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cyb3rdud3

macrumors 68040
Jun 22, 2014
3,324
2,074
UK
Interesting. I distinctly recall someone from the last administration railing against TikTok, calling for its ban but was viciously pilloried by everyone and their mothers as "being racist", "xenophobic" etc.

I wonder what's changed.....
Perhaps because this is not a blanket ban and just on official use devices ;)
 

FaustsHausUK

Contributor
Mar 11, 2010
608
1,288
Chicago, IL
I would wager these were more important reasons for America's center-right government to want to ban it:

1. Anyone who actually uses TikTok realises a lot of progressive and left-leaning political discourse happens there; the TikTok audience in general skews to the left. America doesn't like that we share real information and organise on a platform they haven't got their grubby little hands in.
2. TikTok is crushing its US-based competition. Not just social networks, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, et al, but one politician recently let slip that TikTok users average more time per day than they watch TV networks, too. Guess how many of these companies - US-based social networks and media companies - spend a small fortune lobbying the US government to do their bidding?

If data privacy is the central concern, there are plenty of bad actors that call the US home. Knuckle down on all of them equally.
 

4nNtt

macrumors 6502a
Apr 13, 2007
917
716
Chicago, IL
This seems like an overreaction. There is zero evidence of spying on people through TikTok. At best, Tik Tok might skew the algorithm away from criticism of China. I’m pretty sure China never asked for that, but Chinese companies sometimes do that instinctively since the communist party can ruin their business if they get on their bad side.
 

cyb3rdud3

macrumors 68040
Jun 22, 2014
3,324
2,074
UK
This seems like an overreaction. There is zero evidence of spying on people through TikTok. At best, Tik Tok might skew the algorithm away from criticism of China. I’m pretty sure China never asked for that, but Chinese companies sometimes do that instinctively since the communist party can ruin their business if they get on their bad side.
Where is your evidence that there isn't any evidence ;)
 

petrucci666

macrumors 6502a
Apr 30, 2009
714
14
Los Angeles, CA
TikTok is 1/1 following the recipe for behavioral addiction which is already having a detrimental impact on the predominantly developing brains that are using the app.

Yes, many apps and digital platforms exploit these vulnerabilities in the human brain/sensory system. But TikTok has taken it to an extreme.

They’ve done brain scans of Internet/video game/media addicts/phone(etc.) addicts and their brains patterns (reactions to visual input) shift away from normal brain patterns and get close to or completely identical to drug, sex or gamble addicts.

At its core, TikTok is essentially your classic slot machine but with perpetual visual/auditory stimulation that continuously adapts to show more of the content that gets the most watch time from the user.

If you think it’s completely benign that every person below 25 is glued to the same app for 6-12 hours a day then obviously I have no argument here.

My gripe with the app isn’t that it’s made by China but that it’s creating a generation of smartphone addicts.

TikTok would have been long gone before these privacy concerns if anyone listened to the research done on smartphones and behavioral addiction.

Have you ever read about the mice that get their brains wired up to a machine with a button they can press that releases dopamine in their bodies indefinitely without them having to move or do a single thing to get the “reward”? They press the button over and over again, more and more until they forget their other needs and their health withers away.

TikTok is an instantaneous, no effort, no payment dopamine trigger for humans that’s continuously being adapted to get better at making the user press the trigger again.

It’s completely terrible and I pray that ByteDance don’t sell their shares and that TikTok gets banned in the West permanently.
very well said!
 

JamesHolden

Cancelled
Dec 17, 2022
727
1,131
Maybe it takes a certain kind of brain to become addicted to this app because when I tried it a while back, I just didn't enjoy it. It just seemed to be a stream of randomness, with little control over what you saw. Sure I was amused at some of the videos but it didn't seem worth spending time on.

Most of the Tiktok videos I see, I see because they were posted on Twitter or some other social network. The Tiktok app itself just seems to be trash.

If people really are becoming addicted to it with a detriment to their health I could see why there's pushback. Though I'm personally of the opinion that people should be able to do whatever they want with their own time.
My nephew is totally addicted. He's 15 and recently visited me. He was on TikTok 24/7. I tried to watch a movie with him and throughout the movie he was still watching TikTok with one earbud for TikTok and the other ear for the movie. I really couldn't believe it. He stayed with me for a week and the phone was in his hand the entire time. I was pretty horrified.

I don't think it takes a certain kind of brain to become addicted. My nephew showed me a few videos and personally I found them boring, but that's because I'm an adult and I grew up in a world of long form content, stories with a beginning, middle, and end. I grew up with entertainment that required the viewer/reader to invest time in a story, to let it develop, to let characters develop, etc.

TikTok is the opposite of that. Kids growing up on TikTok have no appreciation for story. They're bored by dialogue. I saw that with my nephew. When we were watching the movie, I'd look over and see him absorbed in some stupid TikTok video, missing an essential part of the film, and I'd tell him to pay attention and he'd say "it's boring". Their brains are being wired to only want the payoff, the excitement, action, etc. TikTok (and other social media) is basically wiring their brains to crave constant stimulation and excitement. It's no wonder the whole generation is such a mess, heavily medicated, diagnosed with all sorts of mental disorders, etc. Any parent who gives his or her kid a smartphone with no restrictions or oversight might as well give them a loaded gun.
 

ian87w

macrumors G3
Feb 22, 2020
8,704
12,636
Indonesia
So much youth involved crime is happening these days and often Tik Tok has either been the motivator based on some challenge or the kids end up meeting on the platform itself and commit group minded crimes.

The KIA/Hyundai theft challenge is and was a prime example.


We also had an incident here in Toronto, Canada where a group of girls met on Tik Tok initially and when they met on person they ended up killing an unhoused 55 year old man over a bottle of booze he had that they wanted to steal from a friend of his. He stepped up to defend his friend and was killed in the swarming. They even posted a video of the attack on TikTik themselves.


It’s just a super unregulated environment that even parents can’t seem to get control over.
Not sure if that’s TikTok’s fault. Without TikTok, these evildoers would’ve simply used other communication means.

I won’t go further as I don’t want to be suspended 🤐
 

MacWiz_007

Suspended
Jan 10, 2023
675
1,929
🇺🇸
My nephew is totally addicted. He's 15 and recently visited me. He was on TikTok 24/7. I tried to watch a movie with him and throughout the movie he was still watching TikTok with one earbud for TikTok and the other ear for the movie. I really couldn't believe it. He stayed with me for a week and the phone was in his hand the entire time. I was pretty horrified.

I don't think it takes a certain kind of brain to become addicted. My nephew showed me a few videos and personally I found them boring, but that's because I'm an adult and I grew up in a world of long form content, stories with a beginning, middle, and end. I grew up with entertainment that required the viewer/reader to invest time in a story, to let it develop, to let characters develop, etc.

TikTok is the opposite of that. Kids growing up on TikTok have no appreciation for story. They're bored by dialogue. I saw that with my nephew. When we were watching the movie, I'd look over and see him absorbed in some stupid TikTok video, missing an essential part of the film, and I'd tell him to pay attention and he'd say "it's boring". Their brains are being wired to only want the payoff, the excitement, action, etc. TikTok (and other social media) is basically wiring their brains to crave constant stimulation and excitement. It's no wonder the whole generation is such a mess, heavily medicated, diagnosed with all sorts of mental disorders, etc. Any parent who gives his or her kid a smartphone with no restrictions or oversight might as well give them a loaded gun.
Right on the money. And as for your last sentence, the suicide rate among teens (in the US) is skyrocketing.
 

ThisBougieLife

Suspended
Jan 21, 2016
3,259
10,662
Northern California
My nephew is totally addicted. He's 15 and recently visited me. He was on TikTok 24/7. I tried to watch a movie with him and throughout the movie he was still watching TikTok with one earbud for TikTok and the other ear for the movie. I really couldn't believe it. He stayed with me for a week and the phone was in his hand the entire time. I was pretty horrified.

I don't think it takes a certain kind of brain to become addicted. My nephew showed me a few videos and personally I found them boring, but that's because I'm an adult and I grew up in a world of long form content, stories with a beginning, middle, and end. I grew up with entertainment that required the viewer/reader to invest time in a story, to let it develop, to let characters develop, etc.

TikTok is the opposite of that. Kids growing up on TikTok have no appreciation for story. They're bored by dialogue. I saw that with my nephew. When we were watching the movie, I'd look over and see him absorbed in some stupid TikTok video, missing an essential part of the film, and I'd tell him to pay attention and he'd say "it's boring". Their brains are being wired to only want the payoff, the excitement, action, etc. TikTok (and other social media) is basically wiring their brains to crave constant stimulation and excitement. It's no wonder the whole generation is such a mess, heavily medicated, diagnosed with all sorts of mental disorders, etc. Any parent who gives his or her kid a smartphone with no restrictions or oversight might as well give them a loaded gun.

While I'm older than that and I don't use TikTok, even I sometimes find myself having difficulty paying attention to a film or a book I'm reading without stopping to grab my phone and check social media or forums or things like that regularly (or find myself zoning out while spending time with people if I haven't looked at my phone in a while). Phones and the apps we use on them and the sites we access are designed to be addictive, and kids are most susceptible to it. It absolutely is like a drug. And "short-form content", which is increasingly popular, best provides that "dopamine hit".
 
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Fruit Stand

Suspended
Apr 25, 2016
136
217
YYZ
Not sure if that’s TikTok’s fault. Without TikTok, these evildoers would’ve simply used other communication means.

I won’t go further as I don’t want to be suspended 🤐

Their algorithm makes these kinds of things more popular...I don't know that's not their fault. It makes a lot things that shouldn't be at the top of the algorithm so, and that's concerning.

Not sure what you can say that can get you suspended but clearly its not good.
 

sw1tcher

macrumors 603
Jan 6, 2004
5,491
19,260
So much youth involved crime is happening these days and often Tik Tok has either been the motivator based on some challenge or the kids end up meeting on the platform itself and commit group minded crimes.

The KIA/Hyundai theft challenge is and was a prime example.
If there wasn't a TikTok, youth involved crime would be on Snapchat and other platforms. Oh, wait, they already are.


And you'd find those dumb challenges posted on other social media platforms (Twitter, YouTube) as well. The Tide Pods challenge started before TikTok became a thing; One of the early places it was talked about was on Tumblr.


The black out challenge goes all the way back to 2007 or 2008.

People who think banning TikTok will stop kids from being stupid and doing stupid things are delusional.
 
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ian87w

macrumors G3
Feb 22, 2020
8,704
12,636
Indonesia
Their algorithm makes these kinds of things more popular...I don't know that's not their fault. It makes a lot things that shouldn't be at the top of the algorithm so, and that's concerning.

Not sure what you can say that can get you suspended but clearly its not good.
Algorithm only follows what the user is searching and paying attention to. Simply go to YouTube or IG, and if you start searching and consuming nonsense contents, you’ll get more of those. In the end, the intention of doing bad things and lack of morals are already within those evildoers. Banning TikTok won’t change them.
 
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Solomani

macrumors 601
Sep 25, 2012
4,785
10,477
Slapfish, North Carolina
If there wasn't a TikTok, youth involved crime would be on Snapchat and other platforms. Oh, wait, they already are.


And you'd find those dumb challenges posted on other social media platforms (Twitter, YouTube) as well. The Tide Pods challenge started before TikTok became a thing; One of the early places it was talked about was on Tumblr.


The black out challenge goes all the way back to 2007 or 2008.

People who think banning TikTok will stop kids from being stupid and doing stupid things are delusional.

All kids go through a young and stupid phase.

The ones that don't mature, the ones that don't grow out of it.... are the ones we should be concerned about.
 

robd003

macrumors regular
Aug 21, 2007
207
598
How come the version of TikTok for Westerners is filled with society destroying garbage, but the TikTok in China is time limited and contains only "healthy" videos?

The CCP is doing all it can in it's last breath before it's imminent collapse (10 years max) to try to harm free nations. Diversify out of China and put your money to work in countries with morals.
 

Macalway

macrumors 68040
Aug 7, 2013
3,943
2,505
This should be fun.

It seems like a good opportunity for a start-up. Call it 'Ticktok China free'. It's not like it's a ....anything.

The West is in such a deep sleep. Cut them off and waking up would be something. Probably like one of those Star Trek episodes. 'Peace in Landru'

Ok, much worse....
 

sw1tcher

macrumors 603
Jan 6, 2004
5,491
19,260
All kids go through a young and stupid phase.

The ones that don't mature, the ones that don't grow out of it.... are the ones we should be concerned about.
Exactly. I just don't see how banning TikTok stops them from going through that phase on another social media platform. TikTok just happens to be the easy target because of its popularity with the kids today.

If/when something else comes along, we'll be blaming XYZ for corrupting our youth.


How come the version of TikTok for Westerners is filled with society destroying garbage, but the TikTok in China is time limited and contains only "healthy" videos?
There are plenty of "healthy" videos on TikTok if you look for them. Maybe the problem is you're not looking for them?



If it's the bad videos that are worrying those in Washington, then they can require TikTok to remove those harmful videos from their platform like how China does on Douyin, but then you have the possible issue of the U.S. govt infringing on peoples 1st Amendment (Free Speech) rights. Since China doesn't offer any free speech rights, they can dictate what can and cannot be on their country's social media platforms.
 
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CEmajr

macrumors 601
Dec 18, 2012
4,453
1,245
Charlotte, NC
People keep talking about protecting teens and the content, which is irrelevant to why they want it sold or banned. It’s about the data and the Chinese government having access to it. Theoretically if TikTok is sold to an American company then it would just continue as is. It’s not about the content of the platform itself.

American social media companies collect data as well but the difference is that the US government is the one who can access that data if they want to rather than the Chinese.

Also isn’t Meta and YouTube banned and/or restricted in China? I don’t see the big reason for outcry over the US wanting to do the same to a Chinese social media company.
 
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MacAddict1978

macrumors 68000
Jun 21, 2006
1,658
895
Why are they focused so much on this one app? Especially when you have whole computer companies that are partially owned by the Chinese government (like Lenovo). Much of our electronic devices are made inside of China. Many of the components of...well, everything... are also made there. But it's TikTok that's the focus?

Because its installed-on hundreds of millions of devices and is Chinese based.

While I do recall some product out of china that had spyware baked into - I believe it was components for 5G towers - it was caught immediately and was software driven. Lenovo is using the same components as everyone else, and it's rather hard to use hardware to spy - it's software that is an urgent concern.

TikTok gets permissions to access all sorts of data on your device - it could easily be sending anything it wants to. The Chinese government uses spyware to track all of their citizens and are pros at it.
 
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MacAddict1978

macrumors 68000
Jun 21, 2006
1,658
895
I do find it humorous that when the previous administration was looking to do this they were completely destroyed by the media as being "Xenophobic and Paranoid!!"

Current administration wants to ban it and the same media outlets are saying "yeah good idea!"
Yeah.... but that orange administration didn't capture a spy balloon either. And there has been a lot of escalating factors that are data/fact driven .... the orange administration has none of that going on. China has also been busted attempting to spy on other countries in the past year. Response based on evidence is 1000% different.
 
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