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TikTok overtakes Facebook as most downloaded app

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Re: TikTok overtakes Facebook as most downloaded app

#61

Post by howaboutnope »

edgyquant wrote: post #22
EamonnMR wrote: post #10

The march away from language continues. Facial expressions may be a rich form of communication but the kinds of ideas you can communicate with them are severely restricted. Literacy was hard won and now it seems like we're letting it go. Then again, maybe I'm just too old to understand.

Literacy will always have its place. Short, meme centered, entertainment isn’t one of them I suppose.

Actions, in this case what someone uses their time on and fills their mind with, aren't in a place, they're in place of the other actions one could have taken. And hey, one could say literacy also "had its place" when the church ruled over the illiterate in medieval times, so that itself isn't much of a consolation.

Re: TikTok overtakes Facebook as most downloaded app

#62

Post by jackcosgrove »

thisisnico wrote: post #37
ericcholis wrote: post #4

Pro TikTok take. It's easier and friendlier to consume. The algorithm is good at tailoring interests. But, it's more like TV than FB.

Honestly, from a social media perspective, TikTok feels like the least toxic environment. Nobody is showing off their new homes, cars, kids, spending. It feels like a significantly reduced pressure to produce. Many of my friends are just consumers of content. Most of the content I'm seeing are memes and are funny. Even the advertising is more light hearted.

I wonder if this is because TikTok targets a younger demographic that is digital native and practices better internet hygiene.

Re: TikTok overtakes Facebook as most downloaded app

#64

Post by arsome »

MisterTea wrote: post #57
nostromo wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s also much more positive. If I spend 20 minutes on TikTok I usually laugh and smile a few times. And regularly I’m impressed at human creativity. 20 minutes on Instagram or Facebook is usually either boring or leaves me comparing myself to others. 20 minutes on YouTube and I feel like I’ve watched 10 minutes of ads and 10 minutes of fluff. 20 minutes on Reddit and I hate the world.

Spending 20 minutes in any of those apps is 20 minutes you didn't do something productive. None of them are good for you.

I don't think it's reasonable to expect people to be doing productive things 24x7. You're going to want a break at some point.

Re: TikTok overtakes Facebook as most downloaded app

#65

Post by 310260 »

ciconia wrote: post #56
tux3 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is sculpting, or painting, a step in the march away from language, too? Is dancing? What about videos of people dancing is going to hurt literacy. People will consume Apps instead of TV, neither are literature, but one you can participate in. You may be too old to let yourself like new things. Where's the childlike wonder? I don't use The Tik toks either, but let me not lose mine.

Sculpting, painting, dancing etc is creation. Watching other people do it is not.

People go to museums to look at art. That's solely consumption that does not require being literate.

Re: TikTok overtakes Facebook as most downloaded app

#66

Post by reggieband »

I 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 feed as the third or fourth card during scrolling) is 90% stuff stolen from and that I already saw a few days ago on TikTok. But absent their algorithm it isn't nearly as effective.

I often have to remind myself how good TikTok's algorithm is. After using it for just a couple of days I can tell it knows more about me than I am comfortable with, even though I just scroll the FYP (For You Page) without logging into an account. The unbelievably narrow category of content it serves me clearly panders to my personality in a way that almost lets me believe I have a majority opinion. It creates a nearly perfectly personally tailored media bubble.

A lot of people from my generation (Gen X) and even from the older Millennial's don't use it, thinking it is just for the kids. That is probably for the best. If you are susceptible to media addiction I suggest never downloading it. TikTok: Not Even Once.

Re: TikTok overtakes Facebook as most downloaded app

#67

Post by code_duck »

arsome wrote: post #41
nostromo wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s also much more positive. If I spend 20 minutes on TikTok I usually laugh and smile a few times. And regularly I’m impressed at human creativity. 20 minutes on Instagram or Facebook is usually either boring or leaves me comparing myself to others. 20 minutes on YouTube and I feel like I’ve watched 10 minutes of ads and 10 minutes of fluff. 20 minutes on Reddit and I hate the world.

Yeah, no kidding with that reddit one, every time I go there I feel like everyone is just in constant fear or anger, especially going to subreddits for my city/state. I've near completely stopped using it due to this. Now I just spend way too much time on YouTube instead. It may be a terrible waste of time, but at least it's less angry and fearful.

Regional subs are the worst, for whatever reason. My theory is it's because they bring together people with nothing in common besides their geographic location.

Even subs that should be neutral, fun or supportive have attitude problems. One about a game I'm playing, for instance, consists mainly of dramatic complaints with a feeling of impending doom.

Re: TikTok overtakes Facebook as most downloaded app

#68

Post by mrtksn »

cwkoss wrote: post #49
mrtksn wrote: post #25

I'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…

It would be really interesting if TikTok allowed users to make a sequential thread of videos, and added a scroll control to view "next video in sequence". Currently "part 2" videos are very tedious to find, if they could make a way to continue a sequence from the fyp with a simple gesture or button, I think they could seriously challenge longer form videos as well.

I haven't created a TikTok video yet, so don't count on me for the details but on some videos I see a link to a playlist.

BTW, I skip all multi-part videos unless there is a good reason for being multipart. Most are trying to game the system.

Re: TikTok overtakes Facebook as most downloaded app

#69

Post by LeifCarrotson »

nostromo wrote: post #28
ericcholis wrote: post #4

Pro TikTok take. It's easier and friendlier to consume. The algorithm is good at tailoring interests. But, it's more like TV than FB.

It’s also much more positive. If I spend 20 minutes on TikTok I usually laugh and smile a few times. And regularly I’m impressed at human creativity. 20 minutes on Instagram or Facebook is usually either boring or leaves me comparing myself to others. 20 minutes on YouTube and I feel like I’ve watched 10 minutes of ads and 10 minutes of fluff. 20 minutes on Reddit and I hate the world.

How do you feel after 20 minutes on HN?

Also, what subreddits/communmities are you in on Reddit that make you hate the world after 20 minutes? Are you on /r/popular or /r/all, or filtered down to your niche interests?

Re: TikTok overtakes Facebook as most downloaded app

#70

Post by fshbbdssbbgdd »

the_only_law wrote: post #50
arsome wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, no kidding with that reddit one, every time I go there I feel like everyone is just in constant fear or anger, especially going to subreddits for my city/state. I've near completely stopped using it due to this. Now I just spend way too much time on YouTube instead. It may be a terrible waste of time, but at least it's less angry and fearful.

> every time I go there I feel like everyone is just in constant fear or anger Hell, HN feels like this often.

I think about this post a lot: https://www.reddit.com/r/slatestarcodex/comments/9rvroo/most...
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