Vine and Snapchat may have popularised the short video format on social platforms, but TikTok has broadened the medium’s potential, allowing users to join viral crazes with just their phones. As Gen Z’s attention spans shrink, the app offers an easy way to participate in a wider digital community.

Video-sharing platform TikTok is almost synonymous with teenagers – but now their mothers are getting involved. Meet a new generation of parents: playful, meme-loving lip-syncers who are creating some of the most popular content on the platform.

US healthcare professionals are using TikTok to share medical advice with teens, as their trust in traditional sources of authority dwindles. By communicating via a more relaxed, less commercialized platform that prioritizes authenticity, doctors and other experts may be able to regain their authority.

After capturing the cultural imagination of young Americans on TikTok, 'Old Town Road', a viral song by artist Lil Nas X, has broken a record on the US singles chart. This unprecedented success is a clear nod to the growing power of viral social trends in the music industry.