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I'll just relink to my last comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28024747 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28024747: > My impression is that TikT

by daptaq 5y ago

I'll just relink to my last comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28024747 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28024747: > My impression is that TikTok is the most shameless exploiter of curating content to maximize attention. You resign all the control and hope to petition "the algorithm" to change what you get to see -- like some kind of a god that ultimatly controls you, no matter what you sacrifice. They are in a position to spread propaganda and prevent imformation from spreading -- or you from being heard. Even more so, this can be individualized (especially with the rise of virtual influencers). I wonder, if it might eventually be able to change someone's mind by slowly nudging them in the right direction, breaking down pre-existing beliefs and positions. And as youtube, twitter, etc. have shown, one of the main ways to increase addiction is to spread controversy. Have people screem and cry at one another, who wants mediation? Society is being reduced to a means of entertainment. Considering that one out of eight human being are using this app is terrifying to me. Even more when considering that people in the third world might be less likely to use a video-intensive service like this, meaning that in the first-world, especially among people my age the rate is even higher! I consider it a concrete danger, that should be taken seriously.

ausudhz 5y ago
I think this is a generic statement that can be applied to any social media nowadays. I wonder what's the solution?
- daptaq 5y ago
  My feeling is that (public) social media doesn't work in general. This is not a technological problem, it is just accelerated by technology.
wongarsu 5y ago
Newspapers can spread propaganda or keep information from spreading, or you from being heard. Yes, everyone using TikTok as their only source of news and entertainment is incredibly bad. But that can be said (and has been said) about almost any source of news or entertainment. We should rather teach us and our children healthy engagement with media, how to avoid addiction and how to make sure we engage with different platforms. If you don't let any one platform monopolize your attention, having a Chinese platform as counterbalance to all the American platforms seems great. A Chinese platform is unlikely to have the same interests as a US platform, so it's easier to see the bias in either if you consume both.
- daptaq 5y ago
  Yes, but newspapers are not in a position to generate an image of your psychology, that could be used to manipulate you. Imagine any belief you currently hold dearly, be it social, personal or political, that you could be manipulated into betraying. Something like this is either the basis or the prototype for a unforeseen danger to society -- and that is without taking into consideration how horrible the culture on the platform can be.

by daptaq 5y ago

ausudhz 5y ago

I think this is a generic statement that can be applied to any social media nowadays. I wonder what's the solution?

daptaq 5y ago
My feeling is that (public) social media doesn't work in general. This is not a technological problem, it is just accelerated by technology.

wongarsu 5y ago

Newspapers can spread propaganda or keep information from spreading, or you from being heard. Yes, everyone using TikTok as their only source of news and entertainment is incredibly bad. But that can be said (and has been said) about almost any source of news or entertainment. We should rather teach us and our children healthy engagement with media, how to avoid addiction and how to make sure we engage with different platforms. If you don't let any one platform monopolize your attention, having a Chinese platform as counterbalance to all the American platforms seems great. A Chinese platform is unlikely to have the same interests as a US platform, so it's easier to see the bias in either if you consume both.

daptaq 5y ago
Yes, but newspapers are not in a position to generate an image of your psychology, that could be used to manipulate you. Imagine any belief you currently hold dearly, be it social, personal or political, that you could be manipulated into betraying. Something like this is either the basis or the prototype for a unforeseen danger to society -- and that is without taking into consideration how horrible the culture on the platform can be.