The ultimate weapon of mass distraction

The ultimate weapon of mass distraction

    • MysticKetchup@lemmy.worldEnglish
      455·
      6 months ago

      TL;DR: right-wing hand-wringing over the app “turning the kids trans and lowering their IQ”

      The author also has articles defending Israel and complaining about “woke ideology” if you need any more reason to skip it

        • surewhynotlem@lemmy.worldEnglish
          21·
          6 months ago

          The only politics I learned on Tiktok was left leaning capitalism and basic socialist ideas.

          If that’s radical then Lemmy is worse.

      • bionicjoey@lemmy.caEnglish
        143·
        6 months ago

        You ever read 1984? You remember the bit about newspeak? Well go have a conversation with a zoomer sometime and pay attention to the word choice they use for controversial subjects like suicide and murder (self/other unalive), depression (big sad), pornography (corn), neurodivergence (neurospicy), etc.

        I’m not saying TikTok is solely to blame, but content recommendation algorithms are definitely warping the language people use. Almost all of these genZ slang terms originated as weasel words to talk about these touchy subjects without getting deplatformed by an algorithm designed to keep things advertiser-friendly

        • trashgirlfriend@lemmy.worldEnglish
          24·
          6 months ago

          “Every new word the kids use is literally 1984” - an idiots guide to linguistics.

          The words you mentioned were made to appease the extremely sensitive sensibilities of advertisers, not really the effect of a government conspiracy.

    • cdf12345@lemm.eeEnglish
      7·
      6 months ago

      The fun part is that China doesn’t allow most or the stuff that TikTok is famous for in China, limits minors to 40 mins a day and does not allow access from like 10pm-6am. It’s telling that they have no problem allowing the app to bypass those restrictions in other countries.

    • Scolding7300@lemmy.worldEnglish
      51·
      6 months ago

      Here’s what the Kagi Universal Summarizer spat out (says it saved us 18min of reading):

      TikTok has become hugely popular due to its effective use of machine learning algorithms to determine what content users want to see. However, some argue that the app is designed to be addictive by optimizing for short-form, easily digestible videos that require little mental effort. Regular use of TikTok may contribute to declining attention spans and “digital dementia” over time. Additionally, China sees Western social media as a way to accelerate the decline of liberal democracies by promoting individualism, distraction, and decay of societal values. While concerns over TikTok’s addictive nature and China’s influence are valid, banning the app would not address the underlying issues and parental guidance remains important.

      Or in key moments mode:

      • TikTok’s recommendation algorithm (the For You page) is very effective at figuring out what content will addict individual users and keeping them engaged with short-form, attention-grabbing videos.
      • Heavy TikTok usage may lead to “digital dementia” symptoms like loss of attention span, memory, and impulse control due to the passive, low-effort nature of consuming content on the app.
      • Chinese authorities like Wang Huning believe Western liberalism and capitalism inevitably lead to spiritual decay, nihilism, and civilizational collapse if left unchecked.
      • The Chinese government sees influencing Western youth culture through apps like TikTok as a potential way to accelerate this process of decline in the West.
      • Some theorists like Nick Land see Western capitalism itself as a kind of runaway “paperclip maximizer” that must be accelerated to transform the system rather than opposed directly.
      • Long-term overuse of addictive apps like TikTok that provide instant gratification could lower average IQ and harm a society’s economic and technological competitiveness.
      • Regulating or banning TikTok may not solve the problem, as other short-form video apps will likely replace it to meet consumer demand for low-effort entertainment.
      • The solution involves raising public awareness of digital addiction risks and changing social norms to reduce heavy app and social media usage, especially for children.
      • Parental controls and moderation are also important short-term measures, but long-term the issue requires democratic solutions rather than authoritarian control.
      • The potential long-term societal impacts of platforms like TikTok make addressing addiction risks a timely issue rather than something to wait for more evidence on.