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Original poster

To think Tiktok is disturbing

73 replies

Snegle · 14/08/2022 11:59

I reluctantly got my own Tiktok account recently and all I got recommended was video after video of child and animal cruelty from the moment I logged in. Also footage of domestic violence that was mocking a woman being punched in the face and someone winding up disabled people. It just seems like a competition in who can be the most cruel and rude. These videos have hundreds of thousands of likes. I'm really confused? I've found some of it quite upsetting and I never want to go on Tiktok again. Is this what TikTok is? What a hell hole.

Just for context I'm 30 so technically key audience for TT.

OP posts:
PollyRockets · 14/08/2022 14:55

@EmmaH2022 they're not targeting children

Young Children shouldn't be on TT anyway

There is an age limit for a reason

liveforsummer · 14/08/2022 14:58

Targeted at children, who have no idea how it works..

Your average 16 year old will have a far better idea of how any of this works than majority of 30/40 somethings.

PeekAtYou · 14/08/2022 15:01

It's targeted at 12+ year olds in the UK but adults allow younger children free reign which ends up in others pestering for it which creates the problem. It's not for kids really.

EmmaH2022 · 14/08/2022 15:02

Okay
some children and adults don't know how it works

re targeting - the business news tells me otherwise.

Original poster
Snegle · 14/08/2022 15:34

liveforsummer · 14/08/2022 14:46

This is just not true though, my ds certainly has not been searching for children dying and was really upset that these vid keep popping up! See above, another poster has had the same thing happen.

But he's been pausing on them. Allowing them to play while he brings them to show you, reports them etc which adds them to the algorithm

I find these responses quite odd to be honest.. 'Oh it's OK that TikTok is making us all watch really hurtful and upsetting content we but that's OK, just don't watch those onee.' Even though the platform exists to force you to watch things... you often can't tell what a video is unless you start watching it.

OP posts:
VladmirsPoutine · 14/08/2022 16:24

Well report the content and if you find it's still causing you too much angst delete the app. I agree the content is horrific but what can people realistically respond to you.

EmmaH2022 · 14/08/2022 16:27

VladmirsPoutine · 14/08/2022 16:24

Well report the content and if you find it's still causing you too much angst delete the app. I agree the content is horrific but what can people realistically respond to you.

Why does anyone post? Strange comment.

it's a good discussion to have, it flags up stuff for people who might find it helpful and you can see from the votes that many people understand the OP point.

VladmirsPoutine · 14/08/2022 16:29

I understand the point the OP is making. Infact there's a lot of abusive content on there - I said upthread it's important to curate the content but OP's account still pushes these videos on her - given there's only so much she can watch and report the alternative is to delete altogether.

EmmaH2022 · 14/08/2022 16:31

VladmirsPoutine · 14/08/2022 16:29

I understand the point the OP is making. Infact there's a lot of abusive content on there - I said upthread it's important to curate the content but OP's account still pushes these videos on her - given there's only so much she can watch and report the alternative is to delete altogether.

OP has deleted it.

my puzzlement is your comment "what can people realistically respond to you."

Thatswhyimacat · 14/08/2022 16:33

My tiktok account from day 1 just gave me garlic recipes and cute ducks.

Suzi888 · 14/08/2022 16:43

ilyx · 14/08/2022 12:09

I’ve been on tiktok for over a year and have never seen anything like this. The algorithm shows you when you’re watching and interacting with. If you don’t want to see it then scroll past very quickly or you’ll keep being recommended it.

You have to be quick though. I hate tik tok, only have an account to keep up with sm because of DD.

Rahrahrahrahannoyed · 14/08/2022 21:29

Agreed, @Snegle

bloghu · 21/08/2022 09:49

liveforsummer · 14/08/2022 14:46

This is just not true though, my ds certainly has not been searching for children dying and was really upset that these vid keep popping up! See above, another poster has had the same thing happen.

But he's been pausing on them. Allowing them to play while he brings them to show you, reports them etc which adds them to the algorithm

Well of course people pause on them, it's shocking and confusing when a baby with untreated hydrocephalus suddenly pops up in your feed. Why did it pop up in so many people's feeds in the first place?

There's loads of weird shit going on on tiktok, it seems completely lawless tbh, loads of paedos on there too, do the parental controls work?

bloghu · 21/08/2022 12:39

Sorry another thing is this awful trend of filming strangers - to laugh at them, or feel sorry for them, or say how cute they are etc. All the tiktoks of people clearly off their head at Glastonbury for instance gave me the fear, Glastonbury was pure escapism for me in my twenties and the idea of my manager scrolling through social media and seeing me bopping around with eyes like saucers at 5am is horrific.

wildchild73 · 27/07/2023 17:32

I understand your point
It's extremely disturbing that nobody else seems disturbed. The things on social media today are mostly sick and disgusting but I'm sure there's an agenda for all of that . It's pretty upsetting that child abuse is looked at as freedom of speech.
Your probably better off having deleted it.

happywotsit · 27/07/2023 17:35

My TT is make up, dancing, Primark hauls and some recipes.

AGoodDayForSomebodyElseToDie · 27/07/2023 17:50

My FYP is all horses and swords. It’s perfect.

Occasionally I hit with get hideous videos of people squeezing spots at the camera though. Why the hell is that even a thing?!

neverbeenskiing · 27/07/2023 17:57

Recommended videos are based on your search history and previous engagement

Not necessarily. If your engagement drops off Tik Tok will show you shocking or controversial content as a way to get you to re-engage. There's also the problem of upsetting or inappropriate content being 'hidden' within innocuous looking Tik Toks. I've worked with kids who have been traumatised because they've stated watching what appeared to be a clip of someone baking a cake and then it suddenly cut to footage of a man shooting himself.

There is also a huge amount amount of pro-anorexia content along with stuff that normalises or even glamourises self-harm. Insta is pretty bad for this too but its much more ubiquitous on Tik Tok. I've worked with teenagers in a safeguarding role my whole adult life so not much shocks me, but I've seen stuff on Tik Tok in the last couple of years that I've found genuinely harrowing.

PrinceHaz · 27/07/2023 18:00

I love a good scroll of Tik Tok. Usually I get cooking, fashion for my age group, dancing etc but I get the occasional odd thing e.g. exhumation of graves in Mexico. don’t know why the algorithm sent me there!

Original poster
Snegle · 30/07/2023 09:29

wildchild73 · 27/07/2023 17:32

I understand your point
It's extremely disturbing that nobody else seems disturbed. The things on social media today are mostly sick and disgusting but I'm sure there's an agenda for all of that . It's pretty upsetting that child abuse is looked at as freedom of speech.
Your probably better off having deleted it.

I deleted it long ago. I was just so confused, everyone seems to love it and spend their lives on it but there is some really vile content on there and you have no choice or warning about engaging with it. People being abusive to their kids, elderly relatives and animals to get likes is abhorrent.

Also the people brushing it off saying its the algorithm and you get recommended what you watch most of - it's pretty horrifying then to think that people who like and engage with abuse content will just get more and more and more abuse content. What that then does to your mind, I hate to think.

OP posts:
Original poster
Snegle · 30/07/2023 09:38

@neverbeenskiing Exactly, because of my job I'm relatively unshockable too! But some of the stuff I've seen on TT has really floored me.

That's interesting that's how the algorithm works. I guess it's similar to Facebook's tendancy to show content that tries to make us angry/outraged about something to drive engagement.

OP posts:
InsomniacsWife · 30/07/2023 09:40

I think the biggest issue with TT is how addictive it is. The algorithm is so sophisticated at feeding you more and more content that you can lose hours a day on it.

Makes me worry for kids and young adults who get hooked.

Clingfilm · 30/07/2023 10:24

Yep, I was getting city centre drunken fights when I first joined, deleted after a while as I wasn't using it.

Joined again for a work thing and was getting russian models, it's an absolute vacuous piece of shite as far as social media goes (not hard I know).

I get that there's some interesting content and some creative sparks (which then get done to death) but TT is absolutely 90% rubbish.

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