TikTok has risen on charts as one of the most popular social media platforms to this day. This is due to the fact that a wide range of generations are expressing their ideas, creativity, and brands on the app. TikTok has “1 billion monthly active users,” perfect for any marketing stunt (kubbco.com). It has transformed random people into stars, which brings another sense of craze of people wanting to make it big on the internet. Overall, TikTok has left a huge impact on today’s society, but this would not exist without the major social media platforms that came before it.

Six Degrees – 1997
One of the veterans of social media and founded by Andrew Weinreich, Six Degrees “gave birth to the concept of blogging” (broadbandsearch.net). Just like many platforms, this app lets you personalize your profile and chat with other users. It introduced “friending” other users and became very popular in 1998, hitting 3.5 million users.

My Space – 2002
MySpace, created by Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe, was the first social media platform to completely change the game. “By 2005 it had around 20 million users” (broadbandsearch.net). This was due to the incredibly easy way to share videos, photos, and files. It was also booming in the prime time when the internet was very popular and widespread.

Facebook – 2004
Created by Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook was first only available to Harvard attendees and then toother Ivy Leagues, it was soon available to the rest of the population in 2006. Facebook has “one of the largest IPOs of all time” and to this day still one of the most profitable social media platforms (broadbandsearch.net). Rupal Tyagi (11), a student at YLHS, says, “my mom still uses Facebook every day.” Similar to other platforms, you are able to “friend,” post, share, and converse with other users, which is why it has so much impact on social media history.

Twitter – 2006
Said to be one of Facebook’s biggest rivals, Twitter reached the same level of popularity. Created by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan William, these platforms allow users to post their ideas and interests in word form. This platform was very popular among the celebrities as regular users loved to see what they were up to.

Musical.ly – 2014
This social media platform was extra popular among younger generations. Created by Alex Zhu, the app was a space for lip-syncing and dancing. People would upload short videos of them dancing or lip-syncing to popular songs which sometimes would make it viral. “I downloaded Musical.ly because I loved to dance and sing as a kid,” states YLHS student Sadie Smith (11). Musical.ly introduced tons of new music, and, thanks to this app, many artists made it big. It was the stepping stone to the viral sensation of TikTok.