Though some of us may spend hours a day making and remaking TikTok videos in hopes of just a taste of fame, the most we usually get are a few “likes.” However, a few Redwood students have gotten lucky. 

Connor Moon

Junior Connor Moon has gained 40,000 followers on TikTok since September when he first started making videos. Moon’s most popular video, which shows the process of him creating his Halloween costume, has 1.4 million views, 323,000 likes and 5,380 shares. Moon believes he has gained his large audience by appealing to TikTok’s LGBTQ+ community. 

“There’s a really big LGBTQ+ community on TikTok. That’s mostly my target audience. A lot of [my videos] that hit it big are usually the LGBTQ+ related ones,” Moon said.

When Moon’s content on TikTok started receiving more attention, his excitement was stifled by fear of how his peers at school would react.

“I think [TikTok] is becoming more accepted, but it’s still the app that you want to be famous on the least out of all the social media platforms,” Moon said. “There is a stigma against [TikTok] at school. There’s also all these people that I kind of knew but I hadn’t talked to in a while. I saw them and they started talking to me about [my TikTok], and I was uncomfortable with it.”

Despite his popularity on the app, Moon appreciates that his status online is separate, for the most part, from his life in the physical world.

“The follower count is nice in that it doesn’t add any value to my life. It’s very removed, so I can just have a TikTok and then have the rest of my life,” Moon said.

Alex Pagan

Like Moon, junior Alex Pagan has also accumulated a large following on TikTok. Pagan started making videos in October, and in that time has gained over 31,000 followers. His most popular video has 2.2 million views and nearly half a million likes. The video is of a comedic interaction between a student and their teacher. Pagan has also gained recognition at school for his success on TikTok. However, Pagan perceived the attention differently than Moon did.

“I had a lot of people come up to me in the first week and say ‘OMG you’re TikTok famous!’ I don’t mind at all. I just think it’s funny,” Pagan said. “[My video] started going viral overnight when I first made it. I was happy because it had 100,000 views, but then over time it blew up and I just got [happier]. Then, eventually everyone found out; it’s a fun experience.”

Miles Crook

Joining the platform two months prior to Pagan, junior Miles Crook is another student who has garnered Tik Tok popularity. Since August, Crook has gained 3,609 followers. His most popular video has 1.4 million views, 157,300 likes and 12,600 shares. Crook believes this video went viral because of the positive message it promotes.

“I think [the video] is talking about respecting women and people in general. I’ve heard so many nightmare stories about people who got taken advantage of. It was a statement for guys not to be total dickheads. Do it the right way,” Crook said.

Crook says he has received some harassment for his viral video at school, but it doesn’t keep him from creating content.

“It’s my creative ideas. It’s not discouraging. Sometimes I reconsider ideas because I don’t know how I’ll portray myself. If I believe something then I’m going to put it out because why the hell not?” Crook said.