On November 22nd, Charli D’Amelio was the first person to hit one hundred million followers on Tik Tok. This is a huge milestone, especially since many huge celebrities are not even close to having that many followers on Instagram, let alone Tik Tok.
This achievement certainly did not come without some hiccups though; after reaching about 99.5 million followers, Charli lost more than one million followers in a single day after a “canceling” scandal involving a YouTube video that subjectively painted the D’Amelio sisters as spoiled. Additionally, many users on the app suspect that she is buying her followers, although there is no concrete evidence that this is true. Regardless of these obstacles, a sixteen-year old girl obtaining 100 million followers in less than two years is an impressive feat, as well as a situation that seems to be unique to the Tik Tok platform.
Like Charli, many other users go viral on Tik Tok and gain followers rapidly. People go viral on other platforms too, such as YouTube and Instagram, but Tik Tok seems to be distinctive in the way its algorithm suggests videos by normal people doing normal things and creates famous users in a matter of hours. There is also a factor of relatability that appeals to a lot of users. Compared to YouTube, Tik Tok users seem to find more success and views in making relatable, everyday content. This rapid fame can lead to countless opportunities — brand deals, sponsorships, collaborations with other creators, and more. As long as there are creators who continue to make this content and an audience for the type of content, Tik Tok will continue to grow and there will be more young social media stars like Charli.
On the negative side, being put on a public platform at a young age makes most Tik Tok creators subject to criticism and the dangers of cancel culture. The D’Amelio family was recently under fire for a YouTube video that involved the D’Amelio family eating dinner prepared by a guest chef, who is a family friend of theirs. In the comments, many people called Dixie rude and dramatic for gagging while eating a snail. Charli, on the other hand, was deemed unappreciative after a comment she made about how it would be cool to hit 100 million exactly a year after hitting one million. While the D’Amelio sisters’ Tik Tok accounts were flooded with angry fans, there were also many people who believed the situation was blown out of proportion, and certainly not something to cancel them over. After some explanations about how it was purely a joke, Charli hit 100 million followers the next day.
Mistakes can be explosive on any public platform, but on Tik Tok, where most of the popular creators are in their late teens or early twenties, cancel culture can be especially damaging. After the situation, Charli explained that she did not know if she wanted to continue being a social media star, and she received death threats for seeming ungrateful. Cancel culture, which is not unique to Charli, inevitably presents pressure on those with a large following to be perfect, as the media will draw attention to all mistakes.
While we cannot predict the future, Tik Tok will probably continue to make lots of new, young social media stars like Charli. They will have to jump into the world of fame, sponsorships and scandals alike, as illustrated by Charli’s bumpy road to 100 million followers.
Sources:
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2020/09/tiktok-teens-fandom-mooptopia/616371/