A quick glance across Yeshi’s Tik Tok profile and you can see the millions of views he’s amassed over the past year. Most users only average a couple hundred per video. In between school and basketball, Yeshi Tsering, a sophomore at Rowland Hall, finds himself  crafting ten-second clips that gain the attention of teens and fellow Tik Tok creators across the globe. Periodically, he might post a short Tik Tok video to the platform, offering punchy, sarcastic commentary on relatable issues high schoolers encounter daily. Meanwhile Tik Tok also keeps users informed about issues around the world. By limiting videos to 60 seconds or less, it makes information comprehensive and concise. Besides Yeshi’s well-known presence online, he is an avid basketball player. His passion for the sport inspires him to create more online content that’s targeted towards people like him who enjoy the game. I interviewed Yeshi to learn more about him, his passions, and his rise to Tik Tok fame. 

When and what made you interested in Tik Tok? 

The first time I downloaded Tik Tok was in 2019. I thought it was weird at first because it was just kids dancing around for like 10 seconds. But as I saw its popularity rise, I started to find it funny and interesting in that it was a way for me to express myself and my creativity. At the time I would make content that wasn’t really popular, but I kept at it, and eventually my page grew. 

Has your interest in basketball translated into the way you make Tik Toks? 

Yes! I try to incorporate basketball as much as possible into my Tik Toks. A lot of the time, I post Tik Toks of me playing basketball because it is what I love to do. I’ve been playing since I was young, so I like to share that passion with a wider audience. I know a lot of people play basketball and that there are a lot of Tik Toks about basketball too, but I enjoy being one of those creators. 

What made you blow up on Tik Tok? 

There wasn’t a certain reason for me  “blowing up.”  I just continued to make content, but in December of 2021, it kind of took off and I had a total of around 8 million views that month. It was an especially good time to blow up considering the fact that I had some time on my hands because of COVID. It gave me a lot of time to spend making videos in addition to playing basketball and attending online classes.

Each video is only a couple of seconds long, so how do you captivate your audience/how do you communicate effectively in such a short span of time?

Because the videos are so short, I have to use a method that will intrigue the viewer within the first few seconds. These are things like bright colors or a good song choice. Choosing a popular song to play in the background helps. Then if they continue to watch the video after a couple seconds, [my video] is boosted by the algorithm and it has a higher chance of going viral. It’s really just an algorithm, and you have to play into it to go viral. 

[For those unfamiliar with this platform’s algorithm, Tik Tok uses a series of factors like the duration of the clip and how many people interact (likes and comments) with the video to determine if it will be pushed to more people’s pages. The platform then feeds users more clips like the ones they interact with. For example, Tik Tokers who like videos with a particular political leaning are more likely to see videos promoting that political preference on their “for you” or recommended page.]

For people aspiring to grow on Tik Tok, what do you recommend they do? 

I think anyone trying to grow on Tik Tok should have a mix between being themselves and posting what they like to do, as well as following the new trends.

How do you balance your athletics, school, and life on social media? 

I balance these three things by always putting school and athletics first. Tik Tok is just something I do for fun when I have time, and because the videos are so short it does not take a lot of time to produce videos. Right now, it hasn’t been too much of a priority for me.

In what ways do you consider Tik Tok part of a high school experience? 

I think Tik Tok is a part of the high school experience because of the connection it brings. Anywhere you go around the school, you’ll hear people talking about their favorite Tik Toker, the video they saw on the “for you” page, or other things like that. It’s really become ingrained in the high school experience now, and it’s fun to be a part of it. I think it’s a way teens can relate to each other, like through memes or relatable experiences. Other videos like mine enjoy poking fun at the quirkiness of our lives. Like for example, how we all like the cold side of the pillow when we sleep or anything small yet funny like that. 

Why do you think the platform has gotten so popular lately? 

I think the platform has gotten so popular lately because more people are starting to create content that people love and therefore it continues to grow. But I also think that before its creation there definitely were other platforms similar to Tik Tok. But none of them have grown as big as Tik Tok. I think it’s Tik Tok’s algorithm that caters to your preferences so you only see things that you like. 

Can you see the platform being problematic or promoting a negative self-image? 

Definitely. I think that because it promotes influencers who are successful on the platform you often compare yourself to them and [it] makes you wonder why you aren’t like them. I think it definitely promotes a kind of perfect body image that can be problematic for teens. For a lot of people, I can see it being an issue for their self image. 

For most teens, Tik Tok is a way to relax and tap into the latest trends around the world. Where other social media apps have historically failed, Tik Tok offers a candid view into other people’s lives and diverse political opinions. As Yeshi agrees, “Tik Tok is a way for [him] to stay updated about the world and informed.” He continues, “The platform is a good way for teens to access digestible, small bits of news of worldwide events. You don’t have to read the entire news really or anything like that.” The succinct nature of the videos means you get a condensed yet comprehensive run-down of what’s happening politically or across the nation. Hence, in a way that other apps like Snapchat and Instagram don’t, Tik Tok allows teens and other creators to churn out content, all the while staying in tune with what’s happening around them.