by Shelt Garner
@sheltgarner
I’m an old and I use Tik-Tok all the time. One of the mysteries of the service is why some people become superstars. One of the really surreal Tik-Tok stars is Bella Poarch.
She’s an attractive, apparently personable person who can sing.
But exactly why she, of all people, is so popular on the service is something of a mystery to me. She doesn’t really do anything. She has a very expressive face? She’s a hot brunette? She taps into the browning of America?
If you wanted to get all conspiratorial about it, you could say that Tik-Tok is now in the business of making Gen Z stars out of whole cloth through the manipulation of its famous “algorithms.” I only suggest this because a number of other Tik-Tok insta-stars have mysteriously faded of late.
That’s definitely a scenario ripe for being turned into a novel or movie — the personal consequences when a Gen Z’s stardom mysteriously fades when their video app moves on and they don’t. I guess that sounds more like a Black Mirror episode.
You must be logged in to post a comment.