TikTok is an absolute monstrosity. It has taken the internet by storm, as the app that was initially launched in 2016 currently has over 1 billion active users. It has been downloaded 3 billion times and saw a huge surge in users since the onset of the pandemic. In fact, TikTok reported a 180% increase in users between the ages of 15-25 during the first few months of lockdown in 2020. It was the most downloaded app on the planet in 2021 and is on track to become the most popular social media app in the world.
TikTok has been commonly associated with Gen Z, as it was originally very popular among the younger generation. Teenagers posting dance videos and creating viral trends were among the most popular content on the app for a while. And while it still is dominated by teenagers and young adults, it has grown to include a wide variety of demographics. Anything can be found on TikTok today, including extremely unhinged and bizarre videos.
The Wild TikTok Screenshots Twitter account just started in February 2022, but it has already amassed nearly 150k followers. The page is famous for sharing hilarious screenshots of videos that may or may not have been intended to be funny, comments by snarky and clever viewers, and content that most of us would never imagine posting in our wildest dreams. But anyone who uses TikTok regularly is probably not surprised by these screenshots. If you’re an avid scroller through TikTok, you might be desensitized to the unhinged nature of the app, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t still enjoy this list of hilarious screenshots.
It’s hard to pinpoint precisely what makes TikTok so chaotic, but I have a few theories. Perhaps it’s the anonymity, as while it is relatively easy to go viral, it is also easy to fly under the radar. There are over a billion users and likely billions of videos on the app, so it can be easy to feel like there are no risks when posting. Your video might not be seen by many people at all, and it probably won’t be seen by anyone you know.
TikTok also might have become so unhinged because of the large audience of young people on the app. Wisdom does not necessarily come with age, but it is a bit harder for a 14-year-old to grasp the idea that their videos will be out there forever than a 25-year-old who has spent hours deleting their Facebook statuses from middle school. It can also be hard to stand out in a sea of users. When millions of young people are trying to go viral, they might do whatever it takes to gain views. If that means posting the most ridiculous content possible, why not try it? Clearly, it’s working for many of them because they ended up here on this list!
Of course, most of the photos on this list include videos from users who are self-aware and intended to provoke audiences or make them laugh. But the best Wild TikTok Screenshot posts, in my opinion, are the ones where someone is not in on the joke or does not understand the situation. Unfortunately, there are sometimes kids on the app who are very young and might not be informed about current events or world affairs, but they can make for some hilarious comments.
One of the most unhinged areas of TikTok is the Live corner. Users can stream live content whenever they like, and it can be a treasure trove of chaos. Live streams on TikTok are so captivating that Alice May Stevenson, a writer for Check-Out magazine, actually did a deep dive into the world of these videos in an “Obsession Confessions” piece. She describes the rabbithole of live videos on TikTok as “a space-time vacuum where sensibility doesn’t exist and the gossip-obsessed tea screaming ‘drink me!’ has been freshly brewed”. Her obsession with this underground world began in lockdown earlier in the pandemic, and she said it was a refreshing break from the “forced toxicity of influencers spewing out skinny latte sponsorship deals” that Instagram and other sites are saturated with.
One thing that I too can appreciate about TikTok is that there are plenty of regular people on the app. Sure, if you look at the most followed accounts, the list is full of many influencers and celebrities. But if you are just scrolling through the app, you can easily come across hundreds or thousands of people you have never heard of who don’t have perfectly flawless skin and have never had Botox or plastic surgery. And as Alice writes in her piece on TikTok live, the comments sections are just as chaotic as the video content. “It’s often a trivial battleground between over-inflated egos and moderators. So much so that it acts as a tacky spin-off in itself; young people don’t need Coronation Street when they’ve got an army of bickering Karens for late night entertainment.”
TikTok Live also reflects the current climate, as it is extremely unpredictable. You never know what you will come across next, whether that be a paranormal ghost hunt or a woman ranting about her date from earlier in the evening while she unwinds and takes off her makeup. “Real life solidarity is what we all need right now, and livestreams are a coaxing portal into communal life,” Alice explains. “Akin to reality, not everything is perfect. Unlike regular videos that are reliant on filters and slick timed transitions, the unscripted, off-the-rails trajectory found in livestreams feels fresh.”
Unhinged content has become so successful on TikTok that even companies have tried their hand at creating it. One website in particular, the popular language-learning site Duolingo, has gone viral for their chaotic TikToks. It can be very challenging for companies to get on board with new technology and use social media without being cringey, but Duolingo has paved the way for many other businesses who want to connect to a wider and younger audience. On her blog, Sarah Kleist interviewed Duolingo’s TikTok manager to get the down low on how their viral videos came to be. “So, in September 2021, we actually were able to come back to the office after the pandemic,” Zaria Parvez explained. “And our TikTok account existed already but was just stranded there. So I was like, ‘Hey, I have some ideas. I love TikTok. I really think this is somewhere we should be.’ And my boss was super open to it. She’s like, ‘Just do whatever. Have fun. Here’s the mascot if you want'."
