Algorithms, censorship, shadow banning, geopolitics, racism, and cybersecurity. There’s a lot to unpack in Shalini Kantayya’s new documentary TikTok, Boom. At the center of it all are three famous influencers who have reached superstar status on the Chinese social media app TikTok. Feroza Aziz is an Afghan American teen whose account got suspended because she spoke out on the Uyghur genocide in China, Spencer X is a beatboxer who amassed over 54 million followers and Deja Foxx is a political activist who went ‘viral’ when a video of her surfaced where she confronted Senator Jeff Flake over defunding Planned Parenthood.

While TikTok is widely known for its goofy dances and funny sketches, the documentary shows that there’s so much more going on behind the scenes that most of its users aren’t even aware of. “I had, like many of us during the pandemic, followed this app from a startup into something that became the center of geopolitical controversy. And I was just fascinated and that sort of led me on the journey to make the film,” Kantayya explains during a Sundance press conference. For the filmmaker, it was no easy task to weave in an extensive global sociopolitical analysis with the deeply personal stories of the three protagonists. “It was a really huge, sprawling, very challenging story. But at the arc of the film is really their characters and how they are changed, and they changed this app as a result.”

Popular content creators like Aziz, X and Foxx are constantly thinking about how to upload more viral videos and generate more revenue by getting as many views as possible, but at what cost? The more exposure they get, the more hateful some of the comments from ‘trolls’ become. Because their whole lives are being documented on the app, these influencers are under constant speculation and observation which can be rough on their mental health. “It’s so strange that once you join this app, the smallest things you say can be twisted,” says Aziz during a Sundance interview. “And so, you just have to roll with the punches. I feel like TikTok and all other social media platforms really teach you to toughen up and be strong because, at the end of the day, no one else has your back other than you.”

According to Foxx, growing up Gen Z – which is reported to have the worst mental health in history – comes with a unique set of challenges. “Our parents don’t get it. Our therapists, our support systems, our professors don’t understand what it’s like to grow up in the social media age, to be perceived on this level and have these kinds of responsibilities. I hope that for folks watching, they can cut young people some slack, but that they can also see what culture shifters we are.”

As challenging as life in the spotlight can be, beatboxer X points out that TikTok opened doors for him that he never thought would open. “If there’s one thing I want to say to anybody out there, is all of your wildest dreams can come true. Anything you’ve ever wanted to have happen can happen. You can hula hoop on fire, upside down, underwater, in space, and if that’s the thing you want to do for the rest of your life, you’re able to do it.” In August 2020, X was on Forbes’ first-ever list of TikTok’s highest-paid stars. The magazine revealed that he made an estimated $1.2 million through the social media app, primarily through sales of personally branded merchandise and sponsored content for brands such as Nike, Monster Energy, Doritos and Skechers.

For people who are not familiar with TikTok, it can be difficult to grasp how popular these influencers are. During one scene, we see how X joins forces with fellow TikTok ‘colleague’ Merrick Hanna as they head over to Hollywood Boulevard to make a beatbox moonwalking video. “It was like being with Brad Pitt or George Clooney,” Kantayya recalls during the Sundance Q&A. They were constantly being stopped on the street by fans who tell Spencer that they follow him on TikTok. Others take pictures, some even burst into tears. “It was literally like old Hollywood, kids crying, that level of fame.”

According to the annual Brand Finance Global 500 ranking, TikTok is now officially the world’s fastest-growing brand with an incredible 215 percent growth. The platform tripled in brand value over the past year and its value has increased from $18.7 billion in 2021 to $59 billion this year. Aziz says there’s no denying that the app, which has over a billion active users, is highly addictive. “I don’t think people truly, truly understand how addictive this app is because the algorithm really knows who you are. Like deep, deep down inside you, they know you and you probably don’t even know that. So, just get ready to be addicted once you get on the app.”

TikTok, Boom. was selected to be part of the Local Lens program and is competing in the US Documentary category at the Sundance Film Festival.