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For Ryan it isn't just about the quality of your content but your behaviour as an individual. He references @kallmekris, a creator whos created several loveable return characters including a taxing toddler: "While hilarious in her own right, [she] is incredibly likeable. She's gracious with her fans, she works clean, doesn't roast or criticise anybody with her comedy, and that is why she has over 10 million followers."

He sees TikTok as having created a new comedy genre; a non-punchline-focused trend he calls "existential chuckle". "We are not in the business of belly laughs," he says, "we are in the business of, 'Huh, that's quite funny'." In a world where there often isnt much to laugh about and plenty of existential dread it's of little surprise a Gen Z app has taken to artists like Ryan so readily.

The year meme culture went 3D for good

We no longer live in a 2D meme world of Pepe the Frog, the boyfriend checking out another woman and that man with the weird crinkly face laughing at things. The realm of visual online artistry now not only demands PhotoShop, but video editing skills. Many argue that Vine did this first, but the caveat here is that Vine died while TikTok, which was the fastest app in the history of social media to reach a billion user downloads, isnt going anywhere. Creators like Robert Tolppi have sent eerie, bad 3D renderings viral on DeepTok [Deep TikTok], the TikTok community known for promulgating a number of bizarre videos, the comments sections of which users gather in to revel in their internet weirdness. This is the year that the internet got "deepfried": a phrase that refers to the use of deliberate glitches and creepy voice deepening effects that turned TikTok feeds into a sort of Orwellian doomscape. But for fun. Given how much the rest of the world felt like it was turning into an actual Orwellian doomscape, it makes sense that kids would want to create their own one, within their control, and within which they could connect. Many of the deep-fried videos failed to reach virality outside of the app unlike many other TikToks this year, suggesting that the odder niches of meme culture only work when partnered with TikToks mysterious algorithm, much like how others only work in certain groups or subreddits.

A new way for independent musicians to go viral

The promotion of trends on TikTok has gone hand in hand with its creation of the audio meme; the mass reproduction of the same sound to all of these magical trends. Sometimes the sounds are from well-known artists, some of whom deliberately court TikTokkers to try and boost marketing on the platform, which is exactly what Drake did with Toosie Slide. But what has been a distinct component of TikTok culture this year has been the virality of unknown singers and artists who've been lifted from obscurity to views and listens in their millions.

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How TikTok changed the world in 2020 - BBC News