During a time where people get by from over-purchasing toilet paper, many people would wonder why we are here talking about Tik Tok, something so obsolete to the giant that is COVID-19, or more commonly known as the coronavirus. 

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Tik Tok, as many people may know, is a dance and music platform, similar to sites like YouTube and Instagram. It started off in 2016, where it did not gain very much traction-gaining any userbase. But over time, Tik Tok had ended up gaining about 20 million users worldwide.  

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To no one’s surprise, Tik Tok ended up becoming one of the better-known social medias, running with about 75 million users as of December 2017. This came from an older site called Musical.ly, which had agreed to merge both userbases into one. 

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It was a most definite hit, as 2018 marked Tik Tok becoming more popular than social media sites like Instagram and Snapchat!  

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https://sensortower.com/blog/top-non-game-apps-worldwide-may-2019-downloads

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So, what does any of this have to do with the coronavirus? 

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As it turns out, many people on Tik Tok have started making Tik Toks to inform people about the coronavirus. These informational Tik Toks provide basic information that the CDC provide people on the coronavirus, such as washing your hands for 20 seconds and social distancing, a practice that prevents the spread of viruses. 

 

One example of these Tik Toks comes from a Vietnamese public service announcement that has made these tips very popular as shown below: 

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 Let’s break down the main things mentioned in the Tik Tok above. 

1. Handwashing – Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds, and if soap and water are not available, use some sort of hand sanitizer. 

2. Don’t touch your eyes, nose, nor your mouth – This will make it easier for the virus to enter your body if you haven’t washed your hand. 

3. Don’t go to crowded places unless you need to – Social distancing is to reduce the spread of the coronavirus by preventing spikes in cases. This will help relieve some stress on having enough hospitals and ventilators for people in need of them. 

4. Improve your personal health – If you live in an unhealthy manner now, try to start working towards a healthier lifestyle. Whether that means eating better or exercising 

5. Clean personal belongings and space 

6. Improve social awareness 

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One thing mentioned in the video is that we should be “spreading joy, not germs.” It seems that they have done just that with their Tik Toks. Vietnam only has 237 confirmed cases as of April 3rd, 2020, while America, who’s made very minimal efforts to prevent the spread of the virus, has 259,750 confirmed cases, the highest confirmed in the world.   

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Instead of looking at the downs while you are in quarantine, maybe you can take on the coronavirus dance challenge and show us what sort of creative ideas you can come up with below.