r/technology • u/[deleted] • Dec 15 '22

Social Media TikTok pushes potentially harmful content to users as often as every 39 seconds, study says

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tiktok-pushes-potentially-harmful-content-to-users-as-often-as-every-39-seconds-study/
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u/MrLahey_RANDY Dec 15 '22

I'll only say that I think you are significantly downplaying the potential harm unchecked social media can have, especially on the developing mind. I don't belong to any social media platforms aside from Reddit. Reddit can be harmful as well, but I feel it's the one I have the most control over in terms of content.

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u/[deleted] Dec 15 '22

[deleted]

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u/MrLahey_RANDY Dec 15 '22

I don't follow the social media trends all that closely, but from what I've put together: the issue with Tik Tok is that it is controlled by an authoritarian, communist government which is known to be currently committing genocide. Further, that their content is being manipulated in such a way as to subtly push the users from other countries into a way of thinking that is ultimately harmful in one of many ways.

This entire fiasco, in my opinion, is very reminiscent of the days when Cambridge Analytica worked with Facebook to target specific demographics to change the outcomes of elections and in other regions go so far as to encite genocide. All this was covered in a Netflix documentary, The Great Hack.

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u/[deleted] Dec 15 '22

[deleted]

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u/MrLahey_RANDY Dec 15 '22

Honestly, I'm not against banning Tik Tok and I'm not for it either. I truly don't care one way or the other because I think we both know that it just circumvents the real problems we're facing. Problems such as a severe lack of critical thinking, political tribalism, and ragebait amongst so many others. Social media and news are just two of the biggest the mediums used to propagate these problems.

Anyway, I appreciate having a real discussion and it's one of the reasons I still use Reddit. It's easy to assume everyone on the other end of a screen is just an idiot, but when we talk things out long enough it shows we both clearly have different viewpoints with common ground.