darkSpyro

Discuss :)

So!!

A lot of changes need to be made. I think content such as severe mental health issues, abuse, trauma, all the dark things like that should be kept off of TikTok. Or at least they should have age-restricted sections; so under-16s will see a different, more regulated and innocent TikTok, and the over-16s or over 18s can discuss the above topics should they so wish without the danger of an impressionable child coming across them by accident. Parents of teens and younger kids need to restrict their kids more because it is very easy to fall into the hole of endless mind-numbing scrolling and consequently come across videos and subjects that are damaging to young minds.

But no, I don’t think it should be banned. Just regulated better. I came across a video of a guy pulling a tortoise’s shell off. I reported and thankfully the video got taken down, but why was it allowed to be posted in the first place? TikTok does need to be a lot stricter. I came across another video sometime last year and it was so awful that I won’t/can’t repeat what I saw, and I actually deleted the app straight away. It was so bad I had to talk to my therepist about it and I know that sounds dramatic but trust me, I’m keeping you innocent.

In conclusion, TikTok needs to be better at moderating and permanently banning the types of accounts I’ve spoken about, and needs to have age restricted sections where kids cannot accidentally wander into dark topic talks.

HELLO JOIN IN THE DISCUSSION

Quote: Jaggedstar

HELLO JOIN IN THE DISCUSSION

In my humble opinion. Tiktok is pretty bad for data privacy reasons. They don't sell your info to the big evil government like the USA. But instead are part of that big evil government :) so everything that you have on your phone is pretty much theirs.

The thing about regulation is that the USA right now wants to own the app entirely to give it that good ol American purchasing data control. Keep in mind there are countries that have banned tiktok like India

no but like most social medias it definitely needs to have some changes made to it bc it's a cesspool in comparison to twitter.

I actually have BIG opinions on TikTok--and social media and the internet as a whole, really--but I will delve into those another day. As for my answer to the initial question...

Yes, I do believe that TikTok should be banned. I understand that it is a platform used for kids to express themselves in various ways, but it is way too easy to stumble upon something that could potentially mess up a child's psyche. As Jagged said, this could be prevented by regulating posts, but people are creative and sneaky. There are ways to bypass filters and regulations, as much as social media platforms deny that anyone can post absolutely anything on their app. Similarly, how can a user prove that they are over sixteen to eighteen? Honor system? How many times have you--the user reading this--lied about your age on the internet to gain access to a platform you really should not have been on in your youth? And even if they are honest, who is to say that the youngin' cannot just use their parents' phone to download the app and use their information?

And even if there happens to be a system that miraculously filters everything and no one posts dark-slash-mentally damaging reels, I am one of those annoying people who believe the internet is plaguing the creative minds of our newer generation. Having grown up on the internet, I know firsthand how messed up one can become and how damaging to your overall life it can be. TikTok not only numbs the brain (shorter attention spans; providing misinformation; exhibiting toxic behaviors to impressionable minds; etc.), but also numbs how society will be interacting with one another.

I personally do not believe that one should have access to social media until they are at least eighteen years of age and can come to rational conclusions on their own, but...eh.

yes absolutely

I have a few friends who practically live on it and constantly send me cringy, mind-numbing videos. Personally, I don't use it or any social media besides my occasional visits to Twitter. However, based on what I do know about TikTok, it needs a better system to regulate its content. Studies show the effects this type of content has on the brain. As Eevee88 said, a lot of children and teens use it. However, that should be taken into consideration regarding ALL social media, not just TikTok. It can be good in some ways, but too much of anything is a problem.

To answer your question, I wouldn't say it should be banned, but moderation and more mentally stimulating content would be a step in the right direction.

It should not be banned. And any other mainstream social media should not be banned. But people of age over 16 should be banned from using social media as it was originaly intended to be.

Should be banned

Quote: ThunderEgg

Should be banned

Absolutely.

oh yeah i never gave my opinion.

there's the psychological aspect of tiktok which imo is not the strongest offense that the app delivers. sure it has a lot of misinformation and may be the reason why kids are stupid but there are a lot of cybersecurity aspects that we should look out for.

Data Privacy Concerns
this is the big one. while apps like facebook, twitter, or snapchat, have privileges to confidential private information such as browsing history, biometrics, location data, etc, they are very restricted and regulated. this does not necessarily mean that facebook won't give up your information to the government if asked for. the main difference between facebook or other us based social media groups is that they are privately owned companies that do not have relations to the united states government. tiktok is pretty much owned by the Chinese government who can pretty much see your personal information being gathered on the app without needing to pay a fee or going through legal loopholes. does the united states government look upon your information on facebook? yes. which is why states are trying to introduce comprehensive consumer data privacy laws to help protect users which can never ever happen in china. the us is not the best when it comes to spying on your confidential information, but they are getting better at it slowly with acts such as CCPA, HIPPA, etc. the main difference between facebook and tiktok collecting data on you is regulations and restrictions because one is a private company that has to follow laws and the other is a country that makes their own laws.

Vulnerability Concerns
tiktok collects a lot of data from you. like a lot of data. keystrokes, screen captures, your copy and paste clipboard, passwords, locations, etc. this is the main reason why the app is banned from united states government sites. the fear of a foreign entity that has a history of spying through technology and unlawfully obtaining information is quite real.

really the main concern imo are more related to what the ccp can do with your information. for example, because the app has access to your phones location, whats stopping them from mapping out military bases or other secure areas? the concerns of tiktok won't really affect the average us citizen but on a grander stage, it could lead to a lot of data infiltration or possibly promoting and influencing future political events. you remember how russia affected the voting polls? while I do not like my information being collected by meta or google, the argument for banning tiktok instead of us based apps imo is a lot of whataboutisms that incorrectly assess the real dangers of tiktok. mostly because the us doesn't do it because they don't have direct code development for these apps. saying that "facebook does the same" doesn't really help fix the issue here. which is.

should tiktok be banned? maybe. it just needs to get better as an app. at the moment it is worse than any other social media platform because of the transparency that the app gives is nonexistent. this means that, unlike apps like facebook or snapchat, they do not have to specify what data they are collecting and be transparent about it. this is the main reason why the us government wants tiktok to be distrutibted by a us based company. its not so they can have more access to your data, but to regulate that data. does the us still act cringe and lame when it comes to data? yes. tiktok tic tac toe a winner.