October 18, 2024

Everything has been Tik-Tokified. Lets check How?

I generally end up splayed out on my bed with my thumbs searching for a social networking app as the blue light from my phone shines on my face after a long day of classes. I’m drawn to the flickering blue and red music note even though I’m trying to hide this app on the last page of my home screen.

Oh, TikTok. Nothing compares to shutting down my mind entirely and spending a few hours scrolling through doomstricken articles after spending the entire day in college-level classes. I lose myself in the scroll and never come to a finish until I’m finally jolted back to reality by a roommate’s nagging or a quick check of the time.

This issue While you need to Download Tiktok Videos, if you want to call it that, is obviously not unique to me. I’ve discussed my difficulties with the app and similar apps with coworkers and other students. Eventually, as if I were the head of their AA meeting of social media addicts, they dejectedly admit to me that they scroll through TikTok for hours on end.

The fact that TikTok has influenced every sphere of our culture, from politics to music, movies, and television, is maybe its most odd feature rather than its addictive algorithm. The algorithm is obviously a major factor in this. Likes, comments, followers, and the amount of time a user spends on a video are all continuously monitored by the app. This improves the “For You Page” for users. sucking them even deeper into the app. Then, considering the length of each video, it’s a recipe for disaster. 

For instance, TV and movies. The typical TikTok video lasts around 35 seconds, although they can occasionally be as long as three minutes or 10 seconds. It goes without saying that these breaks are not particularly long in comparison to an hour-long television program or a two-and-a-half-hour film.

Thus, our ability to focus is severely impaired. Because I know I’ll find something more intriguing on an app, something lot more sophisticated to my taste, I always end up shutting off the TV five minutes after I click on it. Moreover, a peculiar occurrence occurs on TikTok when a creator may post a TV show or movie at intervals of one to two minutes. I’ve mentioned TV shows so many times that someone has said, “I haven’t watched it, but I’ve seen clips on TikTok or Instagram Reels.” They usually end this talk by giving me the whole plot.

Music is arguably the most repulsive element of pop culture that TikTok has impacted. Every TikTok video requires a “sound” to function successfully on the algorithm; typically, this is a 15-second musical sample. People now remember the chorus of a song from a viral TikTok trend rather than their favorite music on the radio.

I recently attended a wedding and was thrilled to see one of my best friends dance for the first time with his bride. The person next to me leaned over and whispered in my ear, “kind of funny that they’re having their first dance to a TikTok song,” interrupting the romance.

I initially laughed at this, but as soon as I realized that this was the state of music, my positive emotions vanished and were swiftly replaced with sadness.

Many of my favorite musicians, like Pinegrove, Elliott Smith, and The Sundays, have been reduced to just another TikTok sound. Furthermore, the music being produced nowadays is essentially designed to have a TikTok sound.

Then there is politics and the news. It’s embarrassing to acknowledge that, even as a student journalist, TikTok is where I get the majority of my news. The most frightening thing about this situation, in my opinion, is that anyone may post on TikTok, thus the information I take in could be completely untrue. Because so many individuals fail to approach the content they see on social media with a healthy dosage of skepticism, TikTok poses a significant risk of spreading false information and paranoia.

I can’t claim that I’m not contributing to the issue. I’m completely engrossed in TikTok and its algorithm, finding music and TV series and absorbing its news. But I believe it’s crucial that we use prudence when consuming. In other words, we need to be mindful about what we post on TikTok. Don’t approach the music or movie as a short-lived segment of a visually appealing TikTok video meant to get as many views as possible. Instead, enjoy it for what it is. Be skeptical of information found on TikTok. Spend some time fact-checking it on Google or another news website. This kind of basic critical thinking could have a significant impact in the future. The significant impact of this relatively new technology is still unknown.