Faceoff: TikTok or Instagram Reels?
Which video-sharing platform is superior? Graphic by Anya Surani & Alexandra Gray, Staff Writers
TikTok
Milly Miao, Managing/Multimedia Editor
The original does it best.
Social media is a dominant influence on the world today, possibly the most influential, and another app has risen to this podium: TikTok. Other apps, including Instagram with its knock-off TikTok: Reels, have followed in the app’s footsteps due to its popularity. But these other apps cannot beat the original.
During the months of COVID-19, when everyone was isolated within the four corners of their home, the world was unified through TikTok. I have the personal experience to say that I refused to use the app before the pandemic. But the separation from the outside world led me to download the app to see what all the hype was about. Just like me, many others jumped on the bandwagon. This period led to the steep rise of TikTok. But what is the reason behind TikTok’s rage?
Musical.ly, once a video-sharing platform, merged into TikTok. But TikTok is unique in its uses today, where it has expanded the application of social media. Beyond just dance trends, the app provides a broad range of information from whipped coffee recipes to demonologist-approved cleansers. Instead of Google, people now rely on an entertainment app to find the best restaurants nearby. It is the human touch in these videos that attracts people. Instead of reading online reviews, without picture confirmations that a dress is like what you imagine, it is more comforting to watch a real reaction in videos. With countless videos, the app invites people of all ages. TikTok has a specialized algorithm that matches your interests to what videos you see on the For You Page; a page literally made for you. This makes sure that you, as the user, are satisfied with the app. As of today, there are one billion users on the app. TikTok’s rapid growth showed people’s interest in short video materials. To compete with TikTok’s success, Instagram made Reels. However, Reels is a copy that sells less than the original.
If you scroll through Reels, a majority of the videos were taken directly from TikTok. People make TikToks, not Reels. Its consistent new content also makes TikTok’s algorithm more engaging than Reels. Despite Instagram's efforts to expand its social media applications, users will always see Reels as less than TikTok.
With TikTok’s continuously increasing traction, major celebrities with a large following on Instagram, such as Taylor Swift and Gordan Ramsay, have also made their way onto TikTok. Even companies have made use of the app. Duolingo has an iconic image on the app as the sassy owl. The company has nearly seven million followers and over 147 million likes on TikTok. But on Instagram, Duolingo only has 1.2 million followers. Everyone’s favorite owl would never have gained that much popularity on Reels.
With its original format and content, Instagram Reels will forever fail to capture the compelling essence of TikTok.
Instagram Reels
Shadi Karimidard, Staff Writer
It may come as a shock for you to hear that my heart lies with Instagram Reels, considering that I used Musical.ly and TikTok religiously for seven years. Don’t get me wrong, I love TikTok. During my time on the app, I felt that the content I was shown was always engaging. In fact, the algorithm was a little too good. I was consumed by the videos I saw, often neglecting my schoolwork and chores to keep scrolling. TikTok’s sole purpose is to keep consumers engaged for as long as possible, despite videos made by the app that remind users hourly to “take a break”. I have scrolled right past these messages and dove deeper into the rabbit hole known as TikTok.
Instagram Reels has gained popularity for its accessibility. While TikTok requires existing Instagram users to download their app and create an account, Reels delivers the same content on the app that billions of users across the globe already have. This has made Reels increasingly popular for the younger and older generations who may not have already joined TikTok but are interested in watching content catered to their interests. Due to the surge in users watching Reels, many influencers have started cross-posting the same content across both TikTok and Instagram, growing their popularity to a broader audience.
Reels has also given a new dimension to influencer platforms. In addition to posting photos on Instagram, content creators can now publish Reels directly to their feeds. With this merge of photos and videos, content creators are now able to engage and grow their audience faster than ever. Reels also show up directly on users’ ‘explore page’ which gives consumers new content tailored specifically towards them within the click of a button.
According to Google Trends, as the number of users deleting TikTok increases, Reels’ popularity remains growing at a steady rate. Instagram is becoming a one-stop shop for all things social media. With the addition of stories, the company eliminated the need for Snapchat. With the addition of Threads, the company eliminated the need for X (formerly known as Twitter). When you create one account, you have access to the same features you would get from individual apps. All in one place. Reels are just a stepping stone in the future-forward focus of Instagram, unlike the trend of TikTok.
