When it comes to social media, there is a constant battle between which platform is the best to use. One of the most prominent battles is between TikTok and Instagram Reels. Studies show that TikTok outperforms Reels. Even though Reels contain more features than TikTok, TikTok has more marketable features. Both platforms offer additional features within their respective apps, but for some people, the more features an app has, the more overwhelming it has the potential to be.
“Now as far as one versus the other, I like that TikTok is kind of independent… if you make a TikTok, that’s what you’re doing, you’re making a TikTok,” said Mr. Schoen. “Instagram on the other hand, they’re like, ‘oh look at all these image-sharing things over here and these advertisements over here.’ I feel like there’s a lot of in-house marketing.”
When people such as friends and family, or even peers at school, favor one platform over the other, will that influence the platform they choose? When a large group of people are participating in trends, it tends to influence others to participate in the same ones. When it is not common to follow the latest trends that are going around while using a certain platform, it leads to bandwagoning and a lot of other people joining that platform as well.
“I prefer using TikTok because more people use it. It’s what’s popular,” said senior Elizabeth Montecinos.
When asked how they felt about Instagram Reels, Liberty students responded with comments like, “It’s kind of like a watered-down version of TikTok,” said Montecinos. It seems as though most students tend to favor TikTok, but why?
“TikTok is a really addictive app with various content that appeals to a variety of different people,” said senior Kristal Benitez.
With TikTok being tailored to viewers’ interests, it seems to be the more popular choice, but what about the people who favor Reels? When asked why he chose Reels over TikTok, sophomore Max Diaz Duran stated, “Reels are just more fun than TikTok because they are more user-friendly and accessible.”
It is not uncommon for social media platforms to copy ideas and features from other apps. Some people say that Reels has copied the short-form video feature from TikTok. “Instagram copies everyone’s app features because I feel like they can’t come up with anything on their own,” claimed Kristal Benitez. But others, like Diaz, disagree. He states that there are a lot of similar apps with the same concept and there is not much of a correlation as suggested by Benitez.
With better quality and different types of content, TikTok has won over the hearts of millions of viewers. TikTok has very clearly taken the cake with this one. However, Reels do not fall very far behind.
