- [Ariel] Three, two, one,
Go! - Mmm.
(laughing)
You said predator!
- Oh my god!
I'm like, "the 5 to 7-year-olds are really having
"a panic attack right now!"
(laughs)
(harp music)
- Hi there, I'm Aria, and last night I spent
an entire hour downloading and trying to understand TikTok.
It was a very long, loud, and confusing hour, so today,
I'm gonna spend some time with a TikTok star.
I'm spending the day with Ariel Martin,
otherwise known as Baby Ariel,
an 18-year-old social media phenom
with a following of almost 30 million on TikTok alone,
and who was even named by Time Magazine
as one of the 25 most influential people on the internet.
I know we've already met, we mic'd you up,
but we actually need a shot of us,
like, meeting for the first time.
- Okay, cool, oh, like through the door.
- Yeah, just pretend like you're doing something.
(door rings)
- Ah, hi!
Thank you for coming to my home.
- This is my dad.
- Oh! Hello sir.
- Hey Aria.
- Aria, nice to meet you - Nice to meet you.
(smooching) (laughing)
- [Jose] I'm Jose.
- [Aria] Jose, nice to meet you.
- So, I started on social media about four years ago.
My brother and I had been, like, just playing around
on our phones a ton and we came across this app
called Musical.ly.
And I was like, "oh my god, this is awesome.
"This is another way for me to express myself,
"it's like another creative outlet that I can just use
"and be like here I am."
And so I did that and people just really liked
the way I did my videos and I would just make them
every single day and I just was gaining a following.
- I'm excited to meet you because, for me,
the world of social media, especially TikTok
and all its evolutions are very confusing to me.
- A thousand percent.
They're confusing to me.
It's very hard to describe what TikTok is.
I think that's one of the hardest things that I've found
because it is so broad and there's so much
that you're able to do on this one app.
You are able to post absolutely any kind of video
that you have ever dreamt of on TikTok.
This is where I spend a lot of my time, right here,
'cause I do my makeup right here.
I put my iPad here, make my TikToks.
I go to trim usually. (music plays)
I found, like, the part of the song that I want to do.
(upbeat pop music)
You got that?
- You just did that one snippet just for that?
- Yeah.
So, now, what I like to play with a lot in TikTok
is, like, depth perception. - Uh huh.
- So, you can come closer.
And then it's just going to go mmmmmm.
So you have to go mmmmm.
- Mmmmm. - Yeah.
- What type of vibe do you want me
to give for that, like a predator?
- Yeah, three, two, one,
Go! - Mmmmm.
(laughing)
You said predator!
(laughing)
♪ Someone says hey, girl ♪
(upbeat pop music)
- TikTok and Musical.ly has always felt like home to me.
TikTok came at a point in my life
where I felt like, disconnected a little bit
from the people at my school
and the people I was surrounding myself with.
Right now, I think I'm at a period where
I'm very happy, but I just go through
a lot of periods where I feel very alone,
and I don't have...
I feel like I don't have anybody
in my corner for some reason,
even though I know I do, logically,
but like here sometimes doesn't feel
like I have a lot of people.
- I don't know why I'm sad, it just...
I push a lot of people away for some reason.
I should be happy with like, me by myself.
Like I have these people following me
and around me but still feeling alone
with the struggles that you go through,
and feeling alone with your sadness,
and even the happiness sometimes.
I think that's almost even worse,
when you're happy and you have
just experienced something that you've
wanted to experience you're entire life,
but feeling that like, you have nobody to share that with.
What's really great about social media
is that I'm able to post online and say,
"okay, this is how I'm feeling."
And other people are able to respond
and say, "hey, I went through that two months ago,"
or "I'm going through that right now,
"I understand you and I get it and it's gonna be okay."
- No matter what, you guys are always there,
and thank you for supporting me constantly.
'Cause we have to go through it!
And that's what sucks.
- Yes, it really is truly the down times
that make the high times even better.
- Exactly, you need those low times
to say "okay, this is my happy."
So I had to go through that period of loneliness,
and I had to go through a period by myself
to get to a point of happiness,
where I am happy being alone,
and I'm happy with the people I've surrounded myself with.
- Before leaving Ariel, I felt like my day
wouldn't be complete without posting
my first ever TikTok.
- You definitely have to make your first TikTok.
- You know, I want my presence on TikTok
to be different, and I want to make a statement.
A political statement.
- What political statement are you thinking?
- Are you familiar with the landmine crisis
that's going around the world right now?
- Should I know about that? (laughing)
So, what effect do you want first?
There's tons of effects.
- Let's find a fun one.
For a not so fun topic.
- Wait, wait, no, this has to be a really good filter.
Sorry, I just want it to be really good.
So, I'm gonna start recording
and when you stop your sentence,
I'll stop recording, and then we can switch filters.
- Oh, what fun!
- Yeah. - Great, okay.
- So what's the first thing you're gonna say?
- I'm just gonna say,
"every year, people continue to be injured and killed
"by landmines that are around the world."
- Ready. - Yes.
- Set.
Go.
- Every year, people continue to be maimed or killed
by landmines that have yet to be disposed of.
- I think this is my new favorite TikTok
I've ever seen.
- It's going to be very impactful content.
- Yes.
Okay, now you just write a caption.
Please help now.
One, two, three.
I did it.
- 65 percent, we're going live.
- You're making a change.
- I'm making impact.
- Yes!
- You know, people are gonna go on TikTok,
they're gonna see those people running around,
screaming, and they're gonna see this.
- Every year, people continue to be maimed or killed
by landmines that have yet to be disposed of.
This is a humanitarian crisis
the world needs to be more aware of.
Today, I hope you'll go online
to learn more about this issue.
We can make a difference.
- I'm so excited. It's gonna blow up.
TikTokker, high five!
I'm very proud of you.
- Thank you so much for your help--
- Of course, I mean you're welcome.
TikTokkers are good people. (laughing)
I feel like for some reason it's like,
oh, okay, you're an actor, awesome,
you're a singer, awesome,
but you're an influencer? Mmm.
And I think that's sad,
because the people who are doing TikTok,
like they, it's all them,
it's them and a phone
and they're creating great content,
and they're entertaining millions of people
from their bedroom, and that's a really awesome thing.
I have so much I wanna do.
Happiness is number one in whatever I'm doing.
It's okay not to know who you are,
but also it's okay to take the time for yourself,
and dive into you and go on a journey
of figuring yourself out,
'cause that's what I think we all need
to spend more time doing.
(uplifting piano music)