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TikTok has turned culture into a feedback loop of impulse and machine learning

thenexus.media

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Re: TikTok has turned culture into a feedback loop of impulse and machine learning

#41

Post by bogtog »

keiferski wrote: post #12

Too simple of a narrative. At the same time, YouTube videos are getting longer, and people are watching more YouTube videos on TVs than on mobile devices: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradadgate/2025/02/12/launched-... So I think we're seeing more of a bifurcation: in-depth longform videos are becoming 30, 40, 60, even 90 minutes long, whereas anything shorter than 10 minutes is being compressed to 30-60 seconds. The…

> At the same time, YouTube videos are getting longer, and people are watching more YouTube videos on TVs than on mobile devices

I assume this is a replacement for TV/streaming. Cases were you previously would've wanted a 10-minute YouTube video are becoming cases where you watch 30-60 second ones. Cases where you previously wanted a 20+ minute Netlfix show are becoming ones where you turn to long YouTube videos

Re: TikTok has turned culture into a feedback loop of impulse and machine learning

#42

Post by Tenoke »

keiferski wrote: post #12

Too simple of a narrative. At the same time, YouTube videos are getting longer, and people are watching more YouTube videos on TVs than on mobile devices: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradadgate/2025/02/12/launched-... So I think we're seeing more of a bifurcation: in-depth longform videos are becoming 30, 40, 60, even 90 minutes long, whereas anything shorter than 10 minutes is being compressed to 30-60 seconds. The…

Exactly this tho with more than just 2 categories. You find more than ever optimized for the 60s category, that's true, and you do get longform silos - but those include one silo of channels that clock around 10m, as well as another in the hour+ podcasts case.

The main new takeaway is that the shortform category is bigger and more important than previously imagined but hardly the sole winner.

Re: TikTok has turned culture into a feedback loop of impulse and machine learning

#43

Post by xhrpost »

quxbar wrote: post #20
keiferski wrote: post #12

Too simple of a narrative. At the same time, YouTube videos are getting longer, and people are watching more YouTube videos on TVs than on mobile devices: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradadgate/2025/02/12/launched-... So I think we're seeing more of a bifurcation: in-depth longform videos are becoming 30, 40, 60, even 90 minutes long, whereas anything shorter than 10 minutes is being compressed to 30-60 seconds. The…

I won't even look at a youtube video essay about an obscure vintage RPG (my preferred form of guilty pleasure viewing) if it's under 20 minutes long.

I watched a 2 hour video on the history of computer RPGs, I think it was specific to DND, and found it captivating. Would also like to hear your recs.

Re: TikTok has turned culture into a feedback loop of impulse and machine learning

#44

Post by jollyllama »

boringg wrote: post #15
atlintots wrote: post #8

For me, the worst part is that it is so hard to go back to previous forms of media. I often delete these short form content apps in an effort to quit them, but it is now so difficult to get engaged with "slower" forms of media. The thing with Tiktok isn't the length of the media, it's just how fast-paced and "catchy" it is. I could watch an hour long fast paced video just fine, but watching a slow paced show, or read…

You let your dopamine loop get hacked

This. It's going to take some serious effort to un-wirehead yourself. Look to religious traditions for methods. Meditation, fasting, prayer.

Re: TikTok has turned culture into a feedback loop of impulse and machine learning

#46

Post by awjlogan »

keiferski wrote: post #12

Too simple of a narrative. At the same time, YouTube videos are getting longer, and people are watching more YouTube videos on TVs than on mobile devices: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradadgate/2025/02/12/launched-... So I think we're seeing more of a bifurcation: in-depth longform videos are becoming 30, 40, 60, even 90 minutes long, whereas anything shorter than 10 minutes is being compressed to 30-60 seconds. The…

It seems that the very long videos are a reaction against the very short clips. Usually the topics and density of information are not enough to consistently fill that amount of time, whereas it would be perfect in 10-30 mins. 60 secs: too short to convey much, 60 mins too long to convey too little.

Re: TikTok has turned culture into a feedback loop of impulse and machine learning

#47

Post by westurner »

Vine had 6 second short form video in 2012.

Vine: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vine_(service)

Short-form content: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short-form_content

YouTube still requires disconnecting connected chromecast devices to view YouTube Shorts?

Re: TikTok has turned culture into a feedback loop of impulse and machine learning

#48

Post by righthand »

FjordWarden wrote: post #21

> The irony, of course, is that if you've read this far, it may mean you’ve already mastered a rare skill: sustained attention in a world of distraction. No, sorry I read the first and last sentence. This is why I like the short format more then the long forms, it often boils down to the same clever narrative trickery without waisting 3 hours of your life.

So you didn’t read that far then. You intentionally skipped it because you assumed to know the value. However by skipping the article you didn’t gain any value and hence why you’re in the comments section trying to “gotcha” the author of the article. You missed the point entirely and not as clever as you think.

It did not take me 3 hours to read that article.

Re: TikTok has turned culture into a feedback loop of impulse and machine learning

#49

Post by elpocko »

ndriscoll wrote: post #5

This post popped up a blocking window before I was even 3 sentences in, so maybe unsurprising that I clicked away in less than 60 seconds. If the author wants people to read whatever it is they have to say, maybe they should not put distractions in front of their writing?

OP is only here to promote their own content, never comments, never posts anything other than their own blog.

Re: TikTok has turned culture into a feedback loop of impulse and machine learning

#50

Post by Funes- »

nottorp wrote: post #6

... but everything was mostly crap and not worth your time even before it was 60 seconds long. If you spend your days watching "content" it's your fault.

The "shit" to "good" ratio in literally every field was much less skewed to the "shit" side before smartphones and social media came along. It's always this same fallacy: "hey, that was always a thing!". Sure, drugs have "always" been a thing, but did you have fentanyl producing real-life zombie parades in the streets just ten years ago? If we make these reductionist claims, we can say just about every phenomenon was already a thing a hundred thousand years ago. We have to think about the degree to which something is occurring as well, and how it is taking place, not just try to dismiss it through knee-jerk intended retorts.
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