TikTok: Summary of Content, Affordances, and Recommendations for Improvement
Module 2 Assignment – Implications of Mobile Applications
Download and analyze a mobile application that deals with the Internet of things (Siri, Alexa, Google Home, etc.) or social media and mobile youth cultures (Interland, Fortnite, Pokemon Go, TikTok, etc.). Write an 800-word critical paper to discuss A) a summary of app’s context and history, B) the affordances (the properties that create the user interface) of the application, and C) your recommendations for improving the app.
A) SUMMARY
Begin with a summary of the app (e.g., history, number of users, growth, areas in the world where it is particularly popular, notable criticisms).
B) AFFORDANCES
For the next part (the critical analysis of the affordances), here are some items you may want to consider:
What are the affordances of the app?
Who is the targeted user?
Describe the aesthetics of the app. How do these design choices link to the app’s primary user?
Describe the architecture of the application
Pay attention to features, buttons, and notification system?
What is the overall UI experience? What works well? What does not work well?
Is there an algorithm? If so, how does it work? It is search, discovery, etc.?
Make sure you link key readings from the course to your analysis.
C) RECOMMENDATIONS
Finally, develop and append to your paper a two-paragraph recommendation on how to improve the application or consider a new feature that can be added into the app. Why is this feature or new area needed? What does it do that the original app doesn’t? Why is this valuable (again, link to theory)?
Implications of Mobile Applications
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Implications of Mobile Applications
A. Summary
TikTok is one of the most popular social media applications that emphasizes sharing short videos. In particular, it allows individuals to create, share, and watch short videos. ByteDance, a Chinese technology firm, launched TikTok in 2016, which was by then called A.me. Three months later, A.me was renamed to Douyin. However, when the app started to expand globally, it was named TikTok. TikTok grew and expanded rapidly. Currently, it has over 1.5 billion users worldwide. TikTok has become popular globally. The app’s rapid growth has not been without notable criticisms. For instance, the United States government accused TikTok of massive data collection, implicating that the app promoted privacy concerns. Moreover, TikTok has been accused of failure to regulate the content that users share depending on their age.
B. Affordances
TikTok has a friendly user interface that makes it easy for people to use the app. The primary properties of the apps are found at the bottom, including home, discover, add, messaging, and profile buttons. TikTok was made to be used on a smartphone, but users can use it on their computers as well. Social media use has significantly facilitated interpersonal communication since individuals can chat, use video calls, and share videos (Wei, 2014). The most interesting property of TikTok’s user interface is the ability to swipe videos up and down. That way, it becomes easy for users to watch the videos that they like and skip those they are not interested in watching. TikTok targets young people aged