‘Loss of community:’ Orlando TikTok star worries about career as app jeopardized
To her fans, Taylor Shennett is a guiding light as they listen to her tackle issues – silly and serious – about being an adopted girl growing up in America.
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Shennett returns the respect, saying the community that has grown around her TikTok channel ever since she began posting videos during the pandemic has given her a sense of purpose.
“I found that community and that sense of belonging,” she said, sitting under a park gazebo Wednesday. “It’s about real raw emotions. And I’m able to get on camera and just talk about what I’m feeling about certain subjects. If someone asked me a question, I’m able to hop on and immediately answer that.”
Shennett rose to fame after posting a video of her father carrying her off a plane from China as a baby in 1997. In the years since her channel has grown to more than 120,000 followers.
Read: What a TikTok ban in the US could mean for you
While adoption and cultural content are her bread and butter, she has expanded her focus to highlighting favorite spots around Orlando and given herself an income boost with various brand deals.
Shennett admitted the possibility of the app being banned in the United States worried her, but she was trying to remain optimistic.
Overall, she said creators were split between those panicking and asking their followers to migrate to other platforms and those adopting a more wait-and-see approach.
Read: TikTok use surges amid possible regulations
“There’s a lot of big scary words going out there,” she said. “Everything has a timeline, so nothing’s going to be right now.”
Shennett said there were logistical considerations, like how creators should download thousands of videos each if the app doesn’t get sold in time.
However, she said she was struggling to expand her reach to other platforms that weren’t as purpose-built for her style as TikTok, which also makes it easy for people to follow one another.
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She mentioned a blog she used to write in the past and how she didn’t get the same level of connection with readers as she does today.
“If [TikTok] goes away, there goes a portion of my income,” she summarized. “On a more personal level, it means a loss of community, it means it would almost feel like my voice was being taken away from me, because I’ve had a lot of freedom to put out different kinds of content on TikTok… I’ve been able to connect on a deeper level.”
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