TikTok: C or D

Something about this platform makes it way more conformist than the other ones, at least so far. Half the videos seem to be people doing their own version of other users’ videos.

If, as seems to be the case, kids are super enthusiastic about Tik-Tok, even if it looks to me to be scarcely different than other short video platforms, I would hazard the guess that maybe it's because kids think of it, rightly or wrongly, as being an internet space that belongs to more to kids than adults. Even if that idea were in some degree correct, it will without a doubt be co-opted by adults to push stuff at kids so fast it will make your head spin.

vine was good because there were a lot of videos of people falling down and eating shit. these things are too long, giving its users too much of an opportunity to express their horrible personalities

First social media app that ive started using to try it out and realized immediately that I'm too old for it, I hate it, and I dont understand it.

that was / is snapchat for me. I can't even figure out how to use the app. every time I open it i just get the camera and the icons make no sense and no i don't want to import my contacts. it was the first app that made me feel completely old.

ok boomers

this was fun for the first couple of hours, but once you realise 95% of the videos fall into the same specific buckets (weeknd dance routines, shitty pranks on family members, kids’ voices ironically dubbed onto adults, cats/dogs, gym junkies in their pants, 31 year olds insisting they’re not too old for tiktok) it really loses its allure

3liza's curated TikTok threads are better than actually using TikTok:

tiktok thread directory

part 1: rednecks making huge strides on tiktok - https://t.co/QUkW1hiKYO

part 2: helo - https://t.co/FFiMB6rvu2

part 3: arson - https://t.co/8oLufiuEhL

— in fair corona where we quarantine (@3liza) February 7, 2020

I'm amazed that there hasn't been a gigantic moral panic about the platform yet.

There are rumours of censorship of political content on TikTok. I'm not sure how true they are. I wouldn't be surprised at all though, it's a relentlessly 'posi' platform.

This was good though:
https://www.tiktok.com/@kyscottt/video/6815758866769349894

https://www.tiktok.com/@coprobro/video/6650643313068084485?u_code=d512kgcmd6aa8e&language=en×tamp=1553533543&utm_campaign=client_share&app=musically&utm_medium=ios&user_id=6663118810343686150&tt_from=copy&utm_source=copy&source=h5_m

this one is really good

there was also a controversy because the company told moderators to suppress posts by obese people, disabled people, and others with "undesirable" traits

https://theintercept.com/2020/03/16/tiktok-app-moderators-users-discrimination/

jeez. that makes sense, honestly. the people i am seeing are mostly young, fit, and even blend in with the celebrities who pop up posting similar content.

there is something very untrustworthy about it. specifically, the fact that 1/2 the humor seems to be playing on gender and age stereotypes.

The biggest problem with the platform, imo, is there's basically no way of monetising prominence other than taking donations from users. You have a bunch of young people, often under or around the age of 18, with Amazon wishlists, Cash Apps, etc getting $$$ from internet randos of all ages. Inevitably, that leads to some of them selling nudes, etc, It's incredibly dodgy on an app that is largely intended for children.

yeah, eesh.

Totally.

instagram is like this too, i imagine. it's become so much more about people trying to become personal brands than it is a photo sharing app.

I think Tiktok has gone out of their way to heavily censor anything perceived as adult content tbf, much more than Instagram, but it's not a good situation.

that was / is snapchat for me. I can't even figure out how to use the app. every time I open it i just get the camera and the icons make no sense and no i don't want to import my contacts. it was the first app that made me feel completely old.

― akm, Thursday, April 23, 2020 10:38 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

oh I didn't get snapchat either but sort of categorized it as a messaging app more than a social media platform, I'm not even sure if that's correct mind you

this one is killing me somehow.

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZS9QNE4s/

between this and the guy who tries to guess paint colors while he’s watching the constituent paints being mixed there’s this kind of joy in the abject that i feel like tiktok often just nails and i am a huge sucker for it

this one’s good too

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZS93wSxX/

https://www.tiktok.com/@rickastleyofficial/video/6890858524092402946

i almost clicked on that

amazing
https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/10/21559677/tiktok-cfius-court-petition-ban-deadline

I’ve been laughing at this TikTok for 24 hours. pic.twitter.com/ZTN5qBwEGo

— T. Kyle 🏳️‍🌈 (@tkylemac) November 20, 2020

(that woman has some severe apnea issues i think)

https://www.tiktok.com/@collroy/video/6887045734991023366

Somewhat related: It also looks like Epic records is paying tik tokkers to use old songs in hopes that a viral sound will lead to a boost in back catalog streaming. via @colinphl https://t.co/s6HV9hxzc7 pic.twitter.com/6aemUBKIb4

— Taylor Lorenz (@TaylorLorenz) December 4, 2020

Coming up with a way to make people lip syncing even worse - bravo!

lol, that is a fucking sin

can't stop watching this

I think this is the best edited Tik Tok I’ve ever seen.

pic.twitter.com/OUCqiBKkSK

— Kristi Anderson (@CinderSlays) January 9, 2021

wtf
that makes mj's black and white seem amateurish

similar in the comments

This guy too pic.twitter.com/gzgncyu5o6

— n0 name (@mrnonamerod) January 10, 2021

^nice

tiktoks that are almost definitely terrifying to watch while high:

"wow these edibles are shit" pic.twitter.com/JT5Z7PALC7

— 𝖛𝖆𝖑𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖎𝖓𝖆 ✣ 𝖑𝖔𝖗𝖉 ⬜⬜🟥🟥⬜⬜👽 (@VPestilenZ) December 16, 2020

(@connection_intercepted)

awesome

amazing

I just watched the sea shanty, done with the four lads originally from a photo. Not only is it some dope work, the shanty is catchy as hell.

the shanty is horrifically catchy and satisfying to listen to but it's been haunting my dreams

oh, can't wait for that tonight then

gonna post it anyway

Sea shanty tiktok is WILD pic.twitter.com/rjY1iXFQkA

— Kristian 🇳🇱 (@vonstrenginho) January 14, 2021

https://www.tiktok.com/@overloadcomedy/video/6920289799702203650

A little weirded out by how weirded out the kids are by their non-mirrored faces.

https://www.tiktok.com/@maelynesque/video/6910768593911221509?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1

?eah, ?eah, ?eah, I left that extra part in post haste.

No one is doing TikTok like him pic.twitter.com/TpjcGovjKX

— Kalhan (@KalhanR) March 18, 2021

i like the sea shanty video.

however.

the platform is mostly dystopian, as are the instagram "reels." most videos are autobiographical and self-commodifying -- people commenting on their personal life, their relationships, etc, but in a way that burnishes a curated image. so far so predictable. sometimes they are selling a product or have a cashapp in their bio or whatever.

what's weird is the way the users do so, usually recreating some kind of popular meme. they turn themselves not just into a commodity, but into a very dumb meme. and they draw their pets and family members into it. like they're all cartoon people, living out a slapstick existence. the most terrifying of these videos involve that robot-voice narration.

it's like, if adorno wrote a dystopian novel, this would be what people were doing all day in his version of 2021.

i've got a video for you treeship

https://www.tiktok.com/@geezyunit/video/6947387987659443461

ok, that's pretty good.

my usually social media-illiterate became obsessed with tiktok over the past year and now i can't send videos of my cats to the family gc for fear that she'll turn them into videos with stuff dubbed over them. she's getting to a point where she sees everything as fodder and she's addicted to getting views. she and my dad keep guilting me and my brother for not liking her videos and we keep having to explain that you need to have an account to do that

social media-illiterate MOM**** became etc

That is amazing.

the duddest
https://www.stereogum.com/2187634/halsey-tiktok-viral-song/news/

https://www.womenshealthmag.com/uk/health/sexual-health/a40938627/what-is-vabbing/

● Washing your hands both before and after

● Not allowing areas you’ve ‘vabbed’ to touch anything or anyone

● Wiping down gym equipment before and after use

● Making sure you get checked by a professional if you think you sense an unusual or bad odour

TikTok profits from livestreams of families begging

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-63213567

"vabbing"

The wisdom of the ancients alive today

this overlong essay on the "enshittification" of TikTok makes a good case for the vicious cycle of social media

Here is how platforms die: first, they are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, they die.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/21/potemkin-ai/#hey-guys

Hmm

I wrote about the unhinged therapists making videos about their clients on TikTok, and how social media has smoothed over the ethical issues of certain professions turning their jobs into content https://t.co/u6kflar9NN

— Sarah Manavis (@sarahmanavis) January 26, 2023

Pretty incredible way for so-called professionals to behave.

First time I heard of this was a therapist bitching online about a client "traumadumping" on her. What did she think her job was.

Hey GUYYYYYYYS it's ziggy here back again from VIENNA y'heard and you are NOT GONNA BELIEVE who this crazy bitch I'm seeing thinks she wants to fuck

TikTok has insane energy, the Four Loko of social media.

whats going on over there

What in the fuck is this shit pic.twitter.com/YTABQF81mP

— Rascal ✝️ (@PeakRascal) July 27, 2023

There is no single app I’d like to crash and burn horribly more than tiktok.

jfc when i look at tiktok it's all classic video games, vintage audio gear and some DIY home improvement stuff mixed in.

three quarters of my instagram ads look like that AI scam shit

anyone got a playlist of semi obscure old songs whose play count has skyrocketed due to tiktok? (thinking boa’s “duvet”, pavement’s “harness your hopes”, duster, lwb etc)

there’s this Songs that became famous because of a system glitch

Over the past 24 hours, thousands of TikToks (at least) have been posted where people share how they just read Bin Laden’s infamous "Letter to America," in which he explained why he attacked the United States.

The TikToks are from people of all ages, races, ethnicities, and… pic.twitter.com/EwjiGtFEE3

— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) November 16, 2023

this is what weve been working for all these years

was going to get personal about my experience with 9/11.

decided not to.

but in any case

fuck these people.

https://nitter.net/broderick/status/1725210803698085946#m

Social media

One thing about this letter is that most of it is about how the jews control American finance and the country is corrupt due to secularism, with Bin Laden citing gay rights as an example of why Americans should be killed. All expected from Bin Laden, but I am not sure why American Tik Tokers liked it. Only a small portion of the letter is about the humanitarian conditions of the palestinians.

This leads me to believe that people cannot read.

Some tik tokers said the letter “changed their entire way of looking at the world.” So are they jihadis now?

is this like tide pods

Nothing will happen.

Interesting why The Guardian felt the need to delete it and why tiktok are allegedly banning videos. What are they afraid will happen?

tiktok teens should continue discovering and falling for various terrible historical political figures culminating in the platform shutting down because all its users have become stalinists

https://i.imgur.com/N1LzcVI.jpg

Ryan Broderick's full newsletter post about this is worth reading:
https://www.garbageday.email/p/tiktok-teens-arent-stanning-osama

Yashar made this seem like a much more prominent thing than it was; that apparently wasn't even trending on tik tok until his dumb post.

Interesting

Ryan Broderick's full newsletter post about this is worth reading:
https://www.garbageday.email/p/tiktok-teens-arent-stanning-osama

― jaymc, Friday, 17 November 2023 bookmarkflaglink

Good newsletter. The videos were pretty awful, but in the end what was interesting is the reaction, which is to ban and close down these things and make them into a moral panic.

What was surprising to me is that they never seemed to have encountered any non-al qaeda critiques of american foreign policy. They all had reactions like, “the scales have fallen from my eyes, the us was bad and bin laden good” without considering a third option.

In any case, it was more niche than I thought when i read the yashar ali tweet and reacted emotionally

What was surprising to me is that they never seemed to have encountered any non-al qaeda critiques of american foreign policy.

― treeship., Friday, November 17, 2023 11:53 AM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

a while a go a bunch of tiktokers were convinced that giants are real lol

the human tendency toward groupthink is as old as our identity as a social animal. the only new factor here is the speed with which social media can form a cloud of agreement around a dust particle of thought

these people seem notably dumb and credulous though

the bin laden loving giants truthers

tiktok is not a how do you say high information environment

says the guy who just got whipped into a moral panic by a tweet!

xpost

these people seem notably dumb and credulous

allow me to introduce you to a little club called Q-Anon

tracer that is disingenuous

yashar ali's tweet wasn't wrong. the thing was trending. the substack post just tried to contextualize it a little. perhaps it was confined to certain niche parts of tik tok, even though he also admits the videos got millions of views.

lol not apologising you left yourself wide open for that one treesh

feel like this whole thing could be some sort of op to discredit criticism of israel, its prob not, but its all pretty weird

The zings of your so-called western cultures are as weak and corrupt as your empty morality.

--- Osama bin Laden ---

The thing that was off about the videos as compiled were the weird emotional reaction followed by asking for engagement. It's a kind of grift that just stops me in my tracks. A laugh at something dark.

Good to see the substack filling in the detail.

https://waterfordwhispersnews.com/2023/11/17/osama-bin-laden-just-a-misunderstood-cuddly-teddy-bear-tiktokers-learn/

He should have quoted Hannah Smith but hey the message is what counts pic.twitter.com/h5z0UAN8G0

— lara 🇵🇸 (@laralevana) November 20, 2023