Post 8 - Diffusion of Innovations

 The Diffusion of Innovations Model

This model is a visualization of the diffusion of innovations theory, popularized by Everett Rogers. The model depicts the distribution of people who adopt an idea or innovation over said idea or innovation's lifespan.

Diffusion of Innovation Through TikTok

Since the application is quite relevant both in national news and to my age group, I will be examining diffusion of innovations through the lens of TikTok. As someone who could be considered an early adopter of TikTok(considering I downloaded and used the app in 2018), I feel qualified to accurately dissect the diffusion timeline for TikTok.

Innovators

In the case of TikTok, I would consider the innovators to be high school students. At its inception, TikTok's target audience was high schoolers. I think of it as a spiritual successor filling the same niche as Snapchat and Instagram. These innovators likely discovered the app through targeted advertising in early 2016.

Early Adopters

TikTok's early adopters are not dissimilar to the innovators in the sense that they are still people in their early to middle teenage years. These people, however, were likely exposed to the app through word of mouth from an innovator. I consider myself a part of this category, as I was persuaded by my friends to download the app during my freshman year of high school (late 2018).

Early Majority

With the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic came TikTok's early majority. As a majority of people had nothing better to do with their free time due to lockdown, more and more people spend it scrolling. It was during 2020 that I feel TikTok's audience expanded to more age groups.

Late Majority

Even as the pandemic wound down (I would say from late 2021 to mid 2022), TikTok remained prominent. The Late Majority of TikTok, at least in my eyes, downloaded the app for the same reason as the early majority, only reactionarily as opposed to proactively. I also consider, due to TikTok's continued popularity, that the app is still in this position on the timeline.

Laggards

Designating the laggards for TikTok is interesting, as I feel it is entirely predictive. Despite President Biden signing off on the ban, the app is still incredibly popular. Iwould say that the laggards will come when we enter the months nearing the ban's enactment.

The Impact of TikTok

As a piece of information technology, TikTok has revolutionized media consumption. Because of this app and the rise of the short-form video, a vast majority of the public's attention span has shortened dramatically. The people crave as much information as they can intake, only now in overstimulating 90-second doses. This single app has changed the way people consume news, media, and entertainment. I can only imagine what the future of media holds if we continue down the path of TikTok.