TikTok is being dubbed the new GoFundMe with its latest trend.
GoFundMe is a popular platform where users can raise funds for personal and charitable causes.
By posting videos on TikTok, users hope to attract views to raise money and pay off their debts.
This trend has skyrocketed in recent days. The hashtag #payoffdebt stands as number two in trending, per TikTok. It currently already has 29,000 posts.
How are people on TikTok helping each other pay off their debt?
Videos following this trend typically begin with the uploader stating their motivation for participating. Instances range from individuals seeking aid for medical expenses to grappling with student debt and other needs.
One instance features a young mother playing with her two children. She discloses her fundraising goal is to purchase a helmet for one of her children. The accompanying caption reads, “Insurance has denied it twice so coming to TikTok instead.”
“I’ve done the math and in order for TikTok to pay for a helmet for this little guy, I need about four million of you to watch this video for at least five seconds, which has already passed, so thank you,” she says.
Additionally, she notes that the video must be a minute long for her to qualify to earn money from it, thus, for the remaining duration, she allows the video to continue playing while playing a game with her children.
Other users post along similar lines, doing things such as filming nature, talking or showing crafts while they explain their needs.
This trend has garnered positive reception. Users express excitement at the possibility of helping each other by doing nothing more than watching each other’s videos.
One video depicts a man urging viewers to tag him in their videos, expressing his intent to watch and provide support.
“This is incredible,” he says. “At zero cost to any of us, right? What an impact we could have.”
How do people make money on TikTok?
The Creator Fund is the method TikTok uses to determine which creators on their platform to allocate money to.
In order for participants of this trend to qualify they must meet the stipulations required by the Creator Fund.
The criteria, according to TikTok, mandates that participants be at least eighteen years old, have at least 10,000 followers, and have at least 100,000 video views in the last 30 days.
These prerequisites pose a considerable challenge for many average users, but upon fulfilling them, anyone can become eligible to earn money.
The amount of money people make varies from day to day. According to Business Insider, it can be anywhere from pennies to $17 per 1,000 views.
CEO of Viral Marketing Stars, Katya Varbanova, told Business Insider that TikTok is like GoFundMe “but instead of money, the currency is attention.”