Above is an image representation of Evertt Rogers's theory of Diffusion of innovation, which explains how the public perceives and accepts ideas, products, or technologies and how they catch on. The bell graph represents a series of stages describing at each point how and why ideas or products are spread and become mainstream in society.
To further explain this theory, I will be using the video app Tik Tok.
Innovators: Before Tik Tok became the popular app it is today, it went through many phases, beginning as two separate apps. The first version of Tik Tok was known as "Musical.ly," launched in Shanghai in 2014. A similar app to Musical.ly, Douyin was owned by ByteDance, and they decided in 2018 they wanted to expand globally, so they bought Musical.ly, joining together to create Tik Tok, which was then released to the public globally.
Early Adopters: Consequently, the first users of Tik Tok were people who already had Musical.ly accounts and therefore really only had Tik Tok accounts by default, after the merger between Musical.ly and Douyin occurred. But this worked to Tik Tok's benefit as immediately they already had app users, which help it start off in a good place.
Early Majority: Thanks to the COVID- 19 Pandemic that began this past spring, Tik Tok really gained its momentum and success during the months of quarantine. As people were stuck at home away from school, jobs, friends, and family; without anything. People craved something to laugh at and to provide comedic relief, filling that need was Tik Tok. Teenagers were the primary users and target audience utilizing the app as a way to express themselves and interact with friends from the safety of their own homes. Tik Tok has set records as the fastest growing social media platform in the world, "its videos garner 17 billion monthly average views with users spending an average of 46 minutes per day in the app." said an article by Forbes.
Late Majority: As Gen- Z dominated the platform, millennials and older adults didn't feel there was much room for them on the platform, although towards the end of quarantine is when it started picking up popularity with other older generations as they too saw a need for comedic relief during these stressful times.
Laggards: Since quarantine ended, there haven't been quite as many downloads. However, existing app users remain consistent and keep using it with all the endless video content it has available. There are still people who have yet to join, but it continues to be relevant as people keep using the app.
After looking at Tik Tok through the lens of the Diffusion of Innovations theory, I realized just how impactful the COVID- 19 pandemic was in making it successful. Had it not occurred, I'm not sure it would have skyrocketed in popularity.
Sources:
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-53640724
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