bc people typing like this make me feel older than i actually am. i dislike the self-censorship of terms such as killing, fuck, etc, and I don’t mean that in a chuddy anti-censorship way it just comes off as insincere when people say shit like unalive or whatever. to actually unpack why i hate it when people type like shown in the screenshot - nothing of substance is actually being said, it’s just a bunch of canned phrases being used in their context. i understand this isn’t representative of tiktok as a whole but it sure as hell is what i associate with tiktok.
Those comments are meant to be stupidly funny for teenagers not have substance lol (tho theyre pretty clever sometimes imo). If you get it you get it (and are also probably terminally online)
The self-censorship is bc tiktok has a history of shadowbanning content that uses certain words
Yea the unalive things a great example.
It’s weird were treating certain words like voldemorts name but even weirder we all just agree on a really stupid sounding alternative that everybody knows means the exact same thing.
It’s like it isn’t the concept of suicide that people might not like, it’s just the literal word itself apparently.
And now how long until you need another word because unalive just means suicide.
I know this is dangerously close to chuds arguments on why slurs aren’t a biflg deal cus it just keeps getting changed but at least those are over a longer time frame and actually have the intention of changing the meaning and context of a term.
It’s like it isn’t the concept of suicide that people might not like, it’s just the literal word itself apparently.
People don’t beat around saying “suicide” because they’re not trying to trigger anyone? It’s a way of getting around censorship. Tiktok has history with hiding videos that talk about serious mental health issues from the algorithm (they even shadowbanned the word “depression” so people were using “d3pr3ssion” or some shit)
Sometimes people even self-censor while being intentionally triggering, for example they know if they said “kys” their comment would get filtered, so you might see people saying “unalive yourself” or “keep yourself safe”
Shittiest way to consume content.
The idea that you should intentionally be gimping yourself to a certain amount of seconds/text just seems fucking stupid. Forums are the superior way to post.
I prefer long-form video content. Also y’know the whole thing where the algorithm is optimized to exploit every vulnerability in the human psyche to keep people glued to their screens is a bit sus.
I agree with what everyone’s saying here. I don’t think I qualify as old. I was a teenager when it first blew up. It’s designed to be addictive, extremely short form content has produced an absolute gutter of content. The success of it’s brain-mining operation is now being mimicked by every other form of entertainment on the planet. Everything’s got 15 cuts per second, 50 things flying around on screen at once, and so on. It feels like tiktok woke companies up to the fact that you don’t need good content, you just need hyperstimulation.
As well as all of that, I think tiktok tracks with the rise of onlyfans. In itself, the whole debate of self-prostitution is difficult. I understand that onlyfans is a preferable alternative to every other form of pornography production. However, the way it’s advertised on tiktok to kids doesn’t sit right with me, especially when it’s wrapped up as part of the brain goo. As in, you get the visual hyperstimulation of colours and noises, but you also get stimulation that appeals to a sexual desire which is so innate to being human. It gives you those brain chemicals to keep you on the app. Then these onlyfans models get a huge following of teenagers, and as a result you see a worsening of the already bad porn addiction situation that came about with the ease of access the internet provides. I’m not blaming the onlyfans models for it - it’s a symptom of a much larger problem of capitalism induced isolation and commodification of our very minds.
I don’t think I qualify as old. I was a teenager when it first blew up
You’re literally the skibidi generation
I just don’t like video content. I get annoyed when I click a link here and it takes me to YouTube. I just want articles and other text based slop because I am old.
