Comment by sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works on With a TikTok Ban Looming, Users Flee to Chinese App ‘Red Note’

Both can be true. I’m against banning TikTok, but I also think TikTok is absolutely terrible and nobody should use it. China is authoritarian, and this ban by the US is wrong. I say this as an American.

Why is it terrible? Have you ever even been on it? Most people I’ve encountered that say it’s terrible or it’s brain rot or something along those lines have never even been on it, they’re simply parroting what they’ve heard other people say

I’ve seen people scrolling on it their whole time on public transportations on materials worse than the worst of TV commercials, like they were in a trance. I know people who using it for at lease an hour every day before bed, and admitting they don’t know what they get from it, just boredom. From what I know, it’s like brainwashing for people who don’t know what to do with their lives.

They could listen to a Joe Rogan podcast the exact same way. They’re on public transport, what the fuck else are they going to do but look at their phone or listen to something with headphones?

I have to admit, you are right. If there is nothing been stuffed into their minds, most people really don’t know what to do with themselves, just like Montag’s wife from Fahrenheit 451. But there are differences between actively seek something you interested in than going blank and let the algorithms do the job for you. I thought people in Fediserse mostly against the idea of the latter. Otherwise, you will go to Tiktok or something.

Once you’ve spent some time the algorithm learns what you like. For example my feed is a lot of indie music, civil rights, and table top role-playing stuff. Once it gets enough information on the stuff you like you don’t really need to do more than swipe past the ads.

So you have your nose so far up in their business you know exactly what app they’re watching and what type of materials they’re consuming? I’m going to wager none of the things that you just claimed you’ve ever witnessed

I know that advertisers love that TikTok knows when a user desires your product. I wonder why they can target you so well? All state sponsored social media, X and Meta and company as well as TikTok, should be avoided if you don’t want corporations and capitalists and authoritarians having that much information about you. If you hate corporations trying to sell you things, maybe don’t use a dopamine and social habit tracking app that’s designed to sell ads to play on your fears

I have never received targeted advertising on tiktok. I can’t remember the last time I had seen an ad on there.

oh bless your heart 😌

Apologies for the southern passive aggressiveness, but I believe you may not notice how much content is an ad

Why, don’t you know there’s a thing called observation?

There’s also this thing called making the shit up

Looks like where your heart truly belong is Mao’s China or Stalin’s Russia. You’ve commented quite a lot of things.

How do you know heroin is bad for you? Have you tried it? You can’t say it’s bad unless you’ve tried it.

Where do I begin:

China has more-or-less direct control over the app, and China is an enemy of the US
extensive tracking
it’s designed specifically to be addictive instead of beneficial

Other SM apps do 2 and 3, but that doesn’t mean TikTok is okay, it means those other apps are also terrible.

Where’s the evidence then?

I’m guessing you’re talking about the first point, so I looked into it and it seems China only owns a “golden share” (1%?), which doesn’t seem big enough to really cause problems. That said, I don’t know much about Chinese business, so maybe there’s still something there. But that’s just speculation, not evidence.

That said, that doesn’t change my opinion of it being terrible, because the last two points still stand. They also apply to domestic social media apps as well.

I’ll repeat it again, I don’t think it should be banned, but I also don’t think anyone should use it.

That’s the thing, the last time the government did something this sweeping without showing it’s evidence, me and a few hundred thousand of my best buddies got sent to Iraq.

Banning a SM app is nothing like declaring a War on Terror. For the record, I opposed both, as well as the War in Afghanistan. I’m sorry you were sent to fight in a pointless war.

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With a TikTok Ban Looming, Users Flee to Chinese App ‘Red Note’(www.wired.com)

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