Our Relationship With Technology- Final Blog Post #12

When I was looking at the final prompt and what I should do. I decided to go with Option 1 and to discuss my relationship with technology. If anything has changed technology and the way that we see it, it's TikTok.  TikTok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video. Their mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy. TikTok emerged during a time where the world was in a pretty bad place. With the rising toll of Coronavirus cases and deaths, quarantine became inevitable. People stopped going out, stores closed, the days just consisted of watching the news to find out what was happening with the virus.

I know for me, I'll never forget 2020. I was supposed to graduate high school but in March of that year we were all sent home. I'll never forget hearing the freshman cheer and yell that school was letting out. I remember all of the seniors including myself saying, "We'll be back next week." only for us to never return. I never got to walk the stage or say goodbye to my classmates, it all just ended abruptly. However, right before the summer there was an app, TikTok. I was actually pretty skeptical of this app initially, I did not want to download it. Looking back it makes me think of Diffusion of Innovations and the success that it had. Diffusion of innovations justifies what causes cascades of video content to spread through entire clusters of nodes, or friend groups, because people with close links tend to start following and liking the same TikTok trends.

While TikTok has changed the way that we look at technology, it does not come with some clear negatives. How exposed are we when it comes to TikTok? How exposed is too exposed? What if I told you that the TikTok algorithm looks to read your mind. Looking back in class we discussed privacy as well as artificial intelligence and the way that social media apps are trying to guess what we are going to do now and in the future to predict our behavior. 

There are four main goals for TikTok’s algorithm: 用户价值, 用户价值 (长期), 作者价值, and 平台价值, which the company translates as “user value,” “long-term user value,” “creator value,” and “platform value.” TikTok takes into account what videos you like, the ones that you skip, if you watch a video all the way through. This is all fair game so that the app can continue to be one of the most successful apps in the world. It succeeded where other short videos apps failed in part because it makes creation so easy, giving users background music to dance to or memes to enact, rather than forcing them to fill dead air. There was actually a Wall Street Journal study that showed, TikTok actually pushes a lot of "sad" content and the impact that could have on younger generations is extremely alarming. This could lead young users down dark rabbit holes that expose them to self harm, addiction, or even suicide. 

It was even said in this document, To analysts who believe algorithmic recommendations pose a social threat, the TikTok document confirms their suspicions. The TikTok algorithm tries to get people addicted to the app. "Each video a kid watches, TikTok gains a piece of information on him. In a few hours, the algorithm can detect his musical tastes, his physical attraction, if he’s depressed, if he might be into drugs, and many other sensitive information. There’s a high risk that some of this information will be used against him. It could potentially be used to micro-target him or make him more addicted to the platform.”

TikTok is watching us. Concern about Chinese consumer technology is bipartisan in the United States. President Trump’s executive order attempting to ban the app in August 2020 warned that TikTok’s “data collection threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information.” The Chinese government could “build dossiers of personal information for blackmail, and conduct corporate espionage,” Could TikTok be used as leverage over the United States? Some argue that it is more than just an app, it is an opportunity for a power grab. At the end of the day politics is run by power and who has the most of it. 

The Truth About TikTok

I watched a sixty minute documentary where it discussed the two versions of TikTok and the effect that has on children in the United States versus the effect it has on children in China. TikTok continues to revolutionize the way that we see technology but at what cost. Growing up we hear that children are sponges and absorb all that they can to learn the ways of the world and how they can fit in. It is alarming to know the truth about TikTok and the demographic that it caters to. I think we need to be extremely conscious of our privacy and the way that apps like TikTok play such a pivotal role in our lives. If an app has come out and said that they are watching you, what level are they not willing to reach to get as close to the everyday consumer as possible?