TikTok is influencing our perception of reality, changing the way we interact with society and consume content. What are the problems and difficulties of this new horizon?
With the advent of new communication technology, we are witnessing changes, often imperceptible, in the way we observe and interact with the world. TikTok is an example of this phenomenon, which we take to reflect on how we perceive and know the world around us on social media.
If on the one hand this platform allows you to tell your story, convey passions and explore new realities, it is just as easy to get lost in a vortex of content capable only of chaining us to the screen by creating a new “filter”. The magic of this social network ends when it becomes the only window through which to discover the world and evaluate one’s daily life.
It is from this same point that negative effects take shape that we must learn to know and fight to return to appreciate what surrounds us. To do this, we need to start by understanding how this application, with its design, has reshaped the concept of social networks.
An evolving social landscape
Millennials and boomers are aware of its existence but sometimes struggle to fully understand its purpose. TikTok, originally Musical.ly, stood out among social media for its ability to quickly attract and engage its users. Since 2016, it has evolved from an entertainment platform to a cultural phenomenon that shapes the way we communicate, create content, and consume media.
The learning algorithm focused on interacting with content, stood out from other apps focused on networks of followers and relationships. The excellent results in terms of staying online have led to a phenomenon that has taken the name of tiktokization of the web. In fact, over the years every other platform has developed its own vertical video model, such as Reels for Instagram and Facebook and Shorts for Youtube.
But what does it mean to live in a vertical post-video world?
The impact on everyday life
TikTok has redefined our understanding of global events and cultural trends. With its viral nature, it has the power to spread information quickly, giving visibility to important social movements. However, the platform is not free from problems and risks that lead to the development of new difficulties.
The FOMO generated by this app, for example, extends not only to events but also to participation in the life that revolves around the platform itself. Trends, viral characters, decontextualized clips and memes are all new topics of discussion that can be born and die in the same day. Even among the most assiduous visitors, it happens to fall behind, finding themselves cut off without understanding what friends and colleagues are talking about.
This feeling of exclusion is then alternated with an overdose of stimuli and an awakening in a state of information overload. In fact, all the information we have come into contact with tries to be processed at the brain level, but obviously without any result and with a huge expenditure of cognitive energy.
Exclusion and fatigue are two conditions that lead us to look at our daily lives from an altered perspective. Our days appear unexciting and empty compared to what we observe online. Even the evaluation of one’s creative abilities is affected: everyone knows how to make videos, why can’t I?
How can we stop looking at our experience with these filters?
Rediscovering a slow and silent world
Switching off from TikTok can open the door to a world of experiences and beauties that we often overlook. Taking the time to immerse ourselves in nature, art or relationships allows us to appreciate some aspects that cannot emerge from short videos.
This break offers the opportunity to reconnect with neglected hobbies and passions, to rediscover the value of deeper relationships, and to rediscover a sense of wonder for the world around us by returning to perceive a new serenity.
A period of disconnection gives us the opportunity to reflect on our use of social media, promoting a more conscious and balanced approach to the digital world. In addition, you have more time to focus on activities that improve your personal well-being, such as reading, meditating, or exercising.
Between Innovation and Responsibility
While TikTok offers a new way to experience, it’s essential not to forget the value of those natural interactions and beauty off screens. Taking breaks and learning to limit its impact on the worldview allows us to appreciate everyday life in all its nuances.
As digital Detox Design we are aware of the need for a balance between online and offline environments. This is why we do not want to demonize a platform in its entirety, but to recognize its possibilities, limitations and flaws to promote the best possible integration experience.