Andrew Hayward has amassed more than 46,000 followers on Tik Tok. Photo / Paul Taylor
Andrew Hayward has amassed more than 46,000 followers on Tik Tok. Photo / Paul Taylor
Andrew Hayward is still shocked at the success he found on video sharing app Tik Tok.
In August this year, the 17-year-old uploaded a 30-second video of him and his friends doing a dance. What had initially been a joke and a bit of fun gathered 1.1 million views and100,000 likes.
Tik Tok is a social network app used for sharing short videos. Viral dance trends, lip syncing videos and comedy skits between 15 seconds and one-minute long are shared on the platform.
Users can select from a variety of music, sounds, camera filters and effects to create a video.
"My mates already had it [the app] and I thought it looked pretty cool, so we just gave it a go. I was shocked when I saw how popular the videos had gotten," Andrew said.
"I didn't do it all by myself, my friends have always been part of it too."
Andrew Hayward said he has his friends to thank for the videos success. Photo / Tik Tok
He hopes to entertain people with the videos and "give them some enjoyment".
Andrew usually uploads his own version of the dance trend videos which circulate the app.
"We do the trend ones but also add some of our own stuff in there."
Like any other social networking app, Tik Tok users can message each other, follow people, like, share and comment on their content. The difference is that the app is built largely around the 'For you' page where through an algorithm videos are recommended to users.
When asked why he thinks Tik Tok has become so popular among young people Andrew said, "I guess we're all just on our phones all the time. The videos are short and often catchy or funny."
According to a July 2019 report by Data Reportal, the app has more than 500 million monthly active users.
