It’s an entertainment platform.

All those hours you spend watching television? The younger generations spend that time on TikTok. Only in many cases, TikTok is better than television, because it’s more real, more human, you can relate to it better. Which is maybe why the cast of and comments about “Love on the Spectrum” are all over the service.

Don’t look at TikTok through the lens of Facebook. Facebook is a sharing platform, an informational platform, that’s where you go to tell your story and to find out about others.

And don’t look at TikTok through the lens of the original static image Instagram, which was a bragging platform, a place where you created FOMO.

No, TikTok is something completely different. And if you castigate TikTok you’re missing out.

Then again, most people I know bitching about TikTok have never been on the service.

And then there are those who do sign up and are flummoxed. Because the platform doesn’t immediately serve up what they’re interested in, and only what they’re interested in. TikTok is a cornucopia of stuff, and the amazing thing is that after a modicum of usage it serves up clips about topics that you didn’t even know you had interest in, but you do.

So there’s the element of surprise, of the new. It’s human nature to want to experience the different, the fringe, it’s titillating and stimulating. This is unlike your regular life, which is endless repetition, the same people and the same stories.

On streaming TV… Most of it is dreck. There are some great shows, but most of it is not shooting for greatness, or it misses the target. So you dedicate all this time and are pissed off that you did.

Or you can’t find a good show.

There’s endless fare on TikTok. And if you don’t like something, you can instantly scroll to something new. You are in control, that’s the essence of modern life, but nowhere is it as bite-sized as it is on TikTok. Yes, you can choose your streaming TV show, but you can’t change the plot in the middle. And if you really like something and want more…you can’t have it, the show has a limited number of episodes. But the topic you’re interested in on TikTok, there’s an endless slew of clips on the service.

So if you’re a user, TikTok is addictive because it’s so damn good.

And unlike the Marvel movies and the rest of the theatrical crap, its all based in humanity, made by humans, with plot, emotion, the entire kit and kaboodle. Where else can you get right down to the real nitty-gritty?

And actors… They’re playing a role, whereas on TikTok, the people ARE the role. Or they’re experts in a field with more knowledge than reporters. Reporters gather the story, TikTok creators ARE the story!

As for creators…

There is no middleman and there is no filter. If you want to make it in traditional show business, good luck. Unless you know someone, the odds of your project getting greenlit are infinitesimal. And traditional Hollywood outlets abhor risk. They put money first, they don’t want to take a chance, whereas TikTok is all about chances.

So you have this blank canvas.

Even better, the means of production are in your hand, and they’re absolutely FREE! Everybody has a smartphone, you create and edit the clips right on it! Sure, you can spend more time shooting and editing on your computer, but oftentimes it’s the rawness of TikTok clips that infects people.

So, if you see TikTok as a promotional tool, you’re missing the point, you’re not going to be successful.

No, you have to see TikTok as a CREATIVE tool.

If you just want to post tour dates and other information… There are much better sites to do this on. And this is not what the audience is looking for, the audience wants to be entertained!

So you’ve got to be creative. You’ve got to see your clips on the level of your music.

Then again, the essence of TikTok is missing from so much modern music, which is why TikTok stars in many cases are more popular and even richer. TikTok clips are not made by committee. And if something doesn’t work, the cost of production is only your time, there’s no opportunity cost, so you can try something different the very next day, the very next HOUR! It’s a creator’s dream!

As for creators using music in their clips… It’s not about the music, it’s about what the creators do with it! It’s like a movie with a soundtrack. The music is just the soundtrack to their clip.

So if you want to play the game you must dedicate time, be creative yourself. Do something that draws attention, you cannot rest on your laurels. No one is interested in what you’re famous for, they don’t want to know what you did yesterday, but what you did TODAY! If you don’t have a constant flow of material on TikTok, don’t even start. The audience expects it. They want to know you, they want to get closer to you. It’s a personal medium, if you’re not willing to reveal your warts, don’t start. Traditional entertainers always saw themselves as being above the riff-raff. Now if you don’t get down in the pit as an equal member of the audience, people make fun of you, they have contempt for you, they REJECT YOU! Humanity, honest, credibility, these are all the elements of a successful TikTok clip. These are not elements in most music, which is why music does not drive the culture. Not that there aren’t outliers, like Noah Kahan. Who does not have the best voice, but he’s singing about his inner life, his troubles, and that’s what people relate to!

As for all the anti-TikTok screeds in the adult press…

Well, first and foremost, the issue of China and data collection is now moot.

As for being anti-smartphone… I’ll make it very simple, I’m going to remove your television from your house. Or your computer. Most people would be twiddling their thumbs, not knowing what to do with their time. TikTok serves an identical purpose for its audience. To tell people to put down the phone, to not even have a phone, is a nonstarter.

Of course there is bullying on the phone, all kinds of negative b.s. that the media focuses on. But there’s so much good. The raw connection with so many people.

But I don’t want to stray from my main point. If you’re anti-TikTok, you’re like the parents who hated the Beatles. You’re dating yourself. You’re not better than the youngsters, you’re out of the loop, irrelevant.

Because TikTok is where it is happening.

I could tell you more, but you’ve just got to get ON!

If I get one more anti-TikTok e-mail, if I read one more anti-TikTok screed in the news…

Let me put it a different way. Video games come without instructions, there is no manual, players just figure the game out. That’s the culture today, has been for quite a while. It’s all instinctive…how to explore, find dead ends and then your ultimate direction. You’ve got to burn time to get to the destination. But when you get there, it’s so fulfilling!

At this point nothing can compete with TikTok, not movies, television or music. Because in almost all cases they’re missing the basic human/creative element, they’ve gone through a sieve, they’re not direct from the creator to the user.

TikTok is a breakthrough, it’s been going on for years, and the mainstream has completely missed it. When kids spend hours on TikTok it’s because it’s so damn GOOD! Think about that. It’s entertainment. Vivid, stimulating. Are you wasting time watching TV, even reading a book? In most cases, books are a backwater. A club of genre fiction or highfalutin’ literature that often falls on its face. But TikTok, EVERYBODY is on. That’s everybody under 35. You’re competing with the entire world, which forces you to be ever better.

And it’s not like traditional platforms, in that the spoils do not automatically go to the established players. On TikTok a nobody, making their first clip, can be pushed in front of people by the system. You can go viral just that easily.

I could go on, but it’s kind of like politics, either you’re on TikTok or you’re not, and those who are not cannot be convinced to partake.

But they should.