old with 236,000 followers on TikTok says he saw his friend being bullied and trolled on Musical.ly and fear of negative comments made him put off posting content himself. But, over time, he has realized that people will judge you, no matter what. “What’s important is not to let it affect you. Brush it off as just another experience,” he says.
Dmon Chhetri, 27, from Pokhara, with over 300,000 followers on TikTok, says Nepal has a lot of talent and TikTok has made it possible for them to showcase it with ease. Public acceptance and approval aren’t easy to get and those who want to make a name for themselves have to work hard, he says. “People are quick to pull you down. You have to ignore the negativity. There’s no way you’ll survive otherwise,” says Dmon. Also, if you don’t like something, don’t watch it. Selective content consumption is your right and you can train the AI on TikTok to only show you the kind of videos you like, adds Manjil. But to blame social media for the “ills it is perpetuating” by “making celebrities of millennials” is simply inane.
With communities on fitness, fashion, literature (think BookTok where creators review and discuss books they have read), TikTok is also becoming a dominant source of news and networking. During the pandemic, US President Joe Biden’s administration recruited TikTok influencers to encourage people to get vaccinated. The same strategy was replicated in the White House’s attempt to help Ukraine fight the Russian invasion: 30 influential TikTok stars were asked to help the government ‘oppose misinformation’, thus preventing the possibility of a deadlier war. In December 2020, then Prime Minister of Nepal KP Sharma Oli created an official TikTok account and posted a video talking about government work.
But content creators agree that TikTok has gotten a bad rap because of the kind of trends it seems to promote. There’s also a repetitiveness that can be frustrating. Monasteries in Lumbini and many other places now have signs prohibiting people from making TikTok content there. Manjil, who was once consumed by TikTok and used to stay up till three in the morning making videos, says TikTokers must work on making their own content too. Else, the charm will soon be lost. “You can only do the same thing for so long and expect people to still love you,” he says.
But TikTok definitely gives a leg up to good content. Manjil, whose music video ‘Chunumunu’ has over two million views on YouTube, credits TikTok for promoting the song. Many people have discovered new artists and music because they were on TikTok. The same is true for books and authors and various other businesses. “I love music but I only listened to the likes of Nabin K Bhattarai and Sugam Pokharel. Snippets of songs on TikTok made me discover more Nepali music and there’s a lot of good stuff out there,” he says.
Yet there is also no denying that TikTok thrives on trends and whether it will survive as the current audience outgrows the content depends on how it is used in the future. But, for now, it’s proving to be a boon for many. For Shubham, it just might be his ticket to Bollywood. Manjil makes TikTok for his own pleasure and it fuels his creative side. Dmon considers it a job of sorts with offers of paid promotions and opportunities for music videos coming his way.
As for Asmi, being able to help some people in her village with their medical bills with her own money at a young age feels like the biggest blessing. And for many others like my parents, it’s bite-sized entertainment when they have a lot to do as well as something they can binge watch when they have absolutely nothing going on.
