A TikTok birthday invitation, Adrian’s kickback party, went viral leading to thousands of teens showing up in Huntington Beach, California, resulting in vandalism, assaults, and hundreds of arrests.

Going viral. The hype, the trend, the rush. These days, “going viral” is the goal within social media platforms. The breaking point of making it. However, it’s impossible to predict what will or will not go viral. You can’t just make it happen, it’s a unique mix of having the right piece of content, in front of the right audience, at the right time and no one can predict that.

One of the reasons that TikTok has been able to lure the younger generations is that they have made it easier to make its users “go viral.” And “internet fame” is what this generation wants to be a part of. You have probably heard your own teen talk about becoming “TikTok Famous.” That’s because social media platforms have created a lucrative job that can bring in 100’s or 1000’s of dollars, but it’s all based on “going viral” or becoming “famous online.”

This past weekend was the prime example of instant TikTok fame from a birthday invitation that went viral. Adrian Lopez, a 16-year-old, was planning his 17th birthday “kickback” party. He invited people from his school, but after noticing that he only received a few responses, his friend decided to place it on his personal TikTok page, which was set to public.

According to New York Times, “The video caught hold of TikTok’s powerful “For You” recommendation algorithm and gained mass distribution. Overnight it became a meme. Internet celebrities and creators, including members of music artists 24kGoldn, FaZe Clan, and Noah Beck, posted about it. By the weekend of the event, the TikTok video with the hashtag #adriansickback had received nearly 280 million views. ...