Blog #7: Innovation through the Lens of Diffusion Theory

 

   

     Today, one of the most influential innovations is social media, specifically looking at TikTok. With our world becoming more technologically advanced, it is not surprising that this innovation has caught on and spread. The app TikTok was initially released in September 2016, under its former name Musical.ly. This app allows users to watch and create short clips using special effects and popular music. The Chinese-owned app has caused chaos within the United States government. The House has been working to implement a bill to ban TikTok in the United States. As this app has become greatly popular around the world, this has led to lots of backlash from viewers and content creators. 

    Looking at TikTok through the lens of Diffusion Theory, this app caught on very quickly and spread worldwide. Though the app was designed for pretty much everyone, the target audience is teens and young adults. When the app was previously Musical.ly, there were many early adopters. Within their first year, the app grew to have over 200 million users. However, many people were still considered to be in the late majority because they didn't join the app until it was TikTok. As of the beginning of 2024, TikTok is the fourth largest social media platform with over 1 billion active users. I believe that there was such a spike in TikTok users due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Many people of the older population tend to be laggards and avoid the trending innovations as long as possible. When the pandemic happened, those laggards gave in and joined the millions of early active users. 

    I think that the people who are still laggards or those who are not active on social media continue to avoid apps such as TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat because they don't want to be exposed to new, trending media. Though this could be people of any age group, this behavior is often seen in older generations. As seen with other innovations throughout history, if you aren't born or growing up during the innovators stage, then you are more likely to be stuck in the late majority or laggards stage. Many people make the choice to avoid social media altogether, which can come with both positive and negative effects. Those who avoid these apps will benefit by having higher focus and productivity, as well as avoiding any unwanted influences. However, there are some negative effects, such as being disconnected from current events, less social interaction, and you can potentially fall out of the loop. 

    Depending on which perspective you live through, that can determine whether the positive effects outweigh the negatives. Personally, I think that social media, specifically looking at TikTok, the positive effects outweigh the negatives, because this communication technology provides a creative outlet for content creators and information entertainment for viewers. No matter which diffusion theory category you fall in, anyone of any age group can benefit from TikTok.