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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

#31

Post by t-writescode »

oars wrote: post #17

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…

Everyone's TikTok experience is different. Although sometimes you do need to long-press on a video and say you're not interested, the experience as a whole tends to be relatively finely tailored per person.

For example, many of my videos for a long time were basically short essays about current events, relationship advice, (edit: BIPOC) creators, interesting skits or stories about Marvel or DC characters and so on.

Silly dance junk and pranks are certainly not what I see. There is _some_ dance stuff, but it's in subgenres I'm interested in and so I've given those the watch time.

You can curate yourself to things you're interested in. It's not that hard and it's strongly recommended.

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

#32

Post by klodolph »

timeimp wrote: post #19

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.

People have been saying that for centuries or longer. Kids these days have shorter attention spans. People said it about millennials, about gen-x, about baby boomers.

There’s a record of people complaining that kids are ruined by their reliance on writing things on paper, rather than slate.

There’s a record of Socrates complaining that the written word is ruining people’s memory. The record exists because Plato wrote it down.

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

#33

Post by sph »

gnicholas wrote: post #4
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…

Part of me feels relieved that TikTok will probably have faded by the time my small-ish children are teenagers. The other part of me fears what will replace it.

TikTok itself will have faded. Massive propaganda machines with builtin surveillance hidden behind quick dopamine fixes will only have improved. Do you think the media world will abandon such a massively popular concept?

I mean, TikTok is just the evolution of Reddit or Facebook.

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

#34

Post by t-writescode »

fragmede wrote: post #25
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.

TikTok has its share of enraging material if you go looking for it. The genius of their presentation is it effectively doesn't exist unless the algorithm decides to show you that content. When presented with that content, if you scroll away fast enough, it won't be presented again.

You can also long-press on a video and say "not interested" if you never want that stuff again.

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

#35

Post by thematrixturtle »

> Facebook, it seems, is moving away from its traditional focus on text and images, spread among people who know one another, to instead adopt TikTok’s emphasis on pure distraction. This shift is not surprising given TikTok’s phenomenal popularity, but it’s also shortsighted: platforms like Facebook could be doomed if they fail to maintain the social graphs upon which they built their kingdoms.

This. I on occasion visit Facebook to keep up with what friends are doing. If they turn it into TikTok, I will have zero reason to go there any more.

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

#36

Post by askafriend »

timeimp wrote: post #19

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.

Why default to blaming the students/employees?

The educational system and employers have a responsibility to be engaging and enriching if they want interest and passion back from their students/employees.

I'm not saying there's no problem with overconsumption of cheap media. But I think we're too quick to jump to blaming individuals. We can just as much flip the question around and ask what educators and employers are doing to keep students engaged and feeling motivated by what they do.

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

#37

Post by uncletaco »

oars wrote: post #17

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…

Not sure about you but my TikTok algorithm just shows anime hot takes, quick facts about world events, and a goat named Billy Earl who can't stay off of the neighbor's damn house.

If all you see are pranks and dances it's probably what you went on there looking for.

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

#38

Post by trash3 »

thematrixturtle wrote: post #27
oars wrote: post #17

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…

Got source? The social media market in China is fiercely competitive and TikTok (Douyin) got to be king of the hill by delivering exactly what its users want, not what the CCP wishes they wanted.

Oh sweet child

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

#39

Post by nafey »

oars wrote: post #17

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…

> push American children in the wrong direction with the invention of this app

Even American apps (Facebook/Instagram/Twitter) have performed no better in this regard. Maybe the reason is the underlying demand for such content rather than any malicious intent.

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

#40

Post by tempodox »

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…

Every new technology with mass adoption reshapes our reality. Otherwise, what would be the point? Whether that's good or bad depends on what you do with it.
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