Horrific tiktok. Anyone else going cold turkey? TW/CSA

[Lepea]

Been addicted since lockdown.

Idly scrolling for hours.

Yesterday I saw the most horrific tiktok. I didn't click what I was listening to till it was too late. Tiktok almost puts me in a zombie state of scrolling but it was a self identified sado maschicist(sp?) SO describing the most horrific attack on a 9 year old boy.

I actually froze. And listened way longer than I wanted to and now I can't get it out of my head. It was utterly, utterly heartbreaking. I can't describe how upsetting it was and now I just keep crying.

It's not the first time stuff like this has happened and I just wnat to get off there. I've had horrific things pop up before so randomly.

I've uninstalled it and as fun as the 'funparts' are it's just not worth it.

I keep going to click on the app out of habit! I'm cleaning to distract myself (and MNing obviously)

Also why is that stuff even allowed on there?

We installed it on the tv and first thing that came up was a monkey masturbating and puppet vaginas - swiftly deleted! Wish I could get DD to delete it. So toxic. Loads of issues with cyber bullying too - kids from school making nasty videos about other kids. School said they can’t do much 🙄.
horrible app!

Tik tok is evil app. And you'd think instagram was bad 🙄

I think DD14 has it. I'm going to tell her to delete it

I watched a Tiktok involving a horrendous treatment of a puppy that then died.

That seriously traumatised me. I find myself thinking about it in the night and when I wake up. Made me so angry!

Having said that, I still love TT. History, crime, cookery and recipes, tips on certain things, MH advice, all sorts of things I am interested in and shortened versions-rather than having to watch half of a 30 mins youtube video before realising it isn't what you want or is boring and not getting better. TT can be very useful. You just have to be careful what you follow (and let the app know when it offers something you aren't interested in or don't like.

Man I miss curated media. Remember when editors was a thing?

Don’t haev Tiktok ir Insta, don’t want them. Facebook is bad enough

Something similar came up in my for you page yesterday. It was a man describing horrendous things he did to his stepson. I
watched for a few seconds before I swiftly scrolled. Maybe it was the same one. Can’t get it put of my head since.

I've said thus to my husband.
People are putting such traumatic things on there and it's starting to affect me in daily life so need to take a break.

I’m generally more laid back than most about social media etc with my two dc but I can’t stand TikTok. It’s just full of stuff like this and it’s horrible. My youngest isn’t allowed anywhere near it. (Eldest is an adult so can’t do anything there)! Hate it.

I had a similar experience with Twitter and an absolutely horrific image I'll never forget. I deleted it and have never looked back!

What is even the point of TikTok? I’ve never even been on it.
is there actually any beneficial use for it?

Never used it. It needs taking down. No wonder so many young people have mental health problems these days

Really sorry you experienced this. I've been using it for a few years as has my partner and I've never seen anything like this or the other things described. So I think in terms of your question why is this allowed? It's not and this type of thing is normally removed quickly. I know other videos with content nothing like this but which are deemed unsuitable have been removed. As when I've shared them they are no longer available. For example somone doing something considered dangerous.

My young teen daughter has it 😞
I don’t think she’ll want to delete it; she loves it. Not sure if she’s seen anything horrible or not but it’s scary to think she might.

I downloaded it about 10 days ago and got so sucked in that I've been watching it until 3, 4am.

Some things I've seen have just broken me, it's an awful place.

I've just deleted it having read your post OP. Relieved it wasn't just me.

Yes, same one. With the plastic bag? :(

I just can't risk my mental health anymore. I had another one a while ago with the sounds of kids screaming help us, that were apparently being transported by traffickers, in underground tunnels.

I can't bear to think about things like that. It messes me up for weeks

I'm genuinely baffled by the popularity. I've got fellow freelancers telling me I really must get on it to promote my business.

I've also been told it's one of the worst apps for harvesting data, so don't want it.

Can you curate your feed or is it chucking these awful things at you in spite of curation?

Yeah it's a strange one, no one I know gets stuff like this (not denying it's out there, just think it's weird some people totally avoid it).

I find TikTok nothing but useful!

You can curate it to an extent. One feed is stuff you choose to watch and the other is stuff the algorithm thinks you'll like based on other stuff you watch. So mine is full of feminism, history, cookery, travel, and literature with a bit of sloppy parenting. Nothing too disturbing has happened to me yet but I guess I've been lucky.

It's based on an algorithm, so say if you like horses you search for horses, see a horse video, like it, comment, then it will generate more horse videos.

But it's based on engagement so also if it shows you something you don't like and you click the comments and like the quotes of 'this is awful!' it takes that as engagement so may throw similar your way.

You can click 'I don't like that' sort of button but if it's something that horrific I shut the app immediately in reaction before I could even think about that.

That's the thing. Mine is 99% pug videos, UFOs, silly chihuahuas, cleaning videos,
All chill stuff and then randomly I get some awful child trafficking video.

Or a kitten that's been half beaten to death. Or a very disabled child in a foreign country being filmed by their parents. Or Afghanistan children begging for 'likes and gifts'

It's very, very strange!!

But who is posting a child trafficking video? Who’s filming it?! Shouldn’t the police be involved

That is what I was thinking. It needs reporting so it can be investigated.

TikTok is very addicting and yes I spend more time on it than I want, that being said in general they use algorithms to keep you scrolling for longer, giving you videos it believes will interest you, keep you watching for longer, it's not in their interests to show you something that will turn you away.