Mother Jones; TikTok
TikTok thrives at the cross-section of human ingenuity and shamelessness.
Built upon musical.ly, TikTok lets users edit videos with the precision of iMovie and post with the perceived stakes of Instagram. It has spawned vlogs, memes, Drake songs, and a teen community living in an LA mansion. Its extensive search and explore features—like letting users search by the sound used in a video—mean endless scrollable content.
A multi-week quarantine has created the perfect sleepover like conditions for the app’s best content. From one-off jokes to trends made popular by the youths, here are few worth a laugh:
Dr. Fauci has become TikTok’s newest pandemic crush:
@ericajohnson675protect this king at all costs ##fyp ##foryoupage ##coronavirus ##drfauci♬ My Type – Saweetie
Users are using a sound from the recent season of RuPaul’s Drag Race to show off their indoor couture. (Click on the sound to see hundreds of more outfits from other users.)
@benblue01Ok but which look is REALLY the best??? 🤭💅🏼💅🏼 ##sidehustle ##rupaul ##australia♬ CATEGORY IS… Social Distancing – jordandoww
Highlighting zillennial humor at its best, user @fillinthe_____s expresses the irrelevance of the stock market to an everyday young person in a compact 15 seconds.
@fillinthe_____ssomeone tag her pls 🥺😳🥰 ##coronavirus ##fridaythe13th ##xyzbca ##nc ##stonks ##fyp ##northcarolina♬ original sound – sam_denaer
Lizzo, the content queen she is, encouraged people to make some pretty badass remixes of her songs and showcased a few of the more banging ones. Her TikTok presence is enough to keep your mind off the rest of the world (for a bit).
@lizzoTHIS IS THE BEST THING EVER BITCH @j.broadway♬ original sound – j.broadway
User @zliang has been documenting his father’s gardening escapades—which are probably one of the most wholesome things you’ll see during quarantine. (Watch him sling a hose like a lasso or strike a pose with a watering can.)
@zliang111post-gardening activities ##doihaveyourattention ##martialarts ##wushu ##dad ##training ##coronatime ##fightingcovid19 ##quarantine ##homefitness♬ Attention by Todrick Hall – xoprinceali
Wondering how we’ll look back on all this? TikTok has some ideas:
@emmyallredquarantine flashbacks💥##quarantine ##coronavirus ##happyeaster ##fyp♬ quarantine flashback – emmyallred
Nothing may be more relatable than the need to just let it all out. People have been sharing in their pent up aggression with a summer camp-like chant:
@evanshicksEveryone needs to release their steam… ##fyp ##foryou ##xyzcba ##quarantine ##coronavirus♬ original sound – evanshicks
Tabitha Brown has become TikTok’s vegan mom. Brown interjects vocal affirmation and encouragement into her delicious vegan recipes making her profile a beacon of hope in these trying times.
@iamtabithabrownNeed a hug= Lemon pepper potato wedges and Blanch dip!! ##tabithabrown ##vegan ##foodie♬ original sound – iamtabithabrown
Users have long used lip-syncing as a way to poke at Trump. But with Trump’s briefings only becoming more manic, his audio has become a way to fantasize about life pre-COVID-19.
@kyscotttur doing great sweetie ##antibiotics ##covid19 ##covid ##quarantine ##intheclub ##drunkwords ##trump♬ original sound – iampeterchao
Kids across the country are coming home from school which means mom gets to make fun of her kids again:
@lauriewest7Funny♬ original sound – lauriewest7
All the extra time indoors has some rummaging through old clothes and throwing it back to the style of simpler times.
@woahitslexii_let’s replace covid-19 with 𝓼𝔀𝓪𝓰 ##freezeframe ##fyp ##boredathome ##quarantine ##coronavirus ##swag ##dontrushchallenge♬ Like a G6 Remix (Club Edit) – Far East Movement (feat. Dev & Cataracs)
Family dinner is getting more creative the farther into isolation we get:
@destinybaker16Tonight’s dinner theme: Dad ##quarantine ##fyp##dadbod♬ Boss Bitch – Doja Cat
This is just a whole-ass mood:
@pizzaslimeQUARANTINE DAY 12 ##quarantine ##helpme ##boredinthehouse ##reallifeathome ##lifeathome♬ BORED IN THE HOUSE – Curtis Roach
