TikTok, once just an app for kids to watch and make short videos with, is now finding its use in the classroom.

TikTok is a social media app used for taking videos by lip-syncing, and there are more downloads of the app every day. Although the app wasn’t designed to be educational, teachers are now finding that TikTok can be beneficial to their students’ educations, and they are incorporating it into their classrooms and outside school events.

Despite some teachers’ excitement over the app, there is till some contention as well. According to The New York Times, Fox Creek High School’s Spanish teacher, Emma Peden, warns, “Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat-all those interfaces-can feed bullying.” With so many views per video, students in these videos can become the focus of memes. Memes are usually made fun of, but perhaps they can be looked at differently. They can be funny, but not something to mock. Adults who are worried about “stranger danger” or that student TikTok videos might be seen by predators, proper internet etiquette can be taught to protect students and to help them to  learn how to keep themselves safe when posting videos.

Not only does the app enhance creativity, but it also features ways to make school organization easier, such as teacher-posted videos about study guide help and project ideas that wold benefit students. Additionally, since a majority of teens like using the app, there could be more collaboration between students. As a result, more minds can come together to generate new ideas.

TikTok has become so known throughout schools that there are clubs being created specifically for its users. Club meetings involve students gathering together and come up with ideas for videos that they wish to make. Of course, these clubs and meetings are regulated by teachers to make sure they are purely for educational purposes. School disciplinary policies are in place when the app is used through the school, so students may not have the freedom they would have at home when it comes to the content they produce.

Taylor Lorenz, a writer for The New York Times, explains that at a typical TikTok club meeting, snacks are served and students can either watch TikToks or make their own. Advisors have found that some students spend hours on TikTok, with some even admitting that their lives revolve around the app. With the app, students get to show off their “true selves” instead of hiding their flaws like they do on other apps, such as Instagram.

Social media has become part of daily life, and it will only continue to spread and become more popular. TikTok may enter into more schools, and while some people don’t agree with its presence in the education system, it most likely will just become even more popular as most social media apps do.

TikTok is more than just an app. If used properly and creatively, it will help with this generation’s education by exposing them to more creativity and culture than is available to students in their own schools.