4 ms·

Ok, one small problem I have with this entire argument. This guy goes on TV and makes a bunch of (atleast) sensationalist opinionated claims, with apparently no

Ok, one small problem I have with this entire argument. This guy goes on TV and makes a bunch of (atleast) sensationalist opinionated claims, with apparently no evidence. And what does he cite as a clear indication that Tiktok is ruining our society and that we're doomed? Young people want to be social media influencers. Let's leave aside his absurd assertion that this single fact is meaningful (it's probably not true, and it's probably not important either). So what does this guy do, what does he aspire to? He's basically a thought leader. The middle aged equivalent of a teenage girl dancing on tiktok.

lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 4y ago
When people my age were kids, many of them wanted to be movie stars. I'd agree that this doesn't necessarily indicate a problem. I was going to make a joke about how I wanted to be a ninja when I was a kid, and how clearly unlikely that is, but as an adult I do actually commonly see job openings for ninjas. (Okay, I guess it's actually a joke anyway, just not the one I thought of initially.)
- unethical_ban 4y ago
  Some kids wanted to be stars. And they had creative outlets that honed their physical, social and cognitive skills. The content being promoted, and the social "skills" and interactions originating from social media, are more prevalent and much, much less useful than someone wanting to play sax or act.
  - lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 4y ago
    FWIW, the only argument I was making (not speaking for OP) is that this specific observation of "80% of my students want to be social media influencers" is a weak indicator that TikTok (really, every social media platform) is creating difficulties for today's teenagers. There are other strong indicators that this is the case. > 80% of my students want to be social media influencers when they grow up (despite having very poor social skills), and the other 20% have never given it any thought. The numbers are made up, so I wouldn't expect that there's significance in the spread. My point is that the the teacher almost exclusively sees two groups: one who takes the option in vogue, and one who hasn't thought about it. To me, this suggests that something approaching 100% of their students have given this little to no thought, which jives with my experience at that age. I think we'd agree that this is a minor point and doesn't really take away from the conclusion drawn in the tweet.
  - bsder 4y ago
    > much less useful than someone wanting to play sax or act. Sadly, the pay equivalence of all those actions (on median: minimal with the occasionally lottery ticket winner to keep the pipeline primed) suggests that society views them as equally non-useful.
pixl97 4y ago
So question, did TV have harms on society? If it did, did we get past those harms and how did we get past it. Every new media in history has had harms and benefits. Saying things are harmless is just as dangerous as yelling it's the end of the world.
- yucky 4y ago
  TV was passive. And what you watched wasn't tied to your public identity for life.

lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 4y ago

When people my age were kids, many of them wanted to be movie stars. I'd agree that this doesn't necessarily indicate a problem. I was going to make a joke about how I wanted to be a ninja when I was a kid, and how clearly unlikely that is, but as an adult I do actually commonly see job openings for ninjas. (Okay, I guess it's actually a joke anyway, just not the one I thought of initially.)

unethical_ban 4y ago
Some kids wanted to be stars. And they had creative outlets that honed their physical, social and cognitive skills. The content being promoted, and the social "skills" and interactions originating from social media, are more prevalent and much, much less useful than someone wanting to play sax or act.
- lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 4y ago
  FWIW, the only argument I was making (not speaking for OP) is that this specific observation of "80% of my students want to be social media influencers" is a weak indicator that TikTok (really, every social media platform) is creating difficulties for today's teenagers. There are other strong indicators that this is the case. > 80% of my students want to be social media influencers when they grow up (despite having very poor social skills), and the other 20% have never given it any thought. The numbers are made up, so I wouldn't expect that there's significance in the spread. My point is that the the teacher almost exclusively sees two groups: one who takes the option in vogue, and one who hasn't thought about it. To me, this suggests that something approaching 100% of their students have given this little to no thought, which jives with my experience at that age. I think we'd agree that this is a minor point and doesn't really take away from the conclusion drawn in the tweet.
- bsder 4y ago
  > much less useful than someone wanting to play sax or act. Sadly, the pay equivalence of all those actions (on median: minimal with the occasionally lottery ticket winner to keep the pipeline primed) suggests that society views them as equally non-useful.

pixl97 4y ago

So question, did TV have harms on society? If it did, did we get past those harms and how did we get past it. Every new media in history has had harms and benefits. Saying things are harmless is just as dangerous as yelling it's the end of the world.

yucky 4y ago
TV was passive. And what you watched wasn't tied to your public identity for life.