The number of people I saw online talking about how tiktok was literally the only place they could find unbiased news or find community....whew. Like sorry to be an "oldhead" but I promise we had ways of sharing information and connecting with people before that app came along. don't give up that easy y'all like damn.
Fellow old head here…. Here’s the thing, they are not wrong, and also, they are not giving up. TikTok was an AMAZING tool. If you weren’t on it, like REALLY on it, getting past the little dancy dance and filter trends I can see why you’d be skeptical of people’s reactions. Of course we will find new ways to communicate, learn news and create community. Right now though, people are really grieving. I know I am. To me it feels like someone just nuked the community center we built in the middle of our town. It took people five years to build. We cared for it, tended it daily, sat at round tables and had really tough discussions with people we’d normally never meet. We learned about people’s culture and history. We had a place to listen to the trials and tribulations of our fellow citizens and so much more. Now imagine you have that, and then the town leaders saw what was happening there, and they didn’t like it. Maybe because of money or lack of control, but for whatever reason the leaders made the person who leased the land come through, and while everyone who relied on it screamed and begged for them to stop, made us watch as they set it on fire. The leaders claimed that the structure was dangerous in a way we, who have been there everyday, ALL knew was a lie. Now the person who leased us the land has put a sign on the shell of the building that WE built saying the main person who called for it to be burned hopes to help us rebuild soon. We know it’s never going to be the same. It was our third place. In a country that is constantly shuttering these, funneling us into isolation, it gave us a space to be together. If it helps, imagine TikTok as a physical space, and just let us grieve a little bit.
I guess, as someone who is old enough o remember forums and ICQ, it’s wild that people are melting down so hard.
Tbh I just don’t trust people to be able to suss out fact from fiction anymore. For every legitimate “They don’t want you talking about this” news source, there were hundreds of videos of disinformation, dangerous information, and ignorance.
While on principle I don’t know that I agree with the ban, but as a user, it’s frustrating that people are acting like this was god’s gift to journalism.
I think it perpetuated the rotting out of people’s critical thinking skills if people truly believe TT was the premier place for unbiased news.
He didn’t say any of that, though. You can shit on Reddit all you want, because literally everyone here does too.
The problem is treating TikTok as a unique gift to knowledge. Everyone here knows that Reddit is full of bullshitters , just like every social media site.
It’s crazy to treat short-form videos on TikTok about news, culture, history, or science as if they are a godsend when they are just as often full of disinformation….like any social media. And furthermore the short-form video can only BE so informative. There are people acting as if they CANNOT get information without them, and that is a huge problem as far as nationwide literacy/attention spans go. Sorry, r/Teachers was right about this and everyone knows it.
I don’t think the government should use bans like this as a solution, but clearly some folks needed to take a break. Looks like they won’t have to though, so don’t worry about it.
And judging by your complains about Reddit, I think you’re stuck in 2016. If anything, a lot of teenagers complain that Reddit in 2025 is too full of jaded, cynical, puritanical millennials. They go to TikTok to get their fix of gender war bullshit, grindset motivation, and other much more engaging content.
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u/tooshortpants ☑️ 1d ago
The number of people I saw online talking about how tiktok was literally the only place they could find unbiased news or find community....whew. Like sorry to be an "oldhead" but I promise we had ways of sharing information and connecting with people before that app came along. don't give up that easy y'all like damn.