SHORT-FORM VIDEOS are not a new phenomenon in the market of social media. A decade ago, Vine was one of the trendiest social media services, with users sharing six-second-long videos. Not long after Vine shut down in 2016, other short-form video platforms grew in popularity. The industry’s rapid expansion has allowed for the breakthrough of a new social media titan: TikTok. Its success in terms of downloads and engagement has caught the attention of several other platforms, and noticeable imitations have begun to surface.  

A new model for social media

   In 2016, ByteDance released TikTok’s sister app for the Chinese market as a short-form video service with a focus on music[1]. Due to its rapid growth in China, ByteDance saw the potential for the international market and subsequently launched TikTok in 2017. This tactic proved to be rewarding as TikTok currently boasts billions of downloads and is one of the most used social media platforms in the world[2]—particularly among teenagers aged 13 to 17 years old[3]. Part of Gen Z’s attraction to TikTok may be how it caters to the demographic’s short attention span—supposedly only 8 seconds compared to millennial’s 12 seconds. Similar to how gamblers get addicted, TikTok users are prompted to keep scrolling in order to encounter another video and experience the release of dopamine[2].

   TikTok’s success has resulted in other social media companies trying to compete in the ever-evolving industry. In 2020, Meta launched a new feature called “Reels” on Instagram, which allowed users to upload 15-second-long videos[3]. Following its initial launch, Reels started introducing features that are comparable to TikTok. For example, Instagram users may create a video next to another creator’s video using Reels “Remixes,” which are near-identical to the established Duets feature on TikTok[4]. A year after Instagram’s Reels launch, Meta launched the Reels feature on Facebook[5]. YouTube also added its own version of TikTok videos with the global launch of YouTube “Shorts” in 2021[4].

Criticism from users

   The changes made by social media platforms have not been as successful as developers would have preferred. Many users have already expressed their frustration with the constant addition of TikTok-like features[6]. Several platforms carry algorithms that favor short-form videos, and this motivates creators to create and promote them on explore pages. Creators also resort to these specific types of content to boost their profiles[7]. Kylie Jenner—one of the most influential celebrities on Instagram with over 383 million followers[8]—shared a post asking to “Make Instagram Instagram Again,” referencing Instagram’s shift to prioritize Reels over traditional posts such as images[9]. Thereafter followed a crowd of high-profile celebrities and other Instagram users who agreed and shared the same post. Yet instead of listening to these demands, companies continue to test new features and remove them if they do not gain traction. In some cases, companies simply ignore them as Instagram did when users complained about the change from default chronological feeds to algorithm-based feeds[10].

Lack of diverse platforms

   This is not the first case of social media platforms imitating successful features from each other. When Snapchat became the new and trendy social media platform, Instagram and Facebook developed their own "Story” feature[3]. Companies see other profitable business models thriving and copy them with the hopes that they may achieve the same prosperity. This form of imitation is seen in other markets as well with low barriers of entry—when there are not many factors preventing firms from entering a particular market. Some famous examples include ridesharing companies like Uber and smart speakers like Amazon’s Alexa. If companies do not evolve to meet consumer demands, they risk falling behind their rivals and becoming obsolete. 

   The continued homogenization of social media products reduces the diversity of creative outlets available to consumers. If services like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok all offer similar products, consumers will tire of the monotony and eventually start to look for the next fresh new service to capture their attention. This phenomenon was seen with Myspace and Vine—platforms that dissolved once they were unable to compete with the novel social media platforms at the time. Alternatively, social media platforms could invest in actual innovation—as Snapchat did when they introduced an app to share photos and videos that would disappear—as opposed to simply tracking what other companies are doing and copying their ideas.

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   One after the other, social media platforms are adding short-form video features in a blatant attempt to imitate TikTok’s growth. Users have noticed the degradation of the quality and creativity of product development following companies’ decisions to prioritize profit. Contrarily, companies should focus on the enhancement of the features that consumers already use.

[1] BBC News

[2] Forbes

[3] Variety

[4] The Verge

[5] Meta

[6] Digital Information World

[7] Social Media Today

[8] Instagram

[9] The New York Times

[10] Deadline