Have you downloaded TikTok?

[noname223]

A friend of mine (in his mid-twenties) told me he recently downloaded TikTok and was shown a lot of propaganda. I was surprised that he would compromise his data with such an app. But I also downloaded stupid apps in this past. Should I give TikTok a try? There are Youtube shorts and it seems to be a waste of time. Voyeurism, mainstream bullshit (e.g.beauty standards), attention span destruction.

I am not sure whether I am more concerned about my productivity and lifestyle or the data issues. It seems to be likely China uses it to spy on us. The US services are better equipped in Germany than German intelligence services but I am more concerned about the Chinese. Imagine how may intelligence services members are creeps who regularly use their power to screen nudes. Do you think something happens in this business often? I assume yes.

But that's off-topic.

It would be interesting to get a feeling why TikTok is that popular. There are certainly some allures. But I think overall the impact on my life would be bad.

I go with no. Maybe if there are many no's this is a good sign for the demographics of this websites.

 

[Downdraft]

I haven't and never will. I've heard horror stories of people I know using that app, how optimized it is to waste your time, and have overall nothing to earn by using it. It messes your schedule and you do all mental gymnastics to justify just one more funny video. Social media in general is also a leading factor in suicide.

Stay away from it. You have nothing to win there.

 

[MyChoiceAlone]

totally up to you. i have not

 

[sserafim]

Yeah, but I deleted it. It was basically a dopamine kick time drain. I think that short form videos/clips are super addictive. I have ~4K Tiktok followers and 200k likes tho because one of my videos got like ~550k views

 

[dragonofenvy]

here are Youtube shorts and it seems to be a waste of time. Voyeurism, mainstream bullshit (e.g.beauty standards), attention span destruction.

Isn't that just what's on TikTok? My YouTube shorts are usually gaming-related or a quick comedy skit. If I used TikTok it'd be the same once the algorithm adjusted. That there's the problem. Algorithm. It's gonna be designed to make you watch as much as possible. YouTube for example recommends me stuff I "like" watching to try to keep me engaged. TikTok will do the same thing. It's no different than any other platform.

I am not sure whether I am more concerned about my productivity and lifestyle or the data issues. It seems to be likely China uses it to spy on us.

Yep. Just like the US does when you use their services. Just like the German government spies on you when you use the internet in Germany. But just because everyone else does it doesn't mean that I want someone like China doing it to me. I'll take Germany stealing my data to use for... whatever Germany uses it for over China because the US-German relations are pretty good, unlike their relations with China. Preferably, I'd take steps to keep as many bad actors from knowing what I do as possible. That's why I don't use facebook or X as well.

 

[Agon321]

No. For me it is completely pointless. If I need a dopamine hit, I have YouTube.
TikTok is a tool like any other. There is a lot of controversy there, but it is only the people's fault.
I always blame the person, not the tool.
Of course, TikTok uses psychological tricks to addict users, but that's what every corporation does.
Chinese spying is another matter. Generally, I prefer my data to be collected by "big brother" overseas rather than by China. But in practice, everyone is spying on us.

To sum up, I don't use it because I don't need it :)

 

[4am]

i remember watching tiktok compilations on youtube as far back as 2018 but i never even registered on tt

 

[Lostandlooking]

It's definitely not a good thing to have your data used by China. And I respect anyone's decision to not use the app for whatever reason.

But honestly I've been enjoying it. For a couple of years now. But I make a new account every once in a while. I use an email that's not used for anything else. I don't upload any images or videos myself. My username is something that doesn't even reflect my interests. And of course I don't allow tiktok to access my contacts.

I don't care if I'm wasting time or even get addicted. I don't think I'm addicted. If you get addicted easily you might feel different.

I watch because every once in a while there's a really funny video that makes me laugh. It truly is a source of joy. (Albeit it's small and fleeting)

There's a lot of crap on there also and I regularly block someone. But finding funny videos every once in a while is worth it to me.

I haven't tried youtube shorts, maybe it's just as good. I just don't know.

I haven't come accross some of the weird trends that you sometimes hear about. They seem to know I'm not interested in that.

Mostly I get cat videos, people cleaning up hoarder houses, breaking bad memes, gaming memes or just gaming vids in general (bg3, sims, minecraft), people fixing botched up things, funny skits, slapstick funny stuff, music from the eighties and people talking about disability and mental health issues (that last one I sometimes don't like, sometimes I do) you just have to develop a good bs radar.

So for me it's been good. Not fantastic, just good. That's just my take.

 

[Forever Sleep]

I wonder if there's a correlation between youth and TikTok. I feel too old to download it...

 

[DarkRange55]

Nope. I don't have any social media at all unless you count this site. I have plenty of friends but I just call or message them. I just personally have no interest in it, and I also value my privacy.

TikTok is also Chinese malware.

One of my friends said Snapchat is for kids, and my other friend responded to that by saying, then TikTok is for rug rats.

 

[Ferdinand Bardamu]

No. My brain is already fried from using discoal and youtube too much

 

[DarkRange55]

I wonder if there's a correlation between youth and TikTok. I feel too old to download it...

U.S. TikTok users by age 2022 | Statista

TikTok is more popular among young users. Overall, 41 percent of Americans were using TikTok in 2022, while 67 percent of users aged 18 to 19 used the platform.

www.statista.com

 

[ijustwishtodie]

I downloaded it and used it for a bit but I quickly got bored and stopped using it

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

No. I'm Taiwanese so I won't submit to Chinese propaganda machines.

I also don't find it very funny. I'm sure there's something in that platform for me but I don't care enough to look for it.

 

[Pluto]

 

[ClaudeCTTE]

TikTok? Is that some kind of disease?
I was never diagnosed with that.

 

[Arachno]

Nope, never. I really don't like that app.

 

[Scythe]

I see a lot of bad things about it on youtube and it's generally kind of annoying. It also fucks ur attention span, mine is already shit, so it's a absolutely not for me.

 

[Praestat_Mori]

No. I never used TikTok and probably won't use it all. Probably I'm too old for this stuff ...

 

[Dliena]

Never had Never will.

 

[Evolution9]

Tried it for a couple of days 1 year ago and then unistalled.Im getting old

 

[Anon1337]

I have not downloaded it and never will.

 

[BrainShower]

Short videos give me rage and have since I saw vine for the first time.

But I liked web 1.0 best. I like to read things. I hate videos.
Don't miss the flashing tiled backgrounds though

 

[Unhumanly.]

No, I deleted Instagram too, I basically have nothing to do or interesting enough to be shown on social media so what's the point downloading
I know I'll be missing out a lot because of this, I won't know recent news or trend that everybody in my surroundings will talk about

 

[MindFrog]

Ok here me out.. I've only got the app last year and even if it's cancer there's one silver lining..

It's full of LGBT content and yes there's also tumblr but its not in the same format. Like compared to Youtube, atleast they're not as suppressed there. I also love the niche subcultures formed there even if its cringy most of the time.

I do see it following Youtube tho. Especially when they started pulling out music from artists in their platform. There's also the nonce problem.

I do hope there's a better platform but rn its one of the better ones out there.

 

[WhenTheyCry]

What does China do with our data anyways? Can someone answer?

 

[ConfusedClouds]

I also feel in the 'too old' and 'I have too many distractions anyway' groups.

I binned off insta/fb/twitter maybe 7 or 8 years ago.

Probably not helped me with my isolation but I equally compare myself way too easily to others and their online 'best lives' and was also guilty of contributing a wrong impression of my life.

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

What does China do with our data anyways? Can someone answer?

They use the algorithm to determine which types of propaganda and fear mongering would best be catered to you then slowly drip feed you fake or altered news meant to make your home country look weak (and sometimes make China look good in comparison). They literally do this in Taiwan by spreading misinformation on Taiwanese social media. For the US they have to be more subtle about it so they allow Tik Tok's algorithm to prioritize showing everyone the dumbest, mind-numbing shit just to lower their guards and make them more susceptible to accepting further disinformation that might happen to align with what they already agree with.

 

[WhenTheyCry]

They use the algorithm to determine which types of propaganda and fear mongering would best be catered to you then slowly drip feed you fake or altered news meant to make your home country look weak (and sometimes make China look good in comparison). They literally do this in Taiwan by spreading misinformation on Taiwanese social media. For the US they have to be more subtle about it so they allow Tik Tok's algorithm to prioritize showing everyone the dumbest, mind-numbing shit just to lower their guards and make them more susceptible to accepting further disinformation that might happen to align with what they already agree with.

Soft power has no meaning when you have no hard power. China is a paper tiger with no force behind their image. They're going to collapse two years from now I promise.

 

[4am]

They're going to collapse two years from now I promise.

JUST ONE MORE YEAR BRO I SWEAR BRO JUST ONE MORE YEAR IT WILL COLLAPSE PLEASE BRO JUST ONE MORE YEAR