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.
It’s more like “the Chinese government controls the thing an entire generation reaching voting age stares at all day.” If you thought Facebook and Twitter were bad for disinformation and radicalizing people just wait.
I mean, I read it. I don’t know anything about the author, but the article is interesting enough. Especially the part talking about how China see the US. It’s all spot-on: basically rudderless, paralyzed with empty addictions to endless commodification, how we’re basically on a disastrous path because we have no spiritual needs met and we fill that hole with mindless indulgences.
The country has become severed from its traditions and is so individualistic it can’t make up its mind what it as a nation believes. Without an overarching culture maintaining its values, the government’s regulatory powers are weak, easily corrupted by lobbying or paralyzed by partisan bickering. As such, the nation’s progress is directed mostly by blind market forces… Thus, by turning everything into a product, Western capitalism devours every aspect of American culture, including the traditions that bind it together as a nation, leading to atomization and polarization. The commodification also devours meaning and purpose, and to plug the expanding spiritual hole that this leaves, Americans turn to momentary pleasures—drugs, fast food, and amusements—driving the nation further into decadence and decay.
Now, while all that is true, this person (china’s apparent “societal teacher” or something like that) has the wrong answer:
Wang wrote that the only way a nation can avoid the US’s problems is by instilling “core values”—a national consensus of beliefs and principles rooted in the traditions of the past and directed toward a clear goal in the future….To prevent China’s own technological advancement leading it down the same perilous path, Wang proposed an extreme solution: neo-authoritarianism.
That’s the most cynical possible takeaway from this very real problem. The answer, if you ask me, is not limiting people’s ability to indulge, but by offering spiritual fulfillment. That means taking those blind market forces and putting a short leash on them. Instead of letting the market lead us all astray, chain the markets and work for the betterment of society, not for profit.
In short, curtail capitalism.
The article was interesting. I’d suggest you guys read it.
Tldr bot were are you ? I need you.
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:
TL;DR
THE CHINESE ARE ENDING THE WORLD WITH LIP SYNCING AND STUPID VIDEO CHALLENGES I AM VERY SCARED
It’s more like “the Chinese government controls the thing an entire generation reaching voting age stares at all day.” If you thought Facebook and Twitter were bad for disinformation and radicalizing people just wait.
The only politics I learned on Tiktok was left leaning capitalism and basic socialist ideas.
If that’s radical then Lemmy is worse.
Ha! I feel like there isn’t anyone who isn’t considered a fascist on Lemmy 😉
For us turning to ultranationalism will not be a move of racism, but of self-preservation.
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
I mean, I read it. I don’t know anything about the author, but the article is interesting enough. Especially the part talking about how China see the US. It’s all spot-on: basically rudderless, paralyzed with empty addictions to endless commodification, how we’re basically on a disastrous path because we have no spiritual needs met and we fill that hole with mindless indulgences.
Now, while all that is true, this person (china’s apparent “societal teacher” or something like that) has the wrong answer:
That’s the most cynical possible takeaway from this very real problem. The answer, if you ask me, is not limiting people’s ability to indulge, but by offering spiritual fulfillment. That means taking those blind market forces and putting a short leash on them. Instead of letting the market lead us all astray, chain the markets and work for the betterment of society, not for profit.
In short, curtail capitalism.
The article was interesting. I’d suggest you guys read it.