Pretty damning stuff in here. There’s a clear trend of social media getting more powerful, and because the company’s incentives are often (or always) misaligned with their non-financial customers, they’re getting more destructive too.
211 sats \ 1 reply \ @south_korea_ln 12 Oct
I think i read somewhere that Douyin, the same app but in China, has much less addictive content. Is that because of the company's better intentions towards Chinese customers or because of stricter CCP regulations?
Speaking of regulations, how do libertarians think of government intervention in such case? A free market would dictate the app to be free to use, even if it harms its members, no? Genuine question, i don't know how libertarians think about such dynamics.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bell_curve 13 Oct
Free market for adults not children or teenagers
The government intervention in this case is a tort or civil action not regulation or a ban
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160 sats \ 1 reply \ @south_korea_ln 12 Oct
Yay, a potential monetization scheme for Stacker News. The killer app for SN~~
I'm being mostly tongue in cheek of course. But who knows if moderation will become necessary one day, if the financial burden of posting crappy content isn't sufficient compared to the potential profits of posting harmful but profitable content...
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bell_curve 13 Oct
Moderation already exists. What statists want is moderation by the state.
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158 sats \ 0 replies \ @WeAreAllSatoshi 12 Oct
This can’t be a surprise to anyone, but it’s still interesting to read about. I refuse to use TikTok.
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20 sats \ 0 replies \ @mdominicorobin24 13 Oct
In fairness, all of the killer apps have the potential to become addictive at some point. TikTok does not have the ability to really destroy their lives at some point the users have the responsibility to control themselves before they become addicted.
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39 sats \ 0 replies \ @7e6e393a56 12 Oct
I'm not a tik-tok user, thank God! Two intriguing questions:
Did the developers understand what children and teenagers in the West are looking for or is this a generational problem in our society that is increasingly superficial?
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16 sats \ 3 replies \ @Bell_curve 12 Oct
if tiktok is harmful then so is instagram and snapchat
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21 sats \ 1 reply \ @k00b OP 13 Oct
Yeah, they’re all engagement maximizing, but it seems like TikTok is more successful at it.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Bell_curve 13 Oct
The confidential material was part of a more than two-year investigation into TikTok by 14 attorneys general that led to state officials suing the company on Tuesday. The lawsuit alleges that TikTok was designed with the express intention of addicting young people to the app. The states argue the multi-billion-dollar company deceived the public about the risks.
_One unnamed TikTok executive put it in stark terms, saying the reason kids watch TikTok is because of the power of the app’s algorithm, “but I think we need to be cognizant of what it might mean for other opportunities,” said the company executive. “And when I say other opportunities, I literally mean sleep, and eating, and moving around the room, and looking at someone in the eyes.”
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States are suing TikTok so this is a civil not criminal case, the plaintiff being the states.
Suit alleges teenagers are being harmed. Will they receive financial compensation?
What about section 230 protections for TikTok?
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21 sats \ 0 replies \ @Signal312 13 Oct
And also Youtube Shorts. That's why the created them, to compete with TikTok.
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0 sats \ 0 replies \ @Satosora 13 Oct
Everyone has known how damaging social media is.
Especially since myspace and facebook first came out, it has changed how we even interact with people.
Basic social skills are being lost.
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