I remember vine from my undergrad and cannot see how tiktok is different, yet… I know a bunch of tiktok users and vine went the way of the Harlem shake, side parted hair and tribal print on everything.
If TikTok was to actually get banned I could see IG Reels scooping up most of that userbase. Though they can replicate the functionality, replicating the algorithm is going to be difficult. One of the things that's made TikTok such a phenomenon is that their algorithm is crazy good at figuring out what you like and boosting small content creators.
They filter out everyone the CCP doesn't like. No sex, no politics, no provocative expression.
Just wholesome clips of happy citizens dancing and living joyful lives under the communist regime.
Such content isn't inherently bad of course, but if you're an adult and that's the only media you're consuming, it's a bit like eating fast food for every meal.