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NineSwords t1_je9k76r wrote

Has any social media ever made something better?

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nicuramar t1_je9nlex wrote

Yes, there are most likely many examples of that. Several are immediately obvious: Help some people reconnect with old friends or family, help people organize events more conveniently, etc.

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NineSwords t1_je9o42c wrote

Until you looked up what those old friends and family post and see that your rose-tinted memories of those people are now forever marred by the knowledge that uncle Bob is a furry, your homeroom teacher is the most active member in his flat earth society group and your first crush is now (more conveniently) organizing Trump rallies.

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nicuramar t1_je9ogwn wrote

It may not work for you, but it does for many others. Don’t presume everyone life or situation is the same.

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Good_Focus2665 t1_je9wltw wrote

Exactly. My family is scattered all over the world and it’s been great staying in touch everyday with them and posting everyday life events. Social media is what you make of it, just like any other tool out there.

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beef-o-lipso t1_je9s7eb wrote

Yes. I rather enjoyed my time on social media. But I also take steps to make the experience mine (as much as I can). I have met and conversed with far more people, and a greater diversity of people, on Twitter, for example, over the last 16 years than I ever would have IRL or using any other medium.

But social media also isn't necessarily critical, either. I left Twitter earlier this year because most of the people I talked to had left, and thus the value dropped, and I could see from their shenanigans that things were heading south anyway.

  1. Tailor the experience on SM as much as you can.
  2. Block and ignore things that you don't like.
  3. Use your brain to avoid scams and drama.
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SweetPrism t1_je9mg3b wrote

Human beings are shitty. Tik Tok reaffirms this. It's merely a vessel through which the shittyness flows; a mirror through which we can view the shittyness.

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InvestigatorOk9354 t1_jeaaxu1 wrote

I saw a tiktok video (lol) of someone speaking about how the algorithm in China defaults to show wholesome and inspiring content rather than the dancing, pranks, and tide pod challenges we get in the West. I don't know how true that is, but it's something nefarious actors could certainly do as a long term psyop to undermine an entire generation

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JohnPaul_River t1_jeb2plc wrote

For the last fucking time no one other than literal children is ever watching those videos, and they're only watching them because, surprise surprise, children like dumb shit. Like, the algorithm's capability to tailor content for users is literally the main selling point of TikTok.

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Infernalism t1_je9l8pv wrote

Maybe we can be fucking adults and stop trying to pretend like an app on a phone 'made' us into anything.

We are what we are.

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slimGecko t1_jeaxavw wrote

It has influenced your life, it has influenced the world. Do you see good or bad?

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thebug50 t1_jea6lxc wrote

I think semantic wires are getting crossed here. I don't think the question means to detach agency or responsibility. "Has Tik-Tok contributed to us being better?" is perhaps clearer wording.

Or maybe I'm just projecting reason where it doesn't exist. I have no intention of reading that Vox article.

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Infernalism t1_jea6osa wrote

> "Has Tik-Tok contributed to us being better?" is perhaps clearer wording.

Should it, though? Is that its responsibility?

Or is it ours?

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thebug50 t1_jea8ftu wrote

Who's fault is the resulting good or bad is a separate question than is the result good or bad, but I'll dip a toe.

I don't think code can yet have responsibility, but the company that creates it can, as well as the companies that help distribute it. If it were discovered that an app was causing people to explode, I'm sure you'd then find the logic required to shift some blame away from the people being splattered. As for how exactly responsibility should be divided in light of varying levels of potential harm, I don't have a well formed opinion.

Personally, as a "fucking adult", I choose not to use TikTok as I find short form video streams to be like mind cancer.

Edit: ...like mental heroin. Thought of a better analogy.

Edit2: I can't help but think of that as I read through comment sections discussing TikTok these days. Likely a good percentage of people commenting are junkies being threatened with their source getting cut off and it shows. "TikTok is bad? Well then its all bad, man, might as well delete the internet!" lol.

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[deleted] t1_jeadidq wrote

It's their responsibility. If WE are left to our own devices, idiots like Trump become president. FACT

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thebug50 t1_jeaim4e wrote

Personal responsibility does seem to be dying. I find that more terrifying than a president Trump.

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gullydowny t1_je9othc wrote

Sure if you want to destroy someone give them what they want —probably a Chinese proverb though I just made it up

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zoe_bletchdel t1_je9y4c8 wrote

My child just had an overdose directly attributable to a TikTok trend. I think I still oppose a ban, but I am now firmly in the TikTok-is-a-purveyor-of-psychic-damage camp.

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[deleted] t1_je9u22m wrote

Explain how Tik Tok is worse than Facebook without invoking the West’s narrative of USA - good, China - bad.

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Legitimate_Ad_8364 t1_je9z0g1 wrote

Facebook doesn't reward assholes blocking the way because they feel it's their obligation to dance like idiots to shitty music in public.

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fegodev t1_jea3zgi wrote

It depends. My “for you” page on TikTok is mostly hilarious stuff. I just laugh so much with tiktok, so I love it. But I also think I have a good balance: I work out, have a good job, I’m studying, good group of friends, an awesome partner, etc. If TikTok is all you do, you better diversify your time. But that’s basically the same for any other acticity. Video games, for example, can also be a good or bad activity: many invest way too much time on them and neglect their responsibilities, but some play games while still having wholesome lives.

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zorbathegrate t1_jeahoed wrote

Much much worse.

A few good things, but overall terrible

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_makoccino_ t1_je9tsdk wrote

I hate Tiktok with a passion. The sheer amount of fake videos and "reaction" videos that people forward and post here and other platforms is the single most reoccurring source of annoyance on a daily basis.

Having said that, I don't blame Tiktok itself for people's stupidity.

Tiktok didn't make anyone into anything. It gave a platform for idiots to showcase their stupidity and rewarded them for it if they got a certain amount of views, clicks and followers.

It was easy money for the effort prompting copycats to emulate every viral video in hopes of cashing in on it as well, that resulted in a vicious cycle of people trying to out-stupid each other.

Some say Tiktok highlighted the stupid, silly, prank videos everywhere outside of China and did the opposite in China, highlighting and rewarding smart, science and educational videos. That maybe true, but they didn't force anyone into doing anything stupid. People did that willingly and viewers followed, liked and shared their videos willingly.

Blaming Tiktok is like blaming the camera for recording the stupidity. Or blaming WhatsApp for giving people the ability to share videos.

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DisturbedTomater t1_jea2ure wrote

tiktok haters are so weird to me. the app shows you what YOU want to see. if you use that for political shit, that’s on you, but let the rest of us laugh at funny videos and enjoy curated content about our hobbies in peace

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[deleted] t1_jea4j5l wrote

I downloaded it once to find out what was going on... All I got were a bunch of LGB teen witch videos and didn't see a way to search. Deleted it quickly!

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DisturbedTomater t1_jea4vrb wrote

you’re probably trolling but there certainly is a search function and it’s not hard to find. also as you “like” videos and engage with them those kinds of videos will find their way to your for you page over time, so whatever you had on your feed at first was just random. you can also just follow accounts you like and stick to your following tab

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[deleted] t1_jead1tx wrote

Lol, a TikTok user with "hobbies"!?!?!? That's laughable... Are those hobbies like walking miles without ever looking up from your phone? Or, annoying people that are just going about their day, so you can get more views? Or, just mindlessly scrolling the endless feed of stupid videos to get your never-ending fix of dopamine?

To have a "hobbie" you would have to put your f******* phone down for more than 3 seconds. Hobbies...yeah right!

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DisturbedTomater t1_jeaeh8q wrote

yeah i definitely am not a real person who uses tiktok to watch sports content that is curated for my enjoyment. i couldn’t possibly have a hobby because i watch tiktok. i also annoy people going about their days by watching videos of other people annoying people going about their days by filming videos in their own homes or editing sports clips that were aired on TV. it’s really bothering people to watch these videos and to film them. yes. sure. 🙄

edit: tiktok haters, just say you don’t like change and new social media and move on. there’s TONS of content on the platform that isn’t people annoying others in public. podcast clips, DIY projects, wholesome pet content, tips for people in various jobs/hobbies from other people in the same fields, recipes and cooking videos, and an absurd amount of other things. it’s extremely weird and unhealthy to hive mind for no reason

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HanaBothWays t1_je9m4zq wrote

Why “TikTok” when it’s, like, “social media?” Is it because TikTok is what the kids are into these days? Or because it’s (gasp) from China?

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nobody_smith723 t1_je9ygzr wrote

Social media reflects you

If you’re a shitty person. Prone to hate. Or toxic communities. It makes you worse

If you’re insecure or damaged you’ll find ways to express that

If you like learning stuff or being apart of a diverse group of people sharing information. It’s a great place

Tik tok. Is hilarious. There’s a vast variety of content creators sharing information. Promoting their work. Expressing things.

There’s a guy who’s channel is almost entirely talking about the dangers of household chemicals and mixing like bleach and acids or whatever

There’s a dad …who’s entire channel is like showing videos of common dad things for people who maybe don’t have a father figure or had a shitty father figure. Like. How to tie a tie. Type tutorials.

There’s a young dude ina. Think some shit hole part of Ohio doing boots on the ground videos of the housing market being a fucking joke The lies of realtors and the illusion things are ok.

There’s a young woman. Who started out doing car detailing videos. But now her videos are her in a massive shop. As clearly her fucking business blew up from her popularity

There’s a black dude who’s clearly a lord of the rings super nerd. Early on his videos were him just talking about lotr info. Or obscure lore facts. Now more often I see him doing group discussions with other nerds. As his sphere of passionate nerd people has expanded

There’s a lady in Colorado. Who moved from Chicago to CO and discovered hiking. She’s great. Simple no bullshit. Human struggles and joys of getting outdoors. Same thing with this overweight black dude. His journey getting outside went from him alone struggling to now him leading group hikes. Or hikes for kids.

Follow another woman. She has gigantic tits. And her videos are basically her giggling them massive milkers. For the pleasure of everyone. And yeah. She has an OF. And I hope she’s making all the fucking money

The amt of racist fear mongering surrounding tik tok. Is absurd.

It’s a hugely popular speech platform. And the US gov is seeking to ban it for phony reasons or concerns they’ve given no evidence for

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fitzroy95 t1_jeb1h9j wrote

The US Govt is largely using it as a part of their Cold War against all things China, and as a target for their own campaign of fearmongering against China.

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