I, someone who grew up adjacent to a big city and have lived in that big city since, always thought of Hot Topic as a joke. What goth teenager is buying their black clothes and accessories at the mall, after all.
I have since heard from people who didnât grow up near big cities that Hot Topic was a place âweirdâ kids could feel more comfortable. It wasnâta community in the sense of people doing anything collectively, but I donât think people need to do anything to feel theyâre part of something bigger than themselves and that they arenât alone.
I think a TikTok community is like an online Hot Topic. If someone is stuck somewhere feeling different from everyone else, seeing a video someone like them made in a bedroom like theirs is going to be meaningful. And once they watch one, For You is going to keep showing them more like it.
Itâs not like a community that might grow around a YouTuber or a streamer because itâs not based on one person. Itâs based on an interest. It doesnât fit a conventional sense of community, of course, but thatâs just semantics. And since a billion people or something use tiktok there could be millions of these loose communities.
Would everyone be happier and more fulfilled by gathering with people IRL? Of course. But that doesnât mean an online community isnât valuable.
I love defending TikTok!
Jan 16, 2025
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đČ
I'm often accused of being an "old soul", a categorization I vehemently dislike because it pretends as if my taste is because of nostalgia, as opposed to what is actually cool and compelling. (If something cool comes out now, I enjoy it, but we're in a down period when it comes to culture). But, something old about me, is that I do not care at all about TikTok ending, if does happen. If Elon takes it over from the Chinese, you might as well leave anyway, but I'm just worried at why this is a huge deal for people. It's just an app. Another one will be made. TikTok is not culture, it directly flattens culture into these ten second clips that take music, movies --- things that you need to process --- into something that is now consumed by everyone at a rapid pace, not allowing for the nuances, the style, the aesthetics to sit with us.
I have never watched something on TikTok and thought that this is something in that pushing American culture to deeper heights. I am sorry. Now I am sure they're good stuff on the app, but it's not really a necessity. Whenever I hear the words "it's blowing up on TikTok", my mind immediately growls.
I understood why X becoming overrun with Elon bots and right wingers is a big deal; X actually created things, made careers, made American life, and American events available to be seen by everyone. However, TikTok is a corrupt fantasy, chopping at the wires that make physical connection important.
Read a book! Go to the movies! Go to the restaurant of a cuisine that is unheralded, go to a baseball game. Who cares about TikTok?
Jan 14, 2025
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So i recently I've deleted tiktok, again. I deleted in 2020 then re-download it 4 years later when a friend reminded me that I never actually got rid of my account. I hear a lot of people say "I want to delete but i cant cuz I learn so much!", or "I able see this niche thing I can't find anywhere else!". And that's fair to an extent but it's an algorithm. You didn't "find" anything. You enjoy being fed your slop instead of finding it yourself. I think this is fine! I found this amazing site through tiktok myself. I just hate when ppl complain about something that's supposedly causing them more harm then good, but still go back to said thing. If you really care about a topic, you WILL find an alternative way to consume that topic.
For instance, I like saving recipes and tiktok can be good for that. However, tiktok also makes me want to kms so I will use Pinterest instead. Or I like watching lifestyle content so I'll go on YouTube instead. Obviously other platforms have their own issues but if you really wanted to leave the app, you would've but you don't because ur addicted to the slop and u hve fomo.
Feb 8, 2025
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The Tik Tok trend and the way weâve normalized scrolling the app for hours is alarming. Tik Tok videos aim to deliver little doses of dopamine or a type of virtual reality. Itâs evil and distracting. The âhighâ one feels from scrolling the app is a lie, just like doing a bit of crack or heroin. Tik Tok is more harmful to our society and our minds than Instagram, because Tik Tok distances you from reality even more. But of course, there are some people who create great art on Tik Tok and I feel proud of those people.
Sep 29, 2022
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The occupation persists, the oppression persists, the torture persists.
The occupiers are psychotic and their work is never finished.
People whoâve paid attention wonât be surprised by this photo from Gaza.
Jan 22, 2025
đš
Give people like jilly a break!
I actually practice what I preach on this one đ
Jan 25, 2025
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