TikTok LIVE

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About

TikTok LIVE is a feature on the short-form video-sharing app TikTok. The feature allows creators to livestream from their TikTok accounts and receive gifts and tips from their followers, which can then be exchanged for money. TikTok LIVE has gathered a reputation for hosting strange performances over the years, with some TikTokers performing tasks in exchange for gifts and others collaborating with other influencers in shared livestreams. TikTok LIVE trends include Nut Stacking, Profile Picture pranks and Sleep Streams, among others.

History

TikTok's predecessor app Musical.ly launched and then integrated the livestreaming app Live.ly in 2018.^[1] After TikTok acquired Musical.ly in 2019, the app retained its livestreaming feature, which could originally be accessed by clicking on the (+) sign at the bottom of the screen and swiping to the live feature.

A TikToker is required to have at least 1,000 followers in order to use TikTok LIVE in the U.S., although this number differs from country to country. Users also need to be over the age of 18 in order to use LIVE, and in order to receive virtual gifts that can later be exchanged for money.^[2]^[3]

Features

TikTok LIVE allows users to schedule LIVE Events ahead of time using the calendar LIVE events icon to the top right of one's profile page. Users can also go live together with other TikTokers and conduct Q&A-style sessions with viewers. TikTok LIVE users can also set "Topics" for their streams in order to help audiences get a better gauge of their content. ^[4]^[5]

Online Presence

TikTok LIVE has gained a reputation for hosting content that many people consider inexplicable or strange. This perception is partly shaped by the sometimes confusing and button-heavy layout of TikTok LIVE, which shows various guests, commentators, gift options, viewers and other features all on one screen. This perception is also shaped by the way TikTok LIVE users have taken influence from historically popular Twitch livestream trends, such as the Sleep Stream / Control My Room livestreams that originated on Twitch.

On November 9th, 2022, TikToker^[9] @roserainhannah posted a clip of Ohio Final Boss on TikTok LIVE, gathering over 1.7 million plays and 230,000 likes in six months (seen below, left). On March 8th, 2023, TikToker^[6] @xiandivyne posted a video showing some examples of how TikTok LIVE feels like an "entirely different app," gathering over 840,000 plays and 180,000 likes in three months (seen below, right).

In July 2023, Twitter users shared and reacted to a screen recording of a TikTok LIVE hosted by TikToker Pinkydoll.^[8] In the video, Pinkydoll can be seen popping popcorn kernels one at a time with the use of a hair iron while performing a call-and-response, with viewers sending gifts and receiving a corresponding response from Pinkydoll.

On July 10th, 2023, Twitter^[7] user @MuseWendi posted another clip from Pinkydoll's stream with the caption, "any time i accidentally happen upon a tiktok live, i feel like i am watching the world end," gathering over 37,000 likes in a day (seen below).

Aldo and Martin (TikTok Live)

Aldo and Martin, also known by their usernames @swa9in and @2006_wii_remote, are two TikTokers known for their joint TikTok Lives in which they play intentionally cringy characters. Their livestreams are often screen recorded and reposted by others who either find moments in which they break character or just praise them for their performances. Their TikTok livestreams went viral predominantly in late 2022 for conversations about Rizz and Strangek3vin's 'Female Gaze,' among other trending topics.

TikTok Lion Gift

The TikTok Lion Gift is one of many donation options viewers can gift to streamers on TikTok Live that displays an animated, roaring lion on the streamer's screen. The boisterous visual animation combined with its exorbitant cost of 29,999 TikTok Coins (roughly $400 USD) for one donation helped it to become a sought-after goal and eventual meme for TikTok livestreamers and users on the platform.

Operation Hangover's Death On TikTok Live

Operation Hangover's Death refers to the death of TikToker OperationHangover, aka Dave, who died while livestreaming himself drinking alcohol on TikTok. During the livestream, viewers would donate to Dave to get him to drink more. The exact cause of his death is unknown but was confirmed by his sister via her own TikTok page and later his TikTok page @Operationhangover, also shared by his wife Carla. The death inspired discussions about the dangers of alcohol and encouraging others to drink for views online, with some blaming the donors during the live for his death. A GoFundMe was opened to raise funds for Dave's funeral.

I Support Jenna's Side

I Support Jenna's Side is a phrase that phonetically sounds like I Support Genocide. In early 2023, compilation videos surfaced on TikTok and Twitter in which pranksters and trolls joined the TikTok Lives of female influencers and asked them in chat to say, "I support Jenna's side," phrasing their message like a favor to support their imagined friend Jenna who was in an imagined argument or legal battle. The women either realized their mistake immediately or didn't. "I Support Jenna's Side" is similar to other soundalike meme phrases like Ligma, Joe Mama and Nick Gurr, among others.