Just discovered TikTok. I think I'm now hooked.

[Tony Ramirez]

All I know is that they hook you easily. Who knew watching a few stupid short crying girl videos would lead down a rabbit hole of many swipes, videos and followers.

 

[Misery]

All I know is that they hook you easily. Who knew watching a few stupid short crying girl videos would lead down a rabbit hole of many swipes, videos and followers.

Honestly, best advice: just destroy it. The app, I mean, not your phone. Just destroy it now. I mean like, right this second. Dont give the horrid thing another chance to throw more snares your way.

Is there perhaps something else you could do instead, when the urge to use/look at it hits you? Any other activity?

 

[Rodafina]

Who knew watching a few stupid short crying girl videos would lead down a rabbit hole of many swipes, videos and followers.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't these apps specifically designed for this purpose? I think there are developers with knowledge of human behavior and psychology that are paid to design these platforms to hook users and keep them swiping.

 

[Misery]

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't these apps specifically designed for this purpose? I think there are developers with knowledge of human behavior and psychology that are paid to design these platforms to hook users and keep them swiping.

That's exactly what they are for.

These companies spend a rather amazing amount of money researching exactly how to do that sort of thing. It's become a problem with a lot of tech in recent years. What they actually want you to do is view ads in any way possible since that leads to profits for them (and if they can get you to sign up for some sort of added service, like Youtube's "premium" thing, all the better), and the best way to do that is to get the user so addicted that they just keep swiping, and swiping, and swiping.

Video games do this sort of nonsense too... particularly mobile games, but some console games are doing it these days due to spectacularly scummy companies behind them. It's been the cause of a lot of controversies.

And something like Tiktok, which requires no special knowledge in order to use is even worse than any video game could be, because you dont need extra knowledge to use it, you just swipe... and that's it. The easier it is for the consumer to use, the more dangerous it is in this regard.

This is why I'm so frequently telling people to say away from social media, and to delete stuff like Tiktok.

I've explained this to family as well, who can get a bit "stuck" in scrolling mode as well (for them, Facebook and Twitter).

It's rather telling that usually, whoever I'm talking to about it fully acknowledges the issue, knows they shouldnt be doing it... often WHILE sitting there doing it. They dont stop doing it.

 

[Judge]

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't these apps specifically designed for this purpose? I think there are developers with knowledge of human behavior and psychology that are paid to design these platforms to hook users and keep them swiping.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/...01908/10-unsettling-facts-about-schadenfreude

 

[Tony Ramirez]

I only tried Tiktok because I wanted to see crying girl videos and YouTube only had a few. Also I saw some archived live feeds on tiktok on YouTube which were not easy to find. They were only found through an unrelated video recommendation. So then I also started to watch the Tiktok live feeds too which hit me hooked. You can even scroll on those too.

 

[Tony Ramirez]

I can tell you one thing about watching a bunch of these women live on tiktok especially three Christian women that many are single but they live in other states mainly in the south, California and Europe. So I was right there must be more single women down there and in LA California but they sure are not in NYC.

 

[AGXStarseed]

It appears TikTok may be getting banned in the US.