TikTok

In the age of rapid technology developments, we can all pretty much tell how the typical new app journey goes. Someone creates the app, they launch it, the app struggles because people think it’s “cringey”, something major happens then everyone downloads the app like they never trashed it.

You might find the above story strikingly similar because this is actually what’s going with TikTok right now. Overnight, this app somehow became the go-to app for quarantine boredom!

Do you remember how it started, though? Because we sure do.

Though it began as a video-sharing app in China, TikTok wasn’t always this comically endearing yet strange app we all know and (sort of) love today.

See, it didn’t even start as TikTok. The app began as the notorious Musical.ly, a platform where people did whatever while lip-syncing to any song their heart desired. After a while, that odd app transformed into TikTok and the rest was one weird history.

While the app was at once praised and neglected for being a teenage haven in America and Europe, TikTok in Egypt took on a separate life of its own.

The earliest Egyptian TikToks were honestly un-describable. A collection of videos that we tried and failed to forget and yet were never able to escape with the emergence of the first Egyptian TikTok personalities that were Adidas and Sherry Hanem.

As you can see this all changed and TikTok is now a mainstream app in Egypt, all thanks to the Coronavirus. Yes, you read that right.

See, as the virus spread and became a pandemic, country officials and everyone with a Twitter account started pleading for people to self-quarantine to stop the Coronavirus spread.

Self-quarantining, as you now know, is nothing short of total boredom and so, Egyptians had only one way out — the only perpetually interesting app everyone loves to hate, TikTok.

Since no one cares about (or more honestly, no one has) a social life to fear public embarrassment anymore, more and more people started downloading the app and attempting to follow with all the challenges and dances they can get their hands on.

And no, it’s not only teenagers who caught the TikTok bug. People and families (yes, entire families) of all ages are on the app now trying the Renegade dance!

not the Renegade, but honestly, still cool

So, it’s safe to say that once we’re all out of this quarantine, TikTok will be one of the only victors left standing.

Yes, self-isolation is that boring.