Throw it back to the days of Vine, the OG short video app that was a part of my youth along with many others. Creators like King Bach, Lele Pons and Nash Grier had their debuts here. Vine was relatively harmless and is home to some of the best 'inside jokes' of today's era. Vine was essentially taken from the world, and years later we got the infamous TikTok app, a spawn of Musical.ly.
Many creators such as Zoe Laverne and 'Baby' Ariel found their fame on Musical.ly and took it straight to TikTok where they now have millions of followers. Younger creators such as Charli D'Amelio found fast fame, for example, D'Amelio is now up to over 55 million followers.
These creators are known for their work on the app, usually specializing in something. For Charli, its Dunkin' and popular TikTok dances. For some creators, such as David Dobrik who transferred his fame from YouTube, it's pulling pranks on his friends and giving away Teslas.
TikTok had a lot of potential, in my opinion. I know I'm just a girl in her twenties whose opinion doesn't matter to most, but I'm tired of keeping quiet. TikTok has become the definition of toxic.
Where do I start? Maybe with creators posting about how their body positive videos are getting taken down by the app because their bodies aren't 'up to standard.' Or, maybe I should start with the hate that several creators are getting, especially the ones who haven't done anything wrong. I could also talk about how a large percentage of the audience on the app is under fourteen. The most impressionable age range and the ones who are witnessing the severe hate comments.
Every time I go on the app in hopes of passing some downtime peacefully, I observe hate and discrimination in multiple forms. Frankly, I've never understood how or why people go out of their way to put others down. It simply goes against the golden rule, "treat others as you would like to be treated."
One creator, Mik Zazon, posts TikToks solely based on body positivity. She is a curvier woman who promotes the importance of loving the skin you're in. Her page is great, her messages are inspiring, yet, there is one problem. TikTok doesn't quite think so. Her videos are constantly taken down for "violating community guidelines." She isn't the only one who experiences this, countless creators who post similar content are constantly getting their content removed. One of the heads of the app admitted to this being done on purpose, to 'weed out' body types that weren't ideal for them.
Now I want to talk about Sissy Sheridan. I don't know much about the girl personally, but what I do know is that she is a fifteen-year-old girl who literally hasn't done anything morally wrong. She posts content similar to Charli D'Amelio and others in her age range, yet, most of her comments consist of pure hate. Most of the comments spreading hate are of the younger crowd, literally cyberbullying. This girl seriously hasn't done anything wrong, but she is constantly getting told to kill herself. The worst part is that nothing is being done about it.
Similar unproblematic Tik Tokers are also getting picked apart for similar reasons, often being told that they 'don't deserve the fame,' or that they have no talent, are ugly, etc.
I could go on about the problems of this app, but the biggest issue is that everyone is in too deep. Watching thousands of TikToks a day, reading hundreds of hate comments, witnessing cyberbullying in its flesh. I want to know when this all became OK, when this all became acceptable. Why are we all supporting this app? Why are we continuing to go out of our way to spread hate, not support? Why can't everyone just scroll past something they don't like? This is immaturity at its worst, and a huge loss of morals for many.
I am not OK with the road TikTok is going down, and I really hope that something gives soon. I fear for the future of our humanity and morals. We need to be better both in-person and behind the screen.
