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Why I Deleted Tik Tok

and not in an annoying "technology is evil" way

By BlondeFrogPublished 3 years ago 7 min read
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It started when quarantine did.

My university had basically just told us all to go the fuck home. Immediately. I was crying in the club- aka, my bed- as I tried to reason out whether I wanted to go home to a less than ideal environment, stay on a practically deserted campus, or run off into the distance barefoot and get a head start on the apocalypse. Thrown into the depths of worry and despair, I opened up tik tok.

Immediately, I was met with videos of people making light of the exact issue I was crying over.

‘Congrats to the woman addicted to eating toilet paper on one week clean’. ‘Me FaceTiming to my schools lockdown drill because coronavirus made my school fully online’. *Pianist plays accompaniment that impressively harmonizes Cardi B’s coronavirus speech*. The list goes on.

I had the app already downloaded on that day, but wasn’t a frequent visitor- the fact that it used to be Musically still left a sour taste in my mouth. This particular day, however, my opinion was completely changed. Those videos made me realize that a pandemic meant the whole world was both suffering and laughing together. It was exactly what I needed at that moment.

The need to feel connected to someone or something as lockdown began to get serious was something that, over the months, I began to exclusively get from tik tok as I started using the app a lot- like, a lot. Stay inside and stay on your phone? Ok- I just found a great new thing to look at anyway.

However, after almost a year of such aggressive use, I’ve reached a breaking point. The app I once loved is now one I can’t stand. Here’s me explaining why.

1. The repetition. The repetition. The repetition.

Tik tok’s most unique feature is one that it inherited from its days as Musically, which was an app which mainly featured people cosplaying and lip syncing to audio clips from their favorite TV shows or musicians. I’ve watched my fair share of Rick and Morty Musically cringe compilations and I’m still not quite sure what emotion they make me feel.

Now a more general video app, the audio that people recycle and lip sync to are audio clips or bizarre musical mash-ups that originate on the app itself. An audio that just consists of chewing sounds and the occasional “fuck you” is repurposed like a video meme format that people apply in tons of really funny and unique ways. The stitch feature, as well, makes it so that both video and audio of someone’s prompt- “Does anyone have any, like, wicked random celebrity beef?”- can be reused by tons of different users as well.

Here’s the downside. Eventually, popular audios evolve into trends. And trends evolve into attempts by millions of people trying to get popular. And those millions of people’s attempts turn into a For You Page (tik tok feed) plagued and dominated by 3 specific audios.

This is only worsened by the fact that tik tok’s algorithm tries to give you more of what you like, even if it gets that wrong sometimes. I had a period of time where every other video I got was another Lin Manuel Miranda lip-biting meme even though I opposite of liked that shit. To this day very few people even know what I’m talking about when I bring that up.

When these audios or trends- such as the mash up between Toxic and Love Shack- get stuck in your head, it creates a feeling similar to what I imagine having LSD directly applied to your eyeball feels like. I suddenly realized I do not love this feeling.

2. Many A Politic

I feel tik tok has changed quite a bit over the timeframe I’m speaking about here, which is from about March to now. In one sense, the app quickly became a place for not only the sharing of political thought but also mobilization direct action. One movement I was directly involved in was in the mass signing up for the Tulsa Trump rally, causing our now twice impeached ex-president to completely overestimate attendance and get kind of humiliated as a result. That was pretty classic.

The platform was also used to publicize and share videos of Black Lives Matter protests happening around America, which was considered special to this platform because of the federal government’s lack of ability to curate content on the Chinese-run app (Simonite). And, also thanks to the algorithm, politically motivated people got more politically motivated content.

While this in and of itself is not bad- it’s amazing-, my tik tok began to reach a point where every other video was about a different political cause. This became kind of overwhelming, especially as the app went on to change further. Elaboration to follow.

3. Share. Copy Link.

The app also changed pretty drastically after the Creator Fund was introduced in July. For those not aware, this basically made it so that tik tok creators were able to make more money the more popular they proved to be. So, now there was an incentive beyond fame for people to hit 10k followers or go viral.

This has led to a lot of videos of people in some type of hard situation- whether that be facing eviction, having an injured pet, or needing to flee an abusive relationship- asking for donations of sorts in the form of people interacting with their account by following, liking or sharing.

Similarly, lots of artists and small-business owners have started to use the platform as a way to promote their products or art. This spans from etsy earring makers to aspiring rappers, all asking for similar types of support- orders, streams, likes, comments, etc.

Because of the algorithm I mentioned before, however, interacting with one of these videos means tik tok gives you more. I did my best when still using the app to support every one I saw until, once again, most of my fyp was this type of video.

Again, this is not inherently bad! I actually was considering using the app for this purpose as well. I swear, I have a less-dickish point coming soon.

4. The Sensory Overload

So, what? You’re so privileged that you can’t afford a few minutes out of your days towards people or causes in need?

The answer is... kind of? I’m generally not opposed to political content or posts where people ask for donations. This happens all the time on tumblr especially, which I still frequent more than I would care to admit. There is just something inherent to tik tok that has made the way these videos reach me become overwhelming.

The repetitive audio mixed with the content that’s intense in different ways began to create an experience of sensory overload every time I opened the app. This was actually worsened when this content interspersed with a completely pointless video of a dog getting its head stuck in a popcorn bag (no offense, dog, you’re still funny), as it created extreme mood shifts that made me feel kind of weird and almost desensitized to the emotions behind the more serious content.

It began to feel too much like every separate video needed something from me. I eventually realized tik tok felt more like a job than something I was doing for fun in my down time.

When it came down to it, I couldn't care about everything at once. I’m not built like that. I don’t really think anyone is.

5. I Was Addicted

Much of this, I think, lies in the video format. Perusing tumblr or twitter requires that you read the post- it’s much easier to skip past content that you don’t care to engage in. On tik tok, where someone will intentionally make their first words “stop scrolling” (and semi-guilt you into watching), that choice is kind of lost.

Tik tok’s format also means that, much like watching a movie vs reading a book, the content can just happen to you. Watching a video is not necessarily a more passive activity than viewing, though it can much more easily turn into one. This makes tik tok a lot easier to waste hours instead of minutes on, eating up your entire day. This was kind of okay for some of quarantine, but now I’m all depressed again and am looking for ways to change that.

The Thrilling Conclusion

Listen, this could just be me. Part of it might be that I empathize quite easily or that I was already in an unhealthy mental place before using tik tok (though, I think everyone probably is at this point), but I’m always just Trying different things to make life better.

So, me and her (tik tok)... we’re taking a break for now. But I hope someday I can re-engage with it a normal amount, because I truly think that tik tok has provided a uniquely wonderful platform for activists, small businesses, and otherwise normal people.

… and that guy who dresses up as Willy Wonka.

Sources + Credits

Simonite, Tom. “Trump May Soon Order TikTok's Sale, as Microsoft Circles.” Wired, Conde Nast, www.wired.com/story/trump-order-tiktok-sale-microsoft-circles/.

Tik Tok Users:

@kevboyperry

@charlescornellstudios

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About the Creator

BlondeFrog

I'm a college student who has too many opinions on things none of my friends want to hear me talk about. Sorry in advance if I say anything pretentious or stupid.

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