I totally agree with the sentiment here, but I also think you might be telling on yourself a bit! Just this morning on TT I heard firsthand experience about being raised in a religious cult, I saw really smart discourse about queer identity, and I found a recipe I want to try. The algorithm is absolutely biased in many ways, and clearly favors paid content, but I think we have more control than we realize when it comes to what we’re consuming. While TT has undoubtedly led me down a bleak rabbit hole on many occasions, I’ve also found that it’s the only app in which I can primarily engage with & view content by BIPOC creators, inspiring artists, activists, educators, etc.
I agree with this sentiment but I also find it hard because I only have so much input on where my attention dollars go in an economy run by big algorithm.
Tik tok keeps me because I found a niche community in a hobby where I haven't been able to find community anywhere else but I pay a price for that. Tik tok decides what other social sludge I have to wade through and what seratonin quick sand I get pulled into in a way I don't feel I have total control.
I also generally agree *but* you could also find all that information elsewhere—reading a book on firsthand experience in a cult, go to the library and browse cookbooks or food magazines, listen to podcasts about queer identity. Yes social media offers those things, but they are fed to us alongside other garbage and none of us spend the 3 minutes watching the recipe and then put our phone down to make it—we scroll for an hour and then feel sad when we’re done. Alternatively, we could be actively and intentionally seeking out all these things instead and actually be eating the recipes we save!
The fact that gay people can unironically regard a 30 second TT as a “smart discourse of gay identity” really shows the hollowness of defining your personality based on how you like your genitals rubbed.
However I do agree I was exposed to a lot of fantastic discourse and eye opening first hand accounts. It hurt me to leave with political stunts and change of hands
really related to the part where you talk about wasting time watching people do the things you should just be doing for yourself. even if im watching seemingly “comforting” videos - it never makes me comfortable. if anything i feel horrible after a mindless scrolling binge, like i get nauseous and feel like a literal shell of a human. i’m trying my best this year to get off my phone and experience life irl - time to break the cycle
Thanks for this post. I’ve been off TikTok since the ban but previously to that I was so addicted I didn’t think I had any hope of ever being free. Now that I’m off I don’t miss my collections of recipes or DIY tips, my message threads with friends, or any part of my FYP. It felt so valuable and irreplaceable when I had the app, but since leaving, the real world (and real books, articles, websites, etc) are just as riveting. And they don’t make me feel like shit after. Big W.
Thank you for putting into words exactly what I feel!! Especially the comparison to sweetgreen, an institution I have always resented. Truly is the lunchtime equivalent of a pointless tiktok doomscroll
This is giving peak “chronically online turned offline evangelist” energy but in a very “I’m still self-aware” kind of way. As a Gen Z marketing girlie, I see the appeal of logging off—TikTok Shop is an apocalypse, the rage-bait cycle is exhausting, and sometimes we are just consuming to consume. But also… TikTok is culture. It’s where trends, humor, and movements are born before they trickle down to the rest of the internet. If you’re in marketing, ignoring TikTok is like trying to do fashion without looking at runways.
That said, she’s right about the doomscrolling void. If you’re just watching and not engaging, TikTok can turn into a passive, soul-sucking machine. But for creators, community-builders, and brands? It’s an opportunity. The key isn’t deleting TikTok—it’s curating it. The algorithm feeds you what you engage with, so if your FYP is all unhinged capitalism and rage-bait, that’s on you, bestie.
Also, her take on Sweetgreen is so funny but also such a very specific personal gripe. Like girl… just don’t go there?
I think what's important is that you see this from a marketing perspective - of course your field of work will influence how you experience media, just like you demonstrated by comparing it with a runway.
Nevertheless, I think it is undeniable that REAL culture takes place outside of TikTok. Why not meet other humans, join clubs, read books to educate yourself and experience the world around you to experience actual culture, instead of watching never ending ads, advertising a life you'll never life.
Creators, community-builders and brands can only exist if there are doomscrolling consumers. It might be an opportunity to them, but to the majority of users it isn't. If everyone had a business - who would be left to consume?
I do agree that the "algorithm feeds you what you engage with" BUT as you work in marketing you must know that even though ads are personalizable by the consumer they are not avoidable. There is no way this process avoids "unhinged" capitalism, even if you 'train' your algorithm.
It is undeniable that TikTok - no matter how you use it - eventually trains large masses to consume and not think for themselves. No matter how you see it, you will always end up in an echo-chamber.
heavy on the “tiktok is culture” - it’s literally impossible to go outside or socialise with people without seeing/using references to tiktok trends or vernacular. that being said the app can be extremely damaging to one’s attention span and mental health… it really feels like a double bind 😅😅
Yes! I deleted instagram and TikTok around election time because I was so anxious/upset and my fyp was feeding into that. I really haven’t looked back! And bonus - I’ve been reaching out to old friends more because I can’t use socials to see what they’re up to.
That realization of how quickly a couple hours of scrolling adds up over time made me delete TikTok last year. I’ve still got some work to do, but it feels good to have my head at least a little ways above the water
ik it’s weird to reply to a month old comment, but do u have any update?? did you successfully quit?? i deleted the app today and idk if ill make it another 24 hours 😅😅
I totally agree with the sentiment here, but I also think you might be telling on yourself a bit! Just this morning on TT I heard firsthand experience about being raised in a religious cult, I saw really smart discourse about queer identity, and I found a recipe I want to try. The algorithm is absolutely biased in many ways, and clearly favors paid content, but I think we have more control than we realize when it comes to what we’re consuming. While TT has undoubtedly led me down a bleak rabbit hole on many occasions, I’ve also found that it’s the only app in which I can primarily engage with & view content by BIPOC creators, inspiring artists, activists, educators, etc.
I agree with this sentiment but I also find it hard because I only have so much input on where my attention dollars go in an economy run by big algorithm.
Tik tok keeps me because I found a niche community in a hobby where I haven't been able to find community anywhere else but I pay a price for that. Tik tok decides what other social sludge I have to wade through and what seratonin quick sand I get pulled into in a way I don't feel I have total control.
I also generally agree *but* you could also find all that information elsewhere—reading a book on firsthand experience in a cult, go to the library and browse cookbooks or food magazines, listen to podcasts about queer identity. Yes social media offers those things, but they are fed to us alongside other garbage and none of us spend the 3 minutes watching the recipe and then put our phone down to make it—we scroll for an hour and then feel sad when we’re done. Alternatively, we could be actively and intentionally seeking out all these things instead and actually be eating the recipes we save!
The fact that gay people can unironically regard a 30 second TT as a “smart discourse of gay identity” really shows the hollowness of defining your personality based on how you like your genitals rubbed.
However I do agree I was exposed to a lot of fantastic discourse and eye opening first hand accounts. It hurt me to leave with political stunts and change of hands
If you scroll long enough you're subjected to rot no matter how well intending and intellectual your interests are.
really related to the part where you talk about wasting time watching people do the things you should just be doing for yourself. even if im watching seemingly “comforting” videos - it never makes me comfortable. if anything i feel horrible after a mindless scrolling binge, like i get nauseous and feel like a literal shell of a human. i’m trying my best this year to get off my phone and experience life irl - time to break the cycle
Thanks for this post. I’ve been off TikTok since the ban but previously to that I was so addicted I didn’t think I had any hope of ever being free. Now that I’m off I don’t miss my collections of recipes or DIY tips, my message threads with friends, or any part of my FYP. It felt so valuable and irreplaceable when I had the app, but since leaving, the real world (and real books, articles, websites, etc) are just as riveting. And they don’t make me feel like shit after. Big W.
Thank you for putting into words exactly what I feel!! Especially the comparison to sweetgreen, an institution I have always resented. Truly is the lunchtime equivalent of a pointless tiktok doomscroll
This is giving peak “chronically online turned offline evangelist” energy but in a very “I’m still self-aware” kind of way. As a Gen Z marketing girlie, I see the appeal of logging off—TikTok Shop is an apocalypse, the rage-bait cycle is exhausting, and sometimes we are just consuming to consume. But also… TikTok is culture. It’s where trends, humor, and movements are born before they trickle down to the rest of the internet. If you’re in marketing, ignoring TikTok is like trying to do fashion without looking at runways.
That said, she’s right about the doomscrolling void. If you’re just watching and not engaging, TikTok can turn into a passive, soul-sucking machine. But for creators, community-builders, and brands? It’s an opportunity. The key isn’t deleting TikTok—it’s curating it. The algorithm feeds you what you engage with, so if your FYP is all unhinged capitalism and rage-bait, that’s on you, bestie.
Also, her take on Sweetgreen is so funny but also such a very specific personal gripe. Like girl… just don’t go there?
I think what's important is that you see this from a marketing perspective - of course your field of work will influence how you experience media, just like you demonstrated by comparing it with a runway.
Nevertheless, I think it is undeniable that REAL culture takes place outside of TikTok. Why not meet other humans, join clubs, read books to educate yourself and experience the world around you to experience actual culture, instead of watching never ending ads, advertising a life you'll never life.
Creators, community-builders and brands can only exist if there are doomscrolling consumers. It might be an opportunity to them, but to the majority of users it isn't. If everyone had a business - who would be left to consume?
I do agree that the "algorithm feeds you what you engage with" BUT as you work in marketing you must know that even though ads are personalizable by the consumer they are not avoidable. There is no way this process avoids "unhinged" capitalism, even if you 'train' your algorithm.
It is undeniable that TikTok - no matter how you use it - eventually trains large masses to consume and not think for themselves. No matter how you see it, you will always end up in an echo-chamber.
Ur completely right. She really misses the point.
heavy on the “tiktok is culture” - it’s literally impossible to go outside or socialise with people without seeing/using references to tiktok trends or vernacular. that being said the app can be extremely damaging to one’s attention span and mental health… it really feels like a double bind 😅😅
Your username and profile checks out.
Bad news: META is now evil. Going the way of X, so Instagram is a no-go for most of us.
best to just get off social media altogether!
‼️ I’m only on here and tumblr lol everything else is either very boring or owned by higher ups
Scrolling any social media means you are being farmed, the poster are the farmer
Yes! I deleted instagram and TikTok around election time because I was so anxious/upset and my fyp was feeding into that. I really haven’t looked back! And bonus - I’ve been reaching out to old friends more because I can’t use socials to see what they’re up to.
I cackled so hard at “like a good little piggy”. Immediate subscribe lol. Also resonated to the rest.
This is one of those posts that I wish I had written, thanks for sharing. This is the way to go about escaping all the shit.
hate tiktok, have never downloaded it and never will
‘You are not even a human, but a receptacle for other people’s psychopathic need to share.’ I’ll be remembering and thinking about this line a lottt.
“I do all of these things in relative privacy, and they count even though I didn’t post about them.” This still counts as posting about it
That realization of how quickly a couple hours of scrolling adds up over time made me delete TikTok last year. I’ve still got some work to do, but it feels good to have my head at least a little ways above the water
I told my friends a story about a TikTok I watched. That was the big red flag.
i did!! today!! i’m so proud of myself
ik it’s weird to reply to a month old comment, but do u have any update?? did you successfully quit?? i deleted the app today and idk if ill make it another 24 hours 😅😅
Yes!!!! Bc i know if i need a recipe or something i saved i can log on to the computer and get it on tiktok there! Thats helped a lot