On Jan. 18 popular app TikTok was set to be disabled from all smartphones in the United States by the Supreme Court. However, newly elected President Donald Trump signed for an executive order prolonging TikTok’s future for 75 more days.
As many users of the app panicked, they looked for more spots to view quick, scrollable content. Many of these new and old options became more popular as a replacement.
For each of the platforms mentioned, I will have experienced the app from a fresh account that hasn’t been affected by any previous algorithms to users based on likes and previously watched topics.
Instagram Reels
Instagram, owned by social media giant Meta, has been in the game much longer than TikTok has. First being released in Oct. 2010, Instagram started as just a photo and video sharing website before adding the Reels function in Aug. 2020.
Instagram released this feature the same time TikTok started gaining popularity, sharing many of the same features such as a like button, users can comment on videos and share with their friends.
Although the user interface is similar, between the two apps, Reels is known for a different type of content.
As soon as I opened reels on a new account the first video it gave to me had a warning attached. The video itself was relatively tame compared to some of the others I saw.
The account “acidentesemparques” is a Spanish account that posts exclusively videos of accidents happening. The one I opened the app to was of a lady getting her leg caught in one of the ropes of a hot air balloon and being dragged as the balloon took off.
The next reel wasn’t much better; the name of the account wasn’t a good first sign.
“Crashes.being.recorded” provided our next video showing a car taking a turn out of a tunnel and driving off a cliff.
As soon as I began scrolling, I was met with two very disturbing videos that would not be seen on any other platform besides for Reels
The next few were unremarkable: a girl dancing and a clip from a movie with Spanish music over it.
The final and most disturbing video I’ve seen on the internet was of a group of boys shooting off a firework in a glass bottle posted by the account “postingfireworkss”.
The video shows fireworks being shot into the air that didn’t go into the air, remaining in the bottle and blowing off the shooter’s hand. This video cannot be described as anything other than twisted and highly disturbing, showing the arm of the man who was blown up without any fingers.
After watching this terrible video, I then closed the app and went to get some fresh air.
YouTube Shorts
YouTube, released in 2005, is coming close to 20 years of operation this Feb. Made more for longer content, YouTube at its core provides more options for content than other options.
During 2020, YouTube joined the trend of short, easily digestible content with YouTube Shorts, released on Sept. 21. Overall, Shorts has gained over 5 trillion views since release, keeping similar viewer numbers with both TikTok and Reels.
The first Short I watched was much better than any of the limited offerings that I took from Reels: a in comparison non-gruesome video of two football teams lining up for a coin flip before one of the players performs the dance move the dab posted on the account “Clemson5270”.
The next video wasn’t anything interesting, three people sliding onto the camera before the fourth over slides, leading to great laughter from his friends from the user “double_date”.
The final video I watched on Shorts was from user “ZachKing” which showcases his editing skills during a match of sand volleyball where Zach hits the sun with his serve, causing it to fall out of the sky becoming night before shooting in back into the sky with the volleyball net.
While not as violent as Reels, Shorts still provided entertainment while still being short bite sized videos.
RedNote
The effects of the TikTok ban came before the app was even shut down with hysteria coming quickly.
Users of the app, which was banned after a trial which led members of the Supreme Court to claim that the app was a form of Chinese spyware, and users began looking for a new app to continue posting and scrolling.
Enter RedNote, or its name in Chinese, Xiaohongshu mixes elements of multiple social media platforms together including TikTok, Instagram and Pintrest.
RedNote differs from all other social media mentioned already. Without the ability to swipe from one video to the next, the user of the app can pick and choose what they want to see. The option of having a choice in what you see on the app allows it to become less addictive without the constant dopamine release coming with just the swipe of your finger.
The first video I watched on the app is a cute video of a Chinese man and his dog cuddled up close to the camera posted by user “Jesko”.
The next I choose was a video of an assumed American TikTok Refuge “Kezzy Rose” announcing that TikTok is back online, guessing that the company sold to Facebook.
Next up a few underwhelming videos in a row: two guys dancing, a clip from TV show ‘South Park’, a Chinese video of a firearm being shot into the ground and an edit of characters from the show ‘Squid Game’.
With most of these videos coming from American accounts, it has become easy to see that RedNote has gained great popularity from the TikTok ban and has continued to grow during TikTok’s impending doom.
While no other option will be the exact same as TikTok, users of the app shouldn’t be worried because many American and other Chinese apps do the same thing without the worry of being banned.