TikTok .. Why is it so controversial ?
Love it or hate it, you just can’t ignore the world’s fastest growing 15-second video making app.
TikTok owned by Byte Dance is the world’s most valuable start-up. The app has been growing steadily since it acquired its U.S.-based rival Musical.ly in November 2017 for north of $800 million, then merged the two apps’ user bases last August. It is the number one most downloaded app on Google play store. The New York Times has praised TikTok as “the only truly pleasant social network in existence” for its ad-free, news-free interface.
TikTok has come under scrutiny for allegedly allowing ‘pornographic’ and ‘sleazy’ content to propagate, especially among its younger audience. It’s also been alleged, in several countries that the app is proving to be a fertile hunting ground for pedophiles.
India banned TikTok since 18 April 2019 and revoked the ban on April 24. In July 2018 Indonesia banned TikTok for a couple of days but in the span of eight days, TikTok promised to regulate its content and got the ban overturned. , TikTok pledged to task 20 staff with censoring TikTok content in Indonesia, and the ban was lifted on 11 July 2018.In November 2018, the Bangladeshi government blocked the TikTok app’s internet access. In 2019 February, the Federal Trade Commission in the U.S. fined TikTok $5.7 million for violating children’s privacy law (COPPA) and required the app to implement an age gate.
How do so many people love and hate this lip-sync and video sharing app at the same time?
An app with such a simple mission — singing! dancing! to music! you’ll find a whole world of video that doesn’t exist anywhere else on the web. The main goal of TikTok is to lower the barriers for content creation, from app design to the editing tools and filters.The app only shows one 15 second video at a time with the full screen, and it avoids interruption and repeat. Its Artificial Intelligence algorithm makes binge-watching irresistible, its endless scrolling transport you into the worlds of funny and interesting videos from random users with thousands of likes and hundreds of supportive comments. It has Intermittent variable rewards and cute and creative stickers/filters.
The gist is this: Users film videos of themselves lip-syncing or acting out comedy sketches, up to 15 seconds long, and can choose from a database of songs, effects, or sound bites. Collaboration is a major incentive — you can do a “duet” with someone by replying to their video, which creates a split-screen diptych, thus feeding into an endless chain of reactions, thus getting endlessly reproduced and remixed among its young users. Users can also upload their own sounds, so that it’s possible to lip-sync to someone else’s original video. There are a variety of trends within TikTok, including memes, lip-synced songs, duets and comedies. These videos are weird, but also fun to watch.
Creating interesting video or audio content is remarkably difficult and the app has tools to make the content richer, funnier and valuable. Despite the app’s massive popularity and its parent company’s unprecedented valuation, celebrities have been strangely slow to get in on it. TikTok is still primarily an app for normies. This, however, is not exactly the reputation that TikTok enjoys on the rest of the internet. Because when lots and lots of normal people use an app that’s essentially simulating karaoke — already an activity with a high possibility for humiliation — and then broadcast those videos to a potential audience of millions, not all of the results are going to be as pretty as a filtered, curated Instagram photo. The level of earnestness that many TikTok videos convey often crosses the line into cringe worthiness, particularly when it comes to very young teenagers exploring subcultures like furry fandom, infantilism, or certain kinds of cosplay. Unfortunately, the thing about scripted comedy is that it’s hard to do well and incredibly unpleasant to watch when done poorly. To a generation of cynical internet users, TikTok videos are purely targets of ridicule.
It’s not just the users: Even the “challenges” themselves, or the many replicable memes that go viral on TikTok, are pretty corny. One of TikTok’ s most popular memes is also predicated largely on sexism. Some young users have complained on the platform about other people repeatedly asking them for nudes. TikTok doesn’t permit images or videos to be sent in comments or messages, and users can make their account private, block another user, report an account or content, and disable the ability to receive messages. Several users have reported endemic cyber bullying on TikTok, including racist and anti-Semitic abuse.
The addictive nature of TikTok is mainly attributed to its algorithm that makes binge-watching irresistible. The endless scroll of surprise content has led to serious addiction where people spend hours watching these short videos. In 2018, an addiction-reduction feature was added to TikTok, which encourages users to take a break every 90 minutes.
The program mes conducted by TikTok are big crowd pullers. The company is organizing big marketing events where they audition people. They are given lucrative money-making opportunities. In tier 2 & tier3 towns, where opportunities are limited, this is becoming a good substitute. This is another reason for its popularity.
