tik tok is a dystopian fever dream (tube girl effect, tik tok shop, and npc trend)

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[@l0st_illusi0n23]

People need to realize you don’t need to be the main character or be the center of attention to gain confidence. Tying self confidence to those things can be harmful.

[@whatsonhermindblog123]

Boom

[@whatsonhermindblog123]

This part

[@jepros]

Harmful lol

[@JoseHernandez-gy7qu]

Yup

[@airotkiv]

I really wish more (young) people were able to find meaningful idols and people to aspire to be like instead of this shit. I've just started working as an anesthiologist and the colleagues I appreciate most are never those who are the loudest and the center of attention. It's those with tons of experience and a very quiet confidence. It's those people who are so confident in what they do that they make me feel more confident in what I do with their mere presence. All this crap is so empty and shallow and I really think you have to be very young and/or immature to see it as aspirational. It's simply naive, idk how else to describe it (without trying to sound arrogant).

[@kbp2002]

Making invasive tiktoks in public spaces is the new ‘listening to music out-loud on public transport on tinny mobile speakers’ - a lack of self awareness is not a sign of confidence

[@-lavender-777]

True it is not of public politeness

[@blandface9957]

It's 10 times worse tho since you end up on the internet 😭

[@suer603]

nekojiru

[@leonie9316]

Omg I'm so glad to see people say this 😅. I tried to voice this opinion on TikTok when everyone was making tube girl videos and Istg I got roasted so hard people were acting like I was completely delusional for thinking this way. I thought everyone went crazy cus nobody understood me. I just don't want to be filmed and uploaded online for a potentially VIRAL video as a background character for you to satisfy your stupid main character syndrome, when I'm tired and omw to school/work/home. It's not that hard to understand really.

[@scrimbus]

stop I was out snowboarding last week and while my mom and I were in the lodge some girl was blaring tiktoks with no headphones in so I loudly said "UGH I HATE PEOPLE WHO SCROLL TIKTOK WITH NO HEADPHONES IT SHOULDNT BE SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE" loud enough for her to hear and then my mom got kinda mad at me but it was worth it

[@supatroopa6320]

The Internet frequently forgets that confidence and extroversion do not mean the same thing

[@missstranger7697]

Social media also confuses the meanings of love and lust in relationships. Instead of having women truly appreciate their boyfriend's company, we see them acting like wild pornstars in the name of temporary love happiness ... Please!😒🙄 Women wanting to look "good" for fame and money is also NOT something new.

[@fromnowherenobdy]

I’d go as far as calling it “confidence vs arrogance” which is something I heard not long ago. They are incredibly arrogant, selfish and self centered, but they seem incapable of holding the space to really think about what they’re doing because they’re busy mimicking everybody else for their 15mins of fame. And really, this extremely toxic algorithm which is showing people just one side of things ain’t helping the cause. I can see how social contagion is playing a role here, and although it’s obviously way more complex than just saying “they don’t got a personality of their own”, I still cant’t justify their dumb (even harmful) ass behavior. It really does feel like looking at a dystopian side of the planet, and they do remind me of the capitol citizens (hunger games movie) when I see them out and about. Sorry not sorry, this is the only space where I can share how I truly feel bout this

[@8infinite8possiblities8]

💯being the most confident person in the room doesn’t mean you have to be the loudest in the room

[@LotusesGalaxyOcean]

And that what is normal in NY is normal basically nowhere else.

[@MISSMADISONMEDIA]

They think confident means having no shame

[@Number-fx2qg]

I think we’re long overdue treating social media addiction like the mental health issue it actually is. The infinite scrolling idea is based on the psychology behind slot machines. Combined with endless adverts and affiliate marketing, the dangers of wasting money are huge. You might not be able to gamble until you’re 18/21, but social media has found a loophole to exploit you in exactly the same way from childhood.

[@bambiisbonkers]

THANK YOU!!! worded perfectly

[@Shirumoon]

I don't think it's a mental health issue as much as it's a dysfunctional coping mechanism for pre existing mental illnesses but otherwise I fully agree.

[@Number-fx2qg]

@@Shirumoon I think that certainly plays a part, especially with Gen Z and Gen Alpha having the highest recorded rates of anxiety and depression amongst all generations. However I also believe the intrinsic, intentional framework of social media is intensely corrupting on young minds - enough to be an issue in itself, as well as a catalyst for pre-existing conditions.

[@alisaoikarinen489]

Also the type of content thats really popular makes it even worse for example the "humor" you see a lot in social media is kind of disheartening. lot of jokes and memes are about givin up and how shitty everything is and yes i get its a joke but when you get fed that mind set day in day out it starts to weigh you down. The comment sections dont help either. The way people can get into a fight about aboslutely everything baffels me and sets a horrible example of behaviour and human interaction to young kids.

[@Number-fx2qg]

​@@alisaoikarinen489 100% agree. Online there's no safe space, and people internalise so much nihilism and negativity that tribalism, doxxing, death threats, and disrespect of people/places for the sake of online clout look like normal behaviour.

[@ahmarindungu9010]

I think what scares me is that I could be victim of a doxxing canceling crowd because I looked ''wrong'' at the person making the tik tok 😒

[@Alanietse]

I have a resting face and worry this might happen to me out in public 🫠

[@LoneWulf278]

@@AlanietseSame. 😭

[@coolbeans5911]

100% this

[@abrielle13]

That's why it's best to just stay away from it completely

[@NinjaskKing]

This is how we know that social media is really making people insane. Public humiliation and doxxing over a facial expression? People can't even control that at all times

[@katyp564]

If I saw someone filming an NPC video in public, I would 100% assume they were having a psychotic episode.

[@fabtrash]

​@ville__What ??? 💀

[@abbyz13]

@ville__keeping your nasty spit away from strangers isn’t psychotic behavior at least 😊

[@beepboop449]

@ville__your profile pic also has a mask idiot 😂

[@manwhoismissingtwotoenails4811]

Love the Maryland mask

[@katyp564]

@@manwhoismissingtwotoenails4811 represent!

[@MELLMAO]

Anybody doing the tube girl challenge to beat "social anxiety" never had an ounce of social anxiety in their life. And much less would you post it on tiktok if it was only for "confidence"

[@eda6654]

yes. i used to be really anxious, but now i'm like... average. in fact i even feel like i'm more confident than many people i know as i do very heavy goth makeup and idk, laugh loudly and stuff. still, this shit is incomprehensible to me. it's got nothing to do with being shy, it's just being a normal human being who has the bare minimum respect for the people around them as opposed to a vapid tiktoker who thinks she is the centre of the whole world. i hate being a hater but i can't be the only one who is weirdly uncomfortable with these people.

[@kaykazoo]

Yeah seriously lol, a person with clinical social anxiety, even of varying degrees, would never want to do this. I have social anxiety and for instance I get anxious just watching someone else do this trend.

[@EmzEspinet]

Right! Like once the video is done do they not just go back to sitting normally and listening to music on their headphones? To contextualize how odd the behavior is I’d equate it to doing a backflip on the subway. Like sure nobody really cares but like it’s clearly not the appropriate environment.

[@am-fn2ye]

for me it's different it's like I can do those big embarrassing things if someone dared me or I could get some kind of reward but talking to like two people at the same time feels nearly impossible sometimes

[@cocolove9916]

exactly its just an excuse they just want attention and im so tired of this crap

[@foggyday-v7s]

It's not social anxiety, sometimes you're embarassed in public bc u should be !! Again, the watering down of mental health terms.. social anxiety is extreme and distressing and interrupts ur ability to live life. If ur embarassed to film stuff in ultra public spaces.. that's not a bad thing!! Shame is an important tool to keep shared spaces navigatable LMAO IDK do u but leave strangers out of it xx

[@adish1401]

Like yeah I am actually socially anxious, doing a tiktok dance won't fix it. I dress like an anime character already, making lots of people stare, that doesn't make me less scared of doing the talking to people.

[@angelblue52]

totally agree

[@Shirumoon]

That's why I didn't like her saying you choose to be (not) embarressed. Girl that's not how emotions work. You can try and get desensitized but emotions are there for a reason and they're valid.

[@adish1401]

@ville__ why do you copy paste my comment what

[@thelazulisystem]

Seriously 😂 I can’t even take a selfie without being anxious about people seeing it even if I have no intention of posting it

[@sofetchxx]

I remember when it was embarrassing to get caught taking a selfie. Look how far we’ve come 😂

[@anyone1111]

Especially with a selfie stick😭 oh the days

[@sofetchxx]

@@anyone1111 oh that was the worst of the worst 😩🤣

[@Princessbubblegum567]

I still get embarrassed if I get caught taking selfie. I thought it was still a thing

[@steph5868]

i still get embarrassed 😭😭

[@anyone1111]

Right omg and people made fun of you if they caught you like🙈😭

[@angelblue52]

That's not confidence. That's grandiosity and public disturbance. Social media is making people delusional. The internet is a hell of a drug. Ugh. I miss the early 2000s when people were more focused on their actual lives.

[@sodadepayaso]

and that's when digital minimalism come into play

[@rinappropriate]

100%. mental illness is at an all time high now and social media changes the perception of it all. just 5-10 years ago you’d be deemed as NUTS if you did shit like that in public, now it’s supposed to be “normal” or “trendy” or “for views”, or not even given a second thought. but its mental illness. since social media is such a big part of daily life now, this type of behavior is no longer looked at as mental. even though it is. all you have to do is take away the social media aspect and you can clearly see, its not normal to do shit like that. normal mfs don’t act like that. regardless if the times have changed or not, a normal person does not do stuff like that.

[@Beapoem0802]

I actually don't think that the 'tube girl trend' has a lot to do with confidence. It's more some kind of dare. You position yourself, take a deep breath and just cut everything out for a few seconds.I bet that as soon as the recording ends, these girls start giggling nervously and leave the tube as quickly as possible. That doesn't sound very self-confident. Confidence isn't a role you play, but an inner peace.

[@Nativecurls]

interesting take but wouldn't one argue that confidence can be compared to being more of muscle that one has to exercise in order to make that set muscle stronger? such actions of strenthening the muscle would be doing the trend such as the tube trend

[@justjoshua5759]

@@Nativecurlsyeah that works better as a metaphor I feel since, confidence can wane and strengthen with experience and time put in.

[@Beapoem0802]

Yes, that’s right, but I feel like the exercises that really strengthen the confidence muscles are the ones where you don’t draw artificial attention to yourself and then escape the situation but rather the “dining alone” thing. Because that’s the moment you’re really alone with yourself and your thoughts and you are hyper aware of the fact that people are perceiving you. And then you come to the conclusion that it ultimately doesn’t matter and that it’s okay to be alone or awkward or just yourself. But that’s just my personal take on it. :)

[@EmzEspinet]

⁠@@NativecurlsI get what you’re saying but the tube girl trend isn’t actually a confidence builder. In the same way having a phone conversation on speaker in public is inappropriate, the tube girl trend is. The concept of being able to stand out in a crowd and not be afraid of judgement doesn’t translate into the trend BC it also encroaches on others’ space. Do you know what doesn’t? Shaving your head, wearing rainbow tights, or going to dinner by yourself. And if making videos of you dancing makes you feel confident- do it! but at the end of the day it’s a hobby and there’s an appropriate times and places.

[@cocolove9916]

it is just people with no conscious that want attention and have no consideration for people around them

[@GippyHappy]

People often conflate confidence with narcissism.

[@Justanothercog24]

Yes! The irony there is insecure ppl often mistake genuine confidence for arrogance or narcissism because they don't really understand where the self-acceptance of genuine confidence comes from lol. To make it even more ironic, narcissists are actually deeply insecure & shape their entire facade around trying to hide the fact that they're insecure.

[@-lavender-777]

Yes!!

[@makkerfelix]

anyone else just get overwhelmed thinking about how scary the effect of tiktok and other social media is on future generations? And the fact that its only getting worse is insane

[@kennedyhill8224]

I agree with you 110% like what in the world is wrong with humanity?!? Like wtaf is going on? I think humans are leading this toward extinction ngl. Like it’s getting out of control.

[@kittykittybangbang9367]

I've always tik tok as basically short form YT, which makes sense given how some of the trashy content you can find on tik tok I remember watching similar content on YT back in middle school.

[@candylide]

I'm sure the projection of insecurities is gonna be wild once the new generations come

[@Daydreamerr13]

I am terrified bud😅😅 thats why i deleted tiktok lol it was insane enough 2020-2022 i couldnt take anymore

[@ReyhanJoseph]

you're not alone i'm right there with you

[@jenniferch3ck]

I don't believe the part about "being in my own world". She's a tiktoker, she loves attention. She knows people are looking, that's why she does it.

[@cocolove9916]

yep

[@thefox7427]

This

[@lalailm]

Exactly. If there was no place to post tho, I dont think she would do it. The incentive here is going viral.

[@ChinmiPL]

I think she meant when she record these videos like I guess u need to be very focused while doing them after all they're not cut/edited so u need to get them perfect in one shot

[@53D0N4]

Exactly. The trend stemmed from this. I find it wrong to bash the trend and not bash her for the same reasons. The whole thing is absurd, egotistical, and narcissistic.

[@eb_326]

the most dystopian thing I ever saw was visiting New York as a Brit and going to ground zero, seeing 2 young girls (maybe about 13 y/o) filming themselves doing a Tik tok dance in front of the memorials…I wanted to tell them off but was just so shocked like how did they not recognise the reality of where they were!!

[@fuzzypickles2810]

i mean theyre 13. telling them off would be a bit much lol

[@abyssreyes]

I don't think teenagers being cringe is the problem necessarily, but posting it on tik tok for attention and clout, as Madisyn said, doing things they wouldn't normally do because of the social media incentive.

[@1616.lizeth]

@ville__copy paste comment? LMAO???

[@abbyz13]

@@abyssreyesthat’s not cringe, that’s out of touch and disrespectful. At 13 I knew to walk through memorials respectfully and not film…don’t make excuses for lazy parents lol

[@Sofiaode18]

@ville__Found the prepubescent child.

[@leenaadams6742]

Also with the term NPC, we are supporting the idea that some people are less sentient than others. The whole “main character” thing pushes this idea forward. I think this is a response to the fact that we are being faced with the reality as gen z that we WILL have to work 9-5s, that most of our lives WILL BE MEDIOCRE. This is likely just statistically speaking and our only potential escape from this, our only chance to get out is by creating this illusion of individuality through content that proves that we are not NPCs, or the people in the background of the video, but instead, the more sentient, real person making them. This aligns with our society prioritizing productivity and not real happiness in the normal sense. You don’t need to be a celebrity to be happy or okay. I also think all of this is very much a first world thing. Again, as this continues, people in poverty, who don’t have the time or energy to be chronically online, or are solely consumers and not creators, will be assigned less societal value.

[@megsley]

oh no, your life is going to be average just like every generation before you! the HORROR 😱🤣

[@ju1esmay]

​@megsley just because every generation before was 'average' in a capitalist, individualistic society doesn't mean that its ideal. It is kind of a horror in some ways for some people

[@goldenglowable]

@@ju1esmay Thank you, the mentality that everyone else has to do it and so do you is BS, it’s called breaking the mold and making change, not being passive in your own life and the desire go after what you deserve. I don’t listen to people who try to belittle me if I expect a better life, they’re weird oppressors 🥴

[@dmb1745]

@@megsley how dare people want better for themselves! crabs in a bucket mentality

[@dontmindmeimjustchilling]

I deleted tiktok and twitter, and my attention span has recovered, now when i lisisten to people watching tiktok, it sounds schizophrenic, just random loud repetitive sounds. It is a psychological weapon. Delete it

[@dontmindmeimjustchilling]

@ville__ Def agree!!!!

[@cynical_chai8922]

its actual brain rot. even me still using insta reels is insane

[@sumzwrldd]

I’ve deleted tiktok recently and my attention span has also started to improve , honestly downloading it again doesn’t seem like an option

[@magicalgirl4]

why tf did you repeat the same thing as them @ville__

[@dorkchops]

@@magicalgirl4its a comment bot, he’ll post that on another vid with “tiktok” in the title and get the likes and follows

[@blurblarted]

so tired of tik tok apologists. ive literally had to defend myself for not having the app when others try to convince me that i must be closed minded for not buying into this.

[@jjj4n4]

I've had it for like 2 days and it's a black hole of doom scrolling, literal brain rot. I need a "this is your brain on tiktok" ad

[@QuestionsIAskMyself]

Literally no one is doin that

[@blurblarted]

@@QuestionsIAskMyself Youre telling me... the person whos had it happen to them. lmfao. Want me to send you a video of people doing it to me for proof? like i swear yall are helpless

[@alvafairchild13]

For me its im not the target audience there's nothing on there that im interested in there's no reason for me to have it same with twitter same with instagram i have a facebook for friends and coworkers and family and i barely use the actual app usually just messager

[@lalailm]

“Tiktok apologists” Omg i love that

[@Mdntwaffles]

All I’d like to share is that I deleted TikTok six months ago, and my mood and overall outlook improved tremendously. I had the time and attention to devote to actual relationships with real people. I began reading books again and picked up hobbies that were stress-relieving and productive.

[@Sorcerollo]

When you think about it, that's a pretty wild contrast. From an app?

[@Mdntwaffles]

@@Sorcerollo wild… how so

[@Sorcerollo]

@Mdntwaffles Well, it sounds like a huge change. Improved mood, outlook, time for real friends, less stress. Just feels like these things are a big deal, ya know?

[@michellegiorgi106]

@@Sorcerolloyes , goes to show how detrimental it can be

[@SeairraAnn]

@mdntwaffles me too :) the content i was being fed on tiktok was so bad for my mental health, and it took up way too much of my time. I still feel a little left out sometimes, or miss the beautiful art that I saw.... but the benefits far outweighed the negatives as I began living in the real world and developing healthy habits. I strongly reccommend deleting the app for anyone who is struggling with their mental health.

[@tylerhackner9731]

Every day I’m more and more glad I don’t have TikTok

[@mumfriend2545]

Same, got rid of it a year ago and haven’t looked back ✌️

[@ethiopiangoddess4678]

@@mumfriend2545got rid of mine too lol it’s been 1 month

[@Huh9631]

I use to have TikTok like 3 years ago and my mental health was shit, once I got rid of it my mental health started to get better 😁

[@colbyboucher6391]

I remember realizing one day that it's just a thing that exists now and thinking ... wait, when did that happen? I just went on with my life. 27 and feeling like a boomer.

[@mandeanraje2300]

Right? I downloaded it. I’ve opened it maybe twice in a month? Either by accident or someone texts me a link to a clip 😂.

[@no1kikuofan]

honestly tt feels like that one scene from spongebob where squidward was stuck in an endless void but there were multiple voices repeating ‘alone’ untying it got too overwhelming and he finally realised he was truly alone

[@daffodils3999]

That episode scared the shit out of me when i was little

[@beepboop449]

literally how

[@no1kikuofan]

@@beepboop449 imo , ppl r so isolated on tt but they don’t rly realise it until their someone points it out - u may have a diff opinion abt it tho and that’s fine

[@Hantyumi_3000]

I think Bo Burnham very succinctly captured the dystopian sentiment about the tube trend in his recent special, Inside: “All human interaction…should be contained in the much more safe, much more real interior digital space…The outside world, the non-digital world, is merely a theatrical space in which one stages and records content for the much more real, much more vital digital space. One should only engage with the outside world as one engages with a coal mine. Suit up, gather what is needed, and return to the surface.”

[@Dixiedingo_LBB]

It's dystopian because society requires set rules called "manners" to function at the minimum and we just have an entire age of clowns who've forgotten these rules. Everyone is so focused on being the funniest guy in the room that they forgot to laugh.

[@stacki1040]

Crazy that all these people keep bringing up "You'll probably never see the people on the train again," but don't acknowledge that they'll never meet the people online.

[@biduIgi]

(edited bc i realized i had a lot more to say on this lol) there's this person - older, visibly queer, not conventionally attractive - that i see on many mornings and afternoons on my way to the busstop that wildly walks and dances around to music they're listening to on their headphones. personally i think /that/ is true confidence, they're not filming themselves or performing for anyone to see them, they're simply enjoying themselves and not giving a damn. but they're not a young pretty girl and if they were on tiktok doing that trend, they'd get even more weird looks or be ridiculed for it completely. when i think about it, it's mostly when its someone attractive doing it that being publicly confident about your weirdness or quirkyness and loudly expressing that is actually seen as cool or admirable. if at all, because again most ordinary folks prefer to act according to the common social norms and keep to themselves in public. but if the girls in the videos weren't conventionally attractive (bc let's be real, many trends on tiktok only become trends when attractive ppl partake in it) would any of them have the same guts to do these crazy dances in public? probably a lot fewer of them. i know i wouldn't. i have a hard time believing that all these girls would actually be a "tube girl" in public if it weren't for the trend, or tiktok, or social media being a thing. to me it mostly feels like a kinda vapid desire to be recognized or loved, not as your true self, but as the self that you want others to perceive you as, your "persona". it might be seen as confidence but is it really? are we truly confident in what we do, if we only do it for others to see? confidence is a sense of self i think, that you have no matter if there's people around you or if you're alone. --because who are we when we stop performing?

[@LoneWulf278]

So true!

[@fluffyfluffy7938]

Thanku yes that's true

[@SummerSecretz]

🤔mm food for thought!

[@blackbluesette6577]

I notice that most of the tube girls are conventionally attractive, skinnny, pretty, usually white or lighter skinned girls. And I can’t help but think that if they were a plus sized person of color that they’d get hated on and bashed and called attention seeking. I think in society there’s this expectation that you’re only allowed to be “loud and proud” or “be yourself” if you’re an attractive young person. Because unattractive people that step out and do similar things get called weird, get bullied and bashed for what they do.

[@niablee]

Nah… you ATE THIS UP!

[@micaela.herrera]

The lack of integrity is so real, I gifted a lamp to someone and they immediately went 'I can make an ad about this for amazon on tiktok' even though they didn't buy it or use it yet? Felt really weird.

[@dijonay971]

Yea it’s weird that it’s the first thing to come to their mind smh

[@NoName-sp5dp]

Capitalism

[@ithinkcats]

this did NOT happen gang💀💀😭😭

[@micaela.herrera]

@@ithinkcats I wish it didn't

[@leena5875]

tiktok shop ruined the app for me every other video is pushing overconsumption and telling us we need to buy this or that. literally all it takes to be popular on tiktok is to be attractive or make a fool out of yourself

[@lalailm]

I honestly have had enough. Its all abt money, clout, aesthetics and selling things now. Maybe I am naïve for wanting smth more, but it honestly feels like social media today, if not 100% fake, its pretty close to that. From people lying and scamming you with products, influencers photoshoping every inch of their bodies, lying abt their habits and selling a fake lifestyle, trying to get you to buy their courses or whatever, people staging pranks and “candid” videos for views, people paying to pretend they are on a private jet, on a podcast, on a yatch… it literally made me such a skeptical person. Its so overwhelming

[@emotionalboii]

The advertisements are insane now

[@emii36363]

The amount of advertising on there is crazy. KZbinrs will at least let you know if a product is an endorsement or not, people on tiktok don’t care at all; they will advertise any random product to the max. Now I have 1kg of collagen powder because some nobody said it was great for weight loss. My fault 100% for even falling for it but luckily I’ve been off tiktok for a while

[@haifawnn]

Literally 😭 I had to delete it

[@bridieeleanor]

parents need to stop letting their kids live on tiktok, its literally rotting their brains

[@Daydreamerr13]

Too late tbh

[@solocomics1820]

Saying "stop" is pretty much weak at this point because this type of parenting has been normalized for a while and some parents really don't care. And I'm not saying that all parents don't really care no more these days but there the types of parents to go around and say "Hey, here's my phone. Go use it or whenever." Parents who just give out a device like that expecting nothing will affect the child is going to happen no matter what. You kinda setting up your child for failure. All depends on the child.

[@Shirumoon]

@@Daydreamerr13 New children are being born every single day, it's not too late. It's never to late to initiate change.

[@leax7061]

Ppl should really stop dictating what others should do

[@Justanothercog24]

Confidence is not about chasing attention which is where I think a lot of ppl get mixed up. When you have genuine confidence, you don't live your life centered around seeking attention. You DO naturally get noticed just because of the energy you put out. True confidence doesn't equate to not giving af about other ppl either. It's a self-acceptance of personal strengths, weaknesses, flaws & all & understanding that other ppl's opinions have absolutely nothing to do with what makes you YOU.

[@kminor11]

self concept 😊✅

[@catis4]

I have social anxiety so throughout my life I've had people saying "just be more confident" (as if that's a switch I can turn on), but those same people are scared of doing things alone, like watching a movie or going to the beach, while I can do that quite easily. Of course sometimes I think that people will judge me, but then I think I don't care and just enjoy my time alone.

[@Shirumoon]

Finally someone who can relate to this omg! I've been alone for so long dua to social anxiety that finally I started to do all the things alone that otherwise you'd do with others. From going to the café, to visiting concerts and go clubbing to doing month long trips abroad all by myself. It's funny how people will call me so brave and everything when they meet me there vs. the people at home like my bf (Mr. never doing stuff alone) who knows I'm an anxious mess and sometimes calls me out on it.

[@chelscara]

I feel like these are the same people that will hop on the “we’re living in a simulation” conspiracies and it’s like yeah, YOU do live in a simulation, but the world is in fact still out here.

[@abbieamavi]

The hair is gorgeous! And so are you! Anyways, I think of the quote “confidence is quiet, insecurities are loud”

[@semimoronic]

i deleted all my social media back in april and it's honestly so refreshing just being oblivious to all this kind of stuff

[@abrielle13]

I can't believe people allow their kids access to things like TikTok. 😳

[@Kaybye555]

Thank you!!! Kids SHOULD NOT have free/unsupervised internet access!

[@kittykittybangbang9367]

​@@Kaybye555I remember having unsupervised internet access back in the late 2000s/early 2010s, and I remember stumbling across Happy Tree Friends and MLP pr0n 😭 supervise your kids

[@markigirl2757]

Most likely those kids that grew up with the internet with no bad experiences or forgot it are the ones that let their own kids watch it 😂

[@cinnamonsparrowdesigns]

I monitor what my son does on his phone and KZbin. He knows what he can and can't do. He doesn't have an social media yet either. I think 14 is way too young. He's a good kid and we trust him a lot.

[@Momo-po5tn]

​@@cinnamonsparrowdesignsyoure a good parent ❤

[@elisamozo3808]

It has to be an indirect consequence of the quaratine. We spent so much time in our beds, just looking at our phones, without having contact with other people in real life, that for some people they just confused real life with what they see on their phones, like they are just living a videogame. Influencers spent so many hours doing videos in their rooms, that once the pandemic ended, they just did it in the park or the train and it didn't make much of a difference for them

[@DawnsHuntress]

this is a really really good point. And the way it has impacted the younger generation is scary

[@bambiisbonkers]

it was definitely the perfect storm

[@peachyserenade]

i hate that social media/internet presence has found its way into our offline lives, to the point that it affects multiple aspects of our lives. for example, if you dont have an aesthetically pleasing instagram dedicated to show off your work, with thousands of followers, then you won't make yourself known, you won't be "credible" enough?? even if you're a great professional (at least in Brasil that's how it works) on job hunting websites, they all have options for you to plug in your socials (and if you don't add them, they say your curriculum is incomplete). I HATE IT SO MUCH. i really hope nosedive doesn't become a real life thing, because i've been deleting all my social media accounts and being as low profile as possible. being online makes me feel empty and miserable.

[@paula5540]

I feel exactly like you. Social media that requires me to show too much of my life makes me uncomfortable and honestly it's sad that you need to be on social media in order to be credible. I hope at some point being too much on social media becomes something people will consider before hiring you cause of wasting time, just like smoking became.

[@Iquey]

This is just gonna cause people to have multiple instagrams and facebooks. One for school /work and one for actual friends.

[@lgf0626]

i dont have social media so watching your videos is more nervewracking than a black mirror episode

[@ashneehs]

Literally same

[@bratbarbie444]

same only yt and pintrest

[@valeriagonzalez8321]

That’s good. You’re not missing out on anything. What you are doing is rare so value that.

[@jenniferch3ck]

So true

[@missmia196]

YT and LinkedIn, which is its own dystopic landscape 😂

[@sophiarivera7364]

Every time I watch a Madisyn Brown video I am affirmed in my decision to never download tiktok ever. Thank you for your service. Great job on your music too✨

[@maybevanesa9819]

honestly i think the tubegirl trend is more a statement of lack of selfawareness and awareness of others than confidence. some people just wanna ride the train home in peace, i dont need girlie standing in my way recording her tiktoks, do it at home.

[@sim771]

People can go off and do whatever trend to themselves, but I don’t want to be content on someone else’s page because I happen to be in the background. This over-documentation and over-analysis of everything is speaks to how much people don’t want to be forgotten or want an identity and validation from others, it’s really sad actually. Edit: this video is so spot on about the social contract and disconnecting from real life! It’s so strange this idea of never seeing these people again (okay maybe in London or NYC) but they are in your community, you very well could see them daily. They are your community, but it seems like people are unaware of that and think online is their community. It is very dystopian

[@carebear8655]

Have you seen videos of that young woman with the big hair who walks through NYC zooming in on people’s faces to show their alleged reaction to her?

[@Samson16436]

​​@@carebear8655wtf that is not ok. I caught a guy filming me on the bus and I threw his phone out the bus 😊

[@Honeysuckle33]

Yes to that black mirror episode. We are almost living it for real

[@leanaam.5385]

This is the reason why I deleted all of my social media accounts and I am happy with my decision. So far, with KZbin, I removed the app on my phone and watch content either on my computer or my tv. Thank you for sharing your insights on this matter 😊

[@candylide]

How did you delete it? It didn't let me, like, I don't have it as accesible now but I cannot uninstall it from my phone completely

[@leanaam.5385]

@@candylide To delete my IG, Tik Tok, Whatsaap and Facebook accounts: 1. log into your account on the app, 2. go to settings/privacy 3. search for deletion of account. Once you get to the 3rd step, it will ask you if you want to "temporarily deactivate account" or " delete account". When you delete your account, there is a 30 days grace period to retrieve your data. After the 30 days, your accounts will be completely deleted. To unistall the apps, you'll have to maybe do it from your settings. Try to find a video on that here on KZbin. I hope this helps and happy Holidays.

[@PersistInTheMind]

I think I’ll do that with KZbin

[@IL-tx3ul]

It's important to remember that while in some social circles, online success might be more important than real life things, this is definitely not a thing for everyone. If you decide to disconnect from those expectations there will still be a world for you

[@ImanFate]

4:20 being a skateboarder kills almost all feelings of embarrassment. when you're serious about skating, you will fall and bust your ass in front of pedestrians all the time and it never feels embarrassing. it's literally part of the sport. but whenever I fall regularly from just walking, I realize I have nothing to be embarrassed about because I bust my ass all the time in front of people anyway. Makes you tough and way more confident.

[@amethystdream8251]

As a roller skater I relate!

[@snaildotcom]

tryna think like this!!!! i got a cruiser like a year ago but i've only really rode it on the street like twice because i'm so nervous of people watching. objectively i know no one cares and stuff but yeah i've gotta get over it or i'll never practise and improve lol and i'll keep making a fool out of myself for longer

[@sylaisee_bebop]

i remember i was applying as a driver to a local pizza place in the area i was living in at the time and i absolutely HATED that they asked for my instagram handle in the application process. like, what benefit would that bring??

[@whatsonhermindblog123]

That’s crazy - I specially for a pizza place like whaaaat. Maybe for a social media role that would make sense

[@wlk3607]

they probably wanted to check your socials to make sure you haven’t posted something that would make the company look bad by affiliation. (still a bad and invasive thing they shouldn’t be asking for) or it could be to check your socials once you’re hired to make sure you’re not doing things to the food and posting about it before delivering it. unfortunately that happens too

[@kittykittybangbang9367]

and what if you didn't have an Instagram account?

[@sylaisee_bebop]

@@kittykittybangbang9367 i guess i would have to quickly make one bc i couldn’t submit my application without it included 💀

[@shiggydiggy]

@@kittykittybangbang9367depending on if your resume seems trustworthy, and weighing the social implications of the role with it- you may get rejected if you can’t provide a handle. Some places will be totally fine with that, because the admission of not having social media means you will not be an immediate potential liability to the company. Some places want to co-opt your handle and social media spaces to further capitalize. It’s entirely up to you but read your contracts and job offers all the way through before signing anything or putting your handle down. It’s not illegal to refuse to disclose your handle and you can make your accounts private. Companies can’t do shht.

[@swag44455]

it all comes down to money. if this type of content wasn’t monetized (and basic life necessities like housing & health care weren’t out of reach) then this wouldn’t be escalating at the rate it’s escalating.

[@keishaj4143]

Totally agree. Money and Attention/Validation.

[@Justanothercog24]

Exactly. It's also what drives a lot of the negative content. Studies have shown the extremes often gains more clicks which is what everyone is after because going viral = potential money.

[@-lavender-777]

Yes!

[@anyaanya-gf6lz]

Very true, people are willing to do the craziest things for money

[@carebear8655]

That is the root of the dystopia for me. Even on Instagram Reels (I assume bc many of the videos are just TikTok re-uploads), you get the sense people are uploading anything that comes to their minds. Literally anything. It is so frustrating, especially when you see the same audio or stupid trends constantly trending for a time.

[@lucyknox1745]

the more videos that I watch like this, the more glad I am that I have never fallen into the TikTok trap lol great video!!

[@niyamariee]

tbh as long as you engage with normal content you should be fine 😭

[@5hirene]

we need to have the OF conversation next tbh, i see a lot of people, especially girls doing OF for the sole reason of money. while there’s nothing wrong with sw, something doesn’t feel right about specifically catering to men (usually creepy men) just for bank. just w the amount of girls doing of, it feels rlly weird and dystopian like you described

[@seraphinavioletcueller5031]

Just to add a bit more nuance to this, I think the issue actually goes a bit deeper. A lot of OF influencers are good at INFLUENCING and not at actually doing the sex work side of things. And they do end up making money, but they could literally choose any way to commodify their influencing from selling T-shirts to diet plans or whatever. People who I know personally who have built up their OF with no influencer platform have taken years of dedication to do it and are far more knowledgeable about sex work then a lot of the influencers who are being the loudest. My biggest beef is that these women, who due to the privilege of their platforms, have not developed a SWer skill set or a developed understanding of how SWer liberation is intrinsically tied to the fights against patriarchy, fights for disability justice, and fight against police surveillance and brutality. And those same influencers will go on alpha bro podcasts and get wrecked (also making SWers more of a target in the process). Talented sex workers are literally the most equipped people to have conversations with men about how to liberate themselves from patriarchy and we actually do engage in these convos while on the clock. Often times teaching men how to show us proper respect is the only way we are compensated fairly. But the people with the experience and worldview to have these conversations are constantly being spoken over by extremely privileged SWers who aren’t doing the deeper work and who are actively perpetuating wh0r€ph0bia Cause yeah just to add to your point if you talk to actual workingclass SWers we are screaming that 99.9% of people are truly not meant for this life and actively trying to warn people about the legitimate dangers and harm. It can also be a truly liberating space for a small few who have already been oppressed out of traditional work, but that is a small minority of people.

[@5hirene]

@@seraphinavioletcueller5031that’s a great point. i think another result of this is the new brand of misogyny men on the internet will use to target women. they’ll comment things like “of detected opinion rejected,” and like u said, perpetuate the anti-sw sentiment. sometimes they’ll also come for random women because they just assume she has an of

[@Ryan-et3sx]

i think we need to be talking more about the fact that there are many out there wanting to do OF which is fine in my book but this involves minors. girls under 18 wanting to do OF and even teasing that on their social media (mostly on IG for some reason) and there are those actively waiting for these specific minors to "mature" (creepy asf) and to turn 18 to finally be able to see them doing risqué content. very gross indeed.

[@valeoncat13]

I'd argue a lot of this stuff(including the video above) if making money is the goal, it's because all the "normal" ways to make money are not effective enough. Capitalism is at the heart of so many problems in our modern world, and we're merely just living through what happens when people become desperate for a way out(or in).

[@amethystdream8251]

We also need to talk about the people who want OF content to fill their various voids. And also the people who assume women are doing OF when they're not, therefore ruining their reputations and practically manifesting OF for the women on question. Seriously, when it comes to sw period, we need to go after the people who want that and pay for it in the first place. They are the root of the problem after all

[@dazeslays]

i am not on tiktok and girl tell me why my american ass read "tube girl effect" and thought we were talking about girls in literal tubes like the matrix. i was imagining a beautiful world where a community of girls on tiktok was engaged in a collaborative sci-fi roleplay. turns out it's just british people 😢

[@mirandaw.4944]

they call it confidence yet she’s posting it on tiktok for validation lol real confident people don’t need validation

[@michellegiorgi106]

this!!!

[@annabelandrews1453]

its so interesting that the trend has the message of “not caring what the people on the train think about you dancing = confidence” meanwhile ur doing all that behavior u wouldnt usually seek out doing to impress people on ur phone. both the people on the train and the people online will never actually know you

[@mollyschemel3987]

Fun Fact: For my Social issues in Film course in college, Nosedive was one of the assigned films and it was my favorite paper I ever wrote, analyzing it from a symbolic interactionism perspective. Love your content!!

[@kailahprice6792]

I love that you go out by yourself and celebrate that 🤍 I’ve always enjoyed eating by myself, or seeing a movie or concert alone or an activity. Sometimes it’s just nice to be alone and do whatever you want and exist. But I get such weird looks when I tell people I went alone, and sometimes even when I’m out I get sad smiles at me like they’re feeling bad for me. Or sometimes even groups of girls have bothered me at shows like “go find a friend, you can’t hang with us” when I’m just standing there (yes alone) watching the music at a GA venues concert. Like?? It’s just so bizarre to me and it shouldn’t be that weird to be out by yourself. Not trying to join anyone’s click or film myself, just trying to chill alone…. so pls leave me alone lol

[@annag2305]

Every single time I‘m watching a video essay on TikTok becoming more and more dystopian, I‘m so glad I finally deleted the damn thing a year ago.

[@angelblue52]

As someone who worked at Brandy Melville, they want to know what your insta is bc they wanna use you as a marketing minion. Posting yourself in their clothes. You don't get paid enough for that. Don't recommend.

[@RaeRaesRaveReviews]

following online trends just makes people look like boring, unconfident copycats. copying what someone else did successfully is a NOT a way to either 1) show confidence (because it doesnt take confidence to copy other people) or 2) get success in real life (because all you are showing people is that you are an unoriginal imitator). Creators find success online and in real life, NOT copycats. ALSO I love your wall art and pillows!!

[@costanzapolastri]

the confidence to perform and the confidence to quietly show up for myself in my day to day are very different, I wish I didn't have to learn that the hard way

[@DivyMoon]

This is so profoundly accurate and real.

[@agirlwhosalsoadog]

Many people do, because we aren’t taught the difference. Instead, we’re taught to conflate confidence with narcissistic behavior.

[@simplyboppingK]

I strongly agree with you on the tiktok shop standpoint. Influencer culture has ruined lifestyle youtubers for me now because none of their lifestyles are real anymore.

[@claradyson3625]

I did the tube girl trend at like 12am on the mtl metro and everyone who was on it was just people coming back from a night out so people hyped me up because that was the vibe. I couldn't imagine doing it in the middle of the day to people who are just trying to get to where they need to be

[@RamenzillaX]

I’m just glad most of my formative years were pre-social media…I think everyone fantasizes about being famous to some degree, but I don’t think people realize how much of themselves they give up to sell the image online in the pursuit of going viral.

[@wildwestkendo]

i dont really mind people recording themselves in public like that, but its time to pass resolutions on blurring faces of people recorded w/o consent like in jp, no reason to make anyone but yourself famous online imo. imagine you're getting stalked and they find you because you walk past a tt live on accident.... I would say the dystopian nature isnt necessarily the performance aspect of the trends, rather that they're not guaranteed the incentive they're vying for. Like plenty of actors that do cringe stuff for film and tv but they're guranteed pay by their contract while We are gambling for it.

[@logbinder6330]

it's funny that something that appears cool in the video irl just looks embarrassing and borderline insane

[@krushkannon]

last month i made a tiktok calling out that the tiktok shop is directly in between the "for you" page and your following page and how insidious that is to me. this video and the comments really solidified my belief that i'm not crazy for pointing it out

[@parasitic.morality]

it's confidence just for the sake of projecting confidence, rather than having the confidence to do something you really want to do anyway.

[@xo_oblivion]

when these npc live streams went viral on twitter, i spent a SOLID 20 minutes trying to figure out whether these people are real or ai generated. the emote actions are so consistent they're near robotic, it is very uncanny.

[@lastarrj.]

I agree, legit think of Black Mirror every other day and how it’s aligning with today. Especially the nosedive episode!

[@CathysWorld383]

I think an interesting thing to think about is, “You’ll never see these people on the train again” but they live closer to you, than the people you’re trying to impress online. There is a greater amount of people online who might or might not see you, but the people around you on that train, are your community. People you could take the time to get to know and become friends with and see everyday. And you might actually pass them by every single day and have no idea at all, because you’re busy trying to impress strangers thousands of miles away that you will never know or meet irl.

[@gbabytiff]

12:50 - 13:30 There are so many issues around this in LA, parties you cant get into, places you can't go to and wayyyyy more just based on your followers.

[@megsley]

why would you WANT to go to those parties and places? they're overrun with vapid shallow social media buffoons. doesn't sound fun to me!

[@NobodyImporttant]

Good on you for reminding us to keep our humanity and value our fellow people with AI becoming more involved in our lives! Another thing to think about is how young children are growing up with lots of weird and garbage content. They live in a world where technology and the internet is so much more involved in their lives than kids who grew up in the early 2000’s and before

[@sydnee9964]

Honestly, I agree with everything you had to say. TikTok is really getting to some people's heads and they don't care unless they get some likes, followers and clout. And it's really sad. The society is really going to explode one day

[@imani24alf]

BRO IM SO GLAD IM NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO THINKS THIS… it’s so scary and sad how shallow or internet-obsessed people have become.

[@Samson16436]

Makes me concerned for the kids and worry about how it will affect them mentally and socially

[@smallgreenlimabean]

thank you for being a voice of reason! tiktok makes me so frustrated, because there's so many funny and creative people on there, but the behavior it breeds and promotes is so unhealthy. i hope more people kind of see these ridiuclous trends and stuff on the app and are inspired to think about their own relationship with social media. i know i deleted my tiktok account almost a year ago, and i haven't regretted it at all.

[@whocares12345]

This sounds like the “what about the children!” reaction to KZbin almost 20 years ago. New forms of entertainment and information transmission do something to a society - people used to be afraid of books ruining society - especially because they’re often adopted by the young en masse. But time after time, the media proliferates and levels out as the young who’ve grown up with it are no longer in awe of it, they don’t question, and society finds the next formats to clutch their pearls over.

[@lockheart619]

Girl I lost it when you were ranting about those pickles

[@rachelgray6790]

Like, tf is a pickle kit??? 😭

[@RachelRay]

Tube girl can't be peak confidence because at the end of the day the act of posting it means you care about what somebody thinks of you. You literally want to be seen in a certain way, doing it for the gram, tiktok etc? There are very few public/shared spaces left (particularly ones that are free/cheap) so people taking up these spaces with just 'meeee' stuff (whether is posting or talking really loadly on the phone etc) feels very selfish. I personally feel like it's saying 'I don't care about others' rather than 'I don't care about what others think of me.'

[@cosmicfaeriewitch]

genuine self confidence is about self acceptance, not shoving it down anyone's throat. the tube girl thing seems like a big ego stroking/self absorbed behavior & shows the lack of self awareness/awareness of surroundings. I would be worried about someone taking advantage of the self absorbed moment/drawing attention to myself & being robbed, sexually harassed or something along those lines. thats just being real considering times are weird and strangers don't deserve your trust.

[@peachy_lili]

"I was just so concentrated" why does it not surprise me she talks like this girl you are not orange juice! you were concentraTING!

[@sabinadepoli3734]

Confidence and needing attention are very different! You’re a smart and beautiful person I’m so happy you agree and made this ❤

[@danderson8431]

It is literally my worst nightmare to go viral.

[@EveKempen]

This is such an interesting argument where you talk about the tube girl trend. Personally, I have Tourette’s syndrome and I constantly disturbing normalcy for people involuntarily with my vocal tics (I say lots of embarrassing things with my condition) 😅 So these people filming a tube girl TikTok doesn’t seem that extreme to me ig. With having Tourette’s it’s like wherever I go in public I’m constantly doing something embarrassing and kinda just accept that people probably think I’m weird or annoying. But for my confidence it has made me so much stronger and not afraid to be myself. So I can see how TikTok trends like tube girl could help expand people’s confidence even if it is incentivised. Such an odd comparison for me to make I just thought it was interesting lol

[@susanjeffries5108]

Potential for monetizing everything, especially on TikTok shop, makes it really attractive to people to view everything as a salable moment. For me that wouldn't be enjoyable or stimulating in the long term. I really like challenging tasks. Some of my best times took place in college where I had studied really hard for a test and I could just feel my mental muscles getting stronger. There's so much real enjoyment and self-confidence that comes from having knowledge. TikTok has never appealed to me because it's such short snippets of information, or it's a straight up ad like you said. I only know about things on TikTok through commentary videos and my mother-in-law LOL. It just doesn't appeal to me.

[@riak321]

It's mostly the fashion industry where they cafe about your follow count but as long as you've got the appropriate qualifications the healthcare industry doesn't even bat an eye.

[@user-og7qq5zy8p]

like you said, the tube girl trend is pretty harmless so no hate to the creator, but I never saw what was so revolutionary and inspiring about a conventionally attractive woman dancing provocatively in front of a camera lol. Show me a proud ugly girl then I'll be inspired 👏

[@auroramalfoy]

I feel like people are starting to have no shame to the point where its becoming really bad and if people have zero shame not even the "positive" kind then we are no different than animals and honestly even then I feel like animals would be much more mature than we ever would be.

[@lasantuzza777]

exactly. i don’t see why people want to blur every boundary and challenge every social expectation. it will inevitably lead to a very violent and perverse society but people think they’re being progressive and fun

[@fernandaa7334]

Thank you for talking about something that drives me crazy, how social media, especially tiktok, encourages (and sometimes thrives) people to break the Social Contract. Locke would like to see his theory getting tested like that when people start to be violent in reaction of this stupidity.

[@basedhimejosi]

this is why i'll never re-download tiktok, i've been here since musically era and honestly first tiktok was pretty fun but i started noticing around 2021 how negatively the app affects society and decided to sat goodbye to that social media. (probably forever?)

[@Valw_1]

deleting tiktok was literally the best thing i have ever done. This app is so addicting and even LITTLE KIDS are on this app,atp i am scared fr

[@orangepeelqueen2787]

I would die from the second hand embarrassment just being there, I could never.

[@jewelt8294]

Nowadays there are even tourists taking photos while crossing the road like that is so dangerous…They are lucky the cars stopped for them…Like what is going wrong now…

[@willemdefoeson]

i am a victim of the tiktok shop bc i thought it was ppl genuinely telling me about things they use and linking it, not them just pushing some random shit for an affiliate link i got sooooo many more videos bc i actually bought stuff, so now im dodging any sponsored content or tiktok shop shit

[@Pandalorian259]

I just happened upon your video and you make total sense. I have been discussing this with friends for ages.

[@taylorl.7115]

While I can sort of see the argument that the tube girl trend and other similar trends are relatively harmless, something I don't see mentioned often is the fact that the other transients and or/ people in the public area did not go out that day agreeing to be recorded, but are now going to be in the background of something that has the potential to get a lot of views. Some people may just not be comfortable on camera and that's valid, but for people in precarious situations i.e. domestic violence, witness protection at the risk of sounding dramatic, this could be an invasion of privacy.

[@romane9666]

literally when the online social codes take over the irl ones

[@jepros]

When tik tok requires you to post constantly in the hopes of maybe going viral, and with no set criteria for what helps you go viral, the result is we mine our entire lives obsessively for that one thing that might work. That's why people are going to all kinds of lengths now, because the app requires it. For the most part, people want to go viral and build a following, so as long as that's the point of it all, people will do more and more to try to "win over" the algorithm.

[@Lg.sidequest]

This year my mental health has been my number one priority so in February I left tik tok and a few other platforms. I'm so glad to see that I'm really not missing out on much 😅 I was so tempted to re download it in October tho

[@perripie]

I realized tik tok wasn’t for me when I got an actual bed sore from not moving for two days during lockdown and just watching tik toks. It completely wrecks my attention span so I haven’t used it since 2020.

[@amethystdream8251]

We're already at that point with the black mirror nosedive episode. I'm applying for housing and was asked for my social media. I took a hiatus and deleted most of my content for a rebranding...oops too human for housing apparently. I'm fed up of the victim mentality around this tho. I've been trying to prioritize irl connection for literal years by now and well, people have to let themselves spend energy on irl connection for things to change. Without that, what can any of us expect?

[@lilycollegemythbusters5532]

I love the observation being made that she is in New York and takes the train every day and has never seen anyone doing THE TREND she is commenting on! Meaning, it maybe ain't really a trend. LOL!

[@martianpudding9522]

I kinda feel like the NPC thing would be more fun if they acted as actual NPCs. Like NPCs are still characters, they generally don't just run around yelling nonsense. Like an NPC shopkeeper or villager or something could actually be interesting to talk to, like some kind of mini LARP experience

[@Number-fx2qg]

I think another very dystopian part of TikTok is how much of the content is just straight up fake. I upload live guitar covers, and had no idea until recently that most of the guitarists in "GuitarTok" are miming over prerecorded tracks and can't actually play it live. It feels different from people lip-syncing to someone else's song, because they're faking their own skills, and there's an uncomfortable element of deception there. You don't have to have the skills anymore, you just have to look like you do.

[@EmzEspinet]

Right! I’m waiting until public perception fully acknowledges that basically everything is staged. Travel vlogs, reviews, GRWMs & DIMLs, and podcasts can all be scripted & edited just as much as TV shows.

[@Number-fx2qg]

@@EmzEspinet absolutely, everything is manufactured yet presented as real, it's having horrifying impacts on people - especially children. It's completely twisting how we see/interact the world, that we expect everything at a whim, and that everything is about money.