TikTok is horrible
Introduction:
I am writing this article simply for fun and because I am interested in the topic. I had TikTok for a long time, and it stole an endless amount of my time. But let’s take a look at why TikTok is so bad.
Chapter 1: The Time Thief
Who doesn’t know it: You go on TikTok once and, tada — suddenly 1, 2, or even more hours are gone. In that time, you could have done something much more valuable, like working. Let’s assume you watch TikTok for 3 hours daily instead of working. At the average German hourly wage, you would have earned 1,900 euros by the end of the month. Amazing, right? But why is TikTok so good at stealing our time?
TikTok can be compared to a battlefield. On this battlefield, however, not two states fight for power, but millions of influencers for the attention of users. A video on TikTok is often less than a minute long, yet influencers manage to pack tons of information into this short time. This is, of course, an attractive pastime. It’s much more fun to quickly take in a lot of information and then immediately see others. But let’s be honest: How much do you remember from the 3 hours you spend on TikTok?
I’ll be bold and guess almost nothing. Thus, you don’t really gain any value from TikTok. But let’s move on to the content on TikTok that steals so much time. Very popular on TikTok are so-called “Thirst Traps”. These are videos where attractive people pose sexily and talk flirtatiously or lip sync. These contents are naturally very attention-grabbing because, let’s be honest, who hasn’t lost their train of thought in public because they saw an attractive person?
Other videos are completely different, for example: “How to build a chair”, “New product at Sephora”, “Vacation in Milan”, etc. As you can see, these videos have no real value for most people or don’t stay in memory for long. Videos that do have value, such as educational videos, have a very hard time building an audience. And if they do have one, it is usually not large. It’s no wonder that educational content is among the most paid on YouTube.
Chapter 2: TikTok as a Weapon
At first glance, it sounds silly. You probably ask yourself: “How can TikTok be used as a weapon?”. I will gladly explain. If you look at Western TikTok and then the Chinese TikTok, you quickly recognize a difference. Western TikTok constantly recommends worthless junk, as already described above, but Chinese TikTok shows a lot of educational content, of course also Thirst Traps and people who are currently successful. Now the question arises: “So what’s so bad about that?”. I can explain it quickly and easily. Envy arises in both cases; you want to have what the people in the video have. However, in the West, you are more likely to want a luxury vacation because you constantly see that on TikTok. A vacation, however, has no value for the future; you just lose hundreds or thousands of euros. However, if you are envious that someone has just started a company or graduated from university, then you want that too and strive for a degree or your own company. Thus, TikTok is used as a weapon to make the West dumb with brain rot and worthless junk, while China is strengthened and brought success through envy.
Chapter 3: Privacy
When you sign up for TikTok, you first give them your email, then your phone number, and eventually your credit card information. At first glance, this doesn’t seem so bad. The same happens with Instagram and, so far, no account has been emptied. However, Instagram is from the USA — not much better, but still — and TikTok is from China. Chinese companies are required to provide data to the state if requested. This means that if the Chinese state wants your data, TikTok must hand it over. Then China has everything, even your credit card information. Whether you want that is up to each individual.
Chapter 4: Effects on the Body
TikTok causes a constant release of dopamine in its users. Dopamine is the happiness hormone. This means your body rewards itself for watching TikToks, and as a result, hours are wasted. Additionally, the short videos greatly reduce attention span, making it hard to concentrate for longer periods. Other issues caused by TikTok include impulsive behavior, social media addiction, etc.
Chapter 5: TikTok Challenges
I think everyone knows what I am going to mention here. A good example of dumb TikTok challenges is the Tide Pod Challenge. In the Tide Pod Challenge, one consumes a Tide Pod. A Tide Pod is a small packet filled with laundry detergent. It should be logical to anyone with three brain cells that eating detergent is dumb and deadly. Already in 2021, this challenge claimed 86 lives in the USA. But there are even more dumb challenges, for example, where people cook with NyQuil and then eat it. It is simply incomprehensible to me why anyone would do or try such things.
Chapter 6: Conclusion
To be honest, I am not positively convinced. The deaths it causes, the violation of privacy, the addictive nature, etc., are not worth it to me just to be entertained for a few hours. Thus, in conclusion, it can be said that TikTok is not worth it and is even bad.
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