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>The internet gave me a safe place Maybe the internet stopped being a safe place? Social media is increasingly feeling like a space designed for manipulation.

InCityDreams 4y ago
I always taught my kids that the internet is like choosing a bar, or club. Some are great, there are thieves around, some of the customers are 'a bit rough', some will become your friends or only acquaintances, someone always wants your money, people will lie to you. Bars and clubs aren't inherently unsafe, but you just gotta be careful.
sundvor 4y ago
That's a big part of TikTok, isn't it - it seems designed to make kids feel miserable and to have mental illnesses. (Not at all destabilizing society, of course. Because of all the positive things it offers. /s)
- snozolli 4y ago
  60 Minutes piece on Douyin (domestic users) versus TikTok (foreign users): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0j0xzuh-6rY https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0j0xzuh-6rY tl;dw: Chinese users get more wholesome content, particularly children, along with usage limits.
  - sundvor 4y ago
    Yes; I can see that it's not something that's shared here on HN, or at least a controversial opinion to have - however I see it as a great toxic instrument of evil. Examples are so plentiful, take for instance all these cyber-bullying pieces where men might be called out at gyms for having eyes and actually just taking in their surroundings - and females of peak physique in near naked appearance would be nearly impossible to ignore. In slow motion, everyone's a creep who needs their face shamed right? That's just one example. There's a dungeon of extremely negative content that especially kids should not be subject to. So the cynic in me can't help but see this sowing of discontent as something that could read from the Art of War. And that's before considering the security implications that the app has.
TazeTSchnitzel 4y ago
I should have said “safer”. It was never “safe”, but neither is the offline world.

InCityDreams 4y ago

I always taught my kids that the internet is like choosing a bar, or club. Some are great, there are thieves around, some of the customers are 'a bit rough', some will become your friends or only acquaintances, someone always wants your money, people will lie to you. Bars and clubs aren't inherently unsafe, but you just gotta be careful.

sundvor 4y ago

That's a big part of TikTok, isn't it - it seems designed to make kids feel miserable and to have mental illnesses. (Not at all destabilizing society, of course. Because of all the positive things it offers. /s)

snozolli 4y ago
60 Minutes piece on Douyin (domestic users) versus TikTok (foreign users): https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0j0xzuh-6rY https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0j0xzuh-6rY tl;dw: Chinese users get more wholesome content, particularly children, along with usage limits.
- sundvor 4y ago
  Yes; I can see that it's not something that's shared here on HN, or at least a controversial opinion to have - however I see it as a great toxic instrument of evil. Examples are so plentiful, take for instance all these cyber-bullying pieces where men might be called out at gyms for having eyes and actually just taking in their surroundings - and females of peak physique in near naked appearance would be nearly impossible to ignore. In slow motion, everyone's a creep who needs their face shamed right? That's just one example. There's a dungeon of extremely negative content that especially kids should not be subject to. So the cynic in me can't help but see this sowing of discontent as something that could read from the Art of War. And that's before considering the security implications that the app has.

TazeTSchnitzel 4y ago

I should have said “safer”. It was never “safe”, but neither is the offline world.