Awhile ago, there was a pile of videos of moms and dads talking to the viewer like a phone call. The idea was to save and play the video if someone ever needed to scare off a creeper or get out of a situation. The TikToker spoke like the parent of the viewer and said they were in their way or what have you. Clever. Then there were mom and dad advice type channels. Grandmas giving teenagers and adults advice too. TikTok started out for gen Z and much like every popular social media platform, it's expanding to inclusion of all generations.
YES. Tiktok is such a good app. Maybe that's bias a little, because I am Gen Z, but they've (we've?) came up with some pretty useful tools on that app. Another thing I've found helpful, is the videos are no longer than a minute; so if I zone out, or get distracted, the TikTok will replay within a minute, and I LOVE THAT. Netflix takes so much rewinding and figuring out the last bit I remember.
You can also edit you're feed. So for me, I've blocked cooking videos because of a trigger. Just generally though, if you're seeing content you don't like, you can edit it out.
Only problem I have with TikTok, or atleast this is the only place I've seen it, is some of our (their) new vocabulary choices. I love that Gen Z are really out here trying to beat the Mental Health stigma. Brill.
But there is a point when it becomes borderline romanticising it, or parts of it.
Sometimes I read through the comments of a video, i'll think of an example.
A video like, a skit of someone in class at school, with the POV of an introvert, or someone not that talkative in said class. The video's of a "popular kid" who's saying they've never noticed that you sit right next to them, asking why you're so quiet. Nothing class A trauma like, just a bit, eh - screw people who peaked in High School, yanno?
That, to anyone who's quiet, and has experienced something similar- would probably make you cringe, or feel a bit uncomfortable, or make you feel grateful that you're not in school anymore.
The comments sometimes read:
"Ughhh I'm triggered"
"@tagsfriendhere OMG nooo this gave me PTSD"
"The flashbacks"
All comments with sometimes thousands of likes.
Umm guys. This isn't helping the stigma, just changing the prospective of the stigma.
Are the majority of them joking? Yeah probably. That might be part of the issue.
It seems to be hard to get across now that Mental Illness isn't something desirable, or a trend. When I read those comments; I think "FFS really? That ain't it. And that ain't helping those of us with diagnosed PTSD, long before this slang (?) Started." I hope I'm not being unreasonable about this, but Gosh does it get on my wick. Probably just down to being a little uneducated on Mental Illness, and the problem with self-diagnosing, even as a joke.
Just something to watch out for, if anyone wants to download TikTok. It's annoying, and invalidating. Honestly though, TikTok is still my new favourite app. Pro's outway the con's, still.
www.insideedition.com
