TikTok is not social media and can be used without 'engaging' with anyone, is an incredible useful feature to me.
TikTok overtakes Facebook as most downloaded app
141–150 of 725 posts
Re: TikTok overtakes Facebook as most downloaded app
#142Earlier quoted context omitted.
People go to museums to look at art. That's solely consumption that does not require being literate.
There is a difference between a museum, which curates culturally significant art from places around the world and at home, to TikTok, a social media app that is for making money.
The 'culturally significant art' you're talking about was created for money. It's not any different than TikTok, it's just from long ago. TikTok is refined Vine and some of those Vines were worth preserving and spawned careers like ProZD.
Re: TikTok overtakes Facebook as most downloaded app
#143I like to think of TikTok as the crack cocaine of addictive social media. I used to think my dopamine receptors were burned out by the constant barrage of memes I received from reddit, Facebook and Twitter but TikTok proves they can refine that product to make it even more potent. When I visit reddit now it feels behind in the same way Facebook used to feel behind. Facebook's video feature (which they shove into my f…
>I like to think of TikTok as the crack cocaine of addictive social media.
>If you are susceptible to media addiction I suggest never downloading it.
These are the two big takeaways I've had from using the app for a day. Everything about it is designed to be a sinkhole, like a modern casino where they're gambling with your attention. I know a lot of people who use Facebook/Instagram/TikTok compulsively, and it ruins them to a degree. I think (or hope, at least) the future is headed towards more personal communique (a-la Discord, Slack, Matrix, etc.)
Re: TikTok overtakes Facebook as most downloaded app
#144Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The China thing is touchy but I want the west to beat them by being better, not by being dismissive and protectionist. I don't think the only question is "who wins at having the most popular social network." The more concerning one is of exerting political influence through manipulative amplification/suppression (which is something the PRC has a lot of experience with). That could be both highly effective and extre…
That is a real threat, but that's a problem with (proprietary, centralized) online media in general. Which social network would you trust not to do that? Facebooks experiment on manipulating emotions comes to mind [1]. The only way to minimize these effects is to consume a multitude of media from multiple sources, so no one entity has too much influence. Balancing all the US-based social networks with some TikTok cer…
Is the network authority the only entity to blame here? Looking at the other end of the spectrum, if a popular network was fully decentralized and had zero censorship or speed bumps to control how viral something goes, then I still think that social network would be vulnerable to propaganda machines. Specifically still by those with the most money to throw at it.
I don't think Facebook and many social networks are doing a good job but I think we should also recognize that the problem is difficult and unclear how to solve. There's an issue with how information naturally flows and how that can be manipulated.
Specifically I don't think TikTok is great because the focus on short videos (we see this on Facebook too. A meme is even shorter). 30 sec to 3 min political videos are more likely to be propaganda in my experience (e.g. NowThis). Though that isn't too say there aren't longer form versions (e.g. PragerU).
Re: TikTok overtakes Facebook as most downloaded app
#145Earlier quoted context omitted.
Another thing Tik Tok does is get rid of people who are obese, queer, or otherwise the target of harassment. Their stance is it's easier to get rid of the person being made fun of or limit who can see their videos rather than the 10k people harassing them. > According to Netzpolitik, the social media company instructed moderators to find users who are “susceptible to harassment or cyberbullying based on their physica…
On an abstract level, that sounds terrible, doesn't it? At the same time though, I feel like this seems like the "least bad" possible solution. If a subset of accounts are only going viral because people want to bully them, it seems reasonable to limit that content's reach.
I agree. It is with that same subservient mentality that I insist my daughters stay inside the house and never go outside. After all, I imagine there are lots of degenerates that want to abuse them. It's reasonable to limit my children's possible exposure to such people. Victim blaming is such a reasonable policy. Lol
Re: TikTok overtakes Facebook as most downloaded app
#146Earlier quoted context omitted.
Another thing Tik Tok does is get rid of people who are obese, queer, or otherwise the target of harassment. Their stance is it's easier to get rid of the person being made fun of or limit who can see their videos rather than the 10k people harassing them. > According to Netzpolitik, the social media company instructed moderators to find users who are “susceptible to harassment or cyberbullying based on their physica…
On an abstract level, that sounds terrible, doesn't it? At the same time though, I feel like this seems like the "least bad" possible solution. If a subset of accounts are only going viral because people want to bully them, it seems reasonable to limit that content's reach.
This really only makes sense if you ignore the fact that this is happening to a person. Being punished for being harassed sounds like some kind of hell.
Re: TikTok overtakes Facebook as most downloaded app
#147I'm a huge fan of TikTok because after years of content stagnation and dullness, the internet is fun again. Especially places like Twitter and Instagram are outrage and depression inducers for me, consumed together it feels like the society is collapsing but everyone is living a perfect life at the same time. The China thing is touchy but I want the west to beat them by being better, not by being dismissive and prote…
Another thing Tik Tok does is get rid of people who are obese, queer, or otherwise the target of harassment. Their stance is it's easier to get rid of the person being made fun of or limit who can see their videos rather than the 10k people harassing them. > According to Netzpolitik, the social media company instructed moderators to find users who are “susceptible to harassment or cyberbullying based on their physica…
You're not going to include the excerpt where a TikTok representative stated this was a bad practice and that they don't do those these things anymore?
Re: TikTok overtakes Facebook as most downloaded app
#148I'm a huge fan of TikTok because after years of content stagnation and dullness, the internet is fun again. Especially places like Twitter and Instagram are outrage and depression inducers for me, consumed together it feels like the society is collapsing but everyone is living a perfect life at the same time. The China thing is touchy but I want the west to beat them by being better, not by being dismissive and prote…
Another thing Tik Tok does is get rid of people who are obese, queer, or otherwise the target of harassment. Their stance is it's easier to get rid of the person being made fun of or limit who can see their videos rather than the 10k people harassing them. > According to Netzpolitik, the social media company instructed moderators to find users who are “susceptible to harassment or cyberbullying based on their physica…
It would appear that they've changed their strategy with these types of users to one of aggressive reply moderation as I'm regularly seeing content from all of the mentioned "high-risk" categories getting millions of likes and the comment sections are generally positive.
Re: TikTok overtakes Facebook as most downloaded app
#149I'm not a TikTok user.. or really a fan or user of any social media (and yes I realize I'm on HN).. but I find it silly that people are saying TikTok is somehow "better" for society or peoples' psyches than any of the alternatives.
Do you remember when Facebook wasn't considered terrible? Twitter? Reddit? Instagram? Snapchat?
This is just the latest one to rise to the top.. following very predictable patterns. It's got something novel (in this case I guess a better algorithm and UX).. an attracts an early community (which largely always seems like the youth rebelling against the current top dog). Then the masses come. Pretty soon.. that original spirit and thing that makes it "better" is taken away by greedy advertisers or "influencers" and the party's basically ruined. And then the next one comes along.
So consider me skeptical of TikTok being any fundamentally different. In another 2-3 years, the next social network will emerge and take over the zeitgeist. Rinse. repeat.
Re: TikTok overtakes Facebook as most downloaded app
#150Earlier quoted context omitted.
> What sort of manipulative amplification/suppression, specifically? Maybe a skinner box outrage machine that turns us into hostile tribes sniping over cultural crap while completely unable to govern ourselves as they surpass us? Amplifying pre-existing fault lines to encourage general weakness is certainly one that's been well explored. Another might be amplifying political or ideological that serve the foreign powe…
Sorry I was describing our current social networks. Impossible to gauge how thick to lay it on in text.
> Sorry I was describing our current social networks. Impossible to gauge how thick to lay it on in text.
I know you were. The issue here isn't that this kind of manipulation is totally unheard of, it's that it could be done far, far more effectively and stealthily with the control of the platform.