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TikTok and the Fall of the Social-Media Giants

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Re: TikTok and the Fall of the Social-Media Giants

#11

Post by root_axis »

behnamoh wrote: post #2

I have mixed feelings about this. For all their fault, social media websites (e.g., fb) reflected our reality, but amplified the controversial parts to increase "engagement". TikTok, OTOH, is shaping our reality by literally altering our culture. I'm not that old, but even 10 years ago, the concept of dancing in front of a camera on the street was odd, but now almost every teenager and college student does that. What…

Social media prior to TikTok has MASSIVELY shaped our culture, to suggest otherwise is incomprehensible to me.

Re: TikTok and the Fall of the Social-Media Giants

#12

Post by madrox »

behnamoh wrote: post #2

I have mixed feelings about this. For all their fault, social media websites (e.g., fb) reflected our reality, but amplified the controversial parts to increase "engagement". TikTok, OTOH, is shaping our reality by literally altering our culture. I'm not that old, but even 10 years ago, the concept of dancing in front of a camera on the street was odd, but now almost every teenager and college student does that. What…

I think you may not be old enough to realize how social media shaped our reality when it came on the scene. Before that, it was the media giants that controlled the airwaves.

It's been happening for forever. Welcome to the circus.

Re: TikTok and the Fall of the Social-Media Giants

#14

Post by vermilingua »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #10
Barrin92 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>TikTok, OTOH, is shaping our reality by literally altering our culture that's in the nature of every technology. 20 years ago nobody took selfies, a hundred years ago nobody took pictures (probably, idk when people got cameras) Honestly it's quite a leap from kids doing fortnite dances for likes to assume they fall off the wagon and attain no real life skills. I think that's just called getting old.

> a hundred years ago nobody took pictures (probably, idk when people got cameras) In the 1820s.

That's when cameras started existing, not when people got them.

Re: TikTok and the Fall of the Social-Media Giants

#16

Post by woodruffw »

vermilingua wrote: post #14
thaumasiotes wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> a hundred years ago nobody took pictures (probably, idk when people got cameras) In the 1820s.

That's when cameras started existing, not when people got them.

This is a very silly tangent, but it's actually remarkable how early cameras became an economical (albeit slightly luxurious) way to preserve personal histories: I have pictures of ancestors from the 1870s and 1880s, despite living in a one horse shtetl in the middle of the Austro-Hungarian empire.

The Kodak Brownie[1] was arguably the first "mass market" camera, and it's 122 years old this year.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodak_Brownie

Re: TikTok and the Fall of the Social-Media Giants

#17

Post by oars »

The Tiktok algorithm we have rewards repetitive dancing in front of the camera, pulling ("fake") pranks and random snippets from movies edited together with dramatic music added.

In China (their app is called Douyin), the algorithm rewards things they want their youth to be doing. Content which involves maths, engineering, medicine, etc are rewarded.

I'm certain that there is some strategic motive from China to push American children in the wrong direction with the invention of this app. Kids and teenagers spending their time and energy on unproductive activities which will lead to the next generation being ever-so slightly behind.

Re: TikTok and the Fall of the Social-Media Giants

#18

Post by notyourwork »

onphonenow wrote: post #15

TikTok is pretty diverse. I get zero view / like videos. Facebook got tiring all anyone did was call out / be offended / be outraged. Nothing fun anymore . TikTok has a surprising amount of fun stuff.

Their algo is super reactive at times with the right threshold of tuning for expanding/exploring new content. It’s also great at leaning back into familiar stuff.

Overall it’s a really well done ML model.

Re: TikTok and the Fall of the Social-Media Giants

#19

Post by timeimp »

I've heard (anecdotally) that the attention span of all the younger users has taken a dramatic shift south.

Educators and employers are noticing they cannot keep students / new employees engaged.

Makes me wonder what damage is happening, long-term, with all these short bursts of dopamine that TikTok gives it users.

Re: TikTok and the Fall of the Social-Media Giants

#20

Post by okhobb »

vermilingua wrote: post #14
thaumasiotes wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> a hundred years ago nobody took pictures (probably, idk when people got cameras) In the 1820s.

That's when cameras started existing, not when people got them.

Rich people got them in the 1890s. $10 a "roll" back then; ~$300 today. You had to mail the camera back to Kodak to get the film developed.

https://web.archive.org/web/20090306221410/http://www.kodak....

The Eastman Museum in Rochester is worth a visit if you're in the area.

https://www.eastman.org/about

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