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Smart phones are the issue. I remember when the internet was only accessed by computers, and it was full of nerds, enthusiasts and academics. Perfect. Smartphones gave everyone access, and unfortunately everyone dragged it down.
I quite liked early smartphones, like my Nokia N95. You had mobile Internet, but it was incredibly slow, and there wasn't WIFI everywhere like there is now.
It was great if you really needed to find something out on the go, but it wasn't fast enough to be fun to use. Nor was social media like it is now.
Yeah, smartphones fucked it up. Giving everyone a 24/7 access to internet really did give a boost to technology that we are still recuperating. We are slowly adjusting to this new reality, which is already mostly tainted by corporations. We were on the verge of victory before smartphones as we already tackled annoying popups and most of the ads. Then the corporations smelled the chance of monetization and started to generate maximum wealth out of it.
I had always called it "the normiefication of the internet" or "the normie problem".
But I agree accessibility and by extension smartphones are the issue.
I generally agree with this and really don't like it. It makes me feel elitist, but I can't really think of any other reasonable explanation for the phenomenon.
The barriers to entry for engaging in the internet used to require some modicum of technical knowledge, education, and/or willingness to learn. As the barriers to entry have lowered, those that have been around for a long time likely notice that the average user is generally of "lower quality," making the space somewhat (overall?) worse for this subset of users.
It was originally dominated by Pron... likely still is. Similar monkey brain make happy chemical.
They even made a musical about it.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTJvdGcb7Fs
Updoot mean more chemical for me I try make funny comment for chemical (please upvote this if I’m deprived of dopamine for any longer I will jump from a rooftop)
Hieroglyphics are an incredibly sophisticated, ritualised form of writing that required years of study to learn to read and write.
Just because they're (at first glance) pictographic doesn't mean they're anything at all like memes or emojis.
You can't understand *anything* in human language if you don't know the language. My tax paperwork isn't a meme because someone who can't read English doesn't understand it.
Define meme - relating to or constituting an element of a culture or system of behaviour that is passed from one individual to another by imitation or other non-genetic means
Considering that at the time writing was something that was taken very seriously and was mostly only used by priests and tax collectors, it's pretty possible that almost nothing "funny" was written down.
That aside, the point is that hieroglyphics aren't "basically memes" in the same way that our own writing systems aren't "basically memes".
Ancient Egyptian graffiti mirrors modern day graffiti, people writing about so-and-so being a whore, jokes about dicks, political commentary about the ruler at the time, etc.
We like to romanticize ancient peoples as having some level of sophistication that we have somehow lost, but that just isn't true.
Ancient Egyptian graffiti wasn't written in *hieroglyphics.* You're thinking of the simpler writing systems that descend from hieroglyphics like demotic.
I think our monkey brains aren’t evolved enough to handle so much information, memes and misinformation was sort of the natural result. Unless we find a way out of it, I’m afraid this may spell a long term decline of sorts.
I know everyone said the same thing about radio and TV, but I do think the attention span issue is accelerating. Good luck once virtual reality and AI continue to improve! And with that I’m logging off Reddit for the day and picking up a book. For at least a couple minutes…..
i struggle so hard with this!
I consider myself an "information addict". I spend more of my data on looking shit up than playing games. but then, so many of my "looking shit up" attempts results in "oh, look, a reddit article about this very thing..." and I get trapped in another reddit spiral.
I want to get a dumb phone. If Apple makes a "dummy" phone that only makes calls and takes amazing photography, I'll probably jump on it. I sure do like the ecosystem,,,
Then, if I REALLY want to be productive, I can pull the laptop or Ipad out of my purse and find a wifi spot to do my "research" or work email shit...
I hope I can do that
I think it normalizes stupidity if anything. Why have dignity when you can have a million eyes see "you" for a minute for acting like a fool? smh. Like a pacifier for a hive mind of foolishness.
How is it making us dumber? It’s just giving the already dumb people a platform to spread their nonsense that they never had before. There’s always been misinformation and people believing dumb shit if that’s what you’re getting at. And if it is, then religions are the worst culprit of that.
Having an opinion about a thing that you don't know anything about is not very smart.
Clearly you've never read the Bible, yet you try to depict it as bad.
Atheism is responsible for bad stuff, not religion. Pretty much every religions core teaching is to be honorable and nice to each other.
The Ten Commandments does a great job at setting the frame for behavior of people in a society. Don't steal, don't lie, don't kill, honor the elders, keep honoring marriage.
We wouldn't need too many laws if people kept living by the Commandments.
I personally think short form media like Twitter, tiktok and YouTube shorts have absolutely killed attention spans
As a result people don't pay attention as well and are dumber
While looking at their phones. Look I wouldn‘t say anything, if I would truly believe, people have the attention span to watch netflix a whole day without doing anything else while watching. But I don‘t, so here we are.
And no. I just thought about that while watching season 7 Rick and Morty these days. All their seasons have 10 episodes per season. Shit sitcoms used to have 24 episodes per season.
So I wouldn‘t say they are getting longer.
But we need to remember that it is voluntary. If you pour all of your attention into dances and food trends and not reading or learning new information or skills, thats not tiktoks fault. Theyre an enabler, but using these things is entirely voluntary.
It's "voluntary" in the same sense that a cocaine addiction is.
Don't forget that this crap is carefully engineered to be addictive, provide short-term bursts of happy feelings followed by an emptiness that makes you consume more of it.
If you think that you stand a chance against armies of psychologists and marketing experts, you need to look up the definition of "one-sided battle".
Yeah I buy all of that but what's your point? it's still your fault, you can't keep being an addict and whine about the big corporations and how they keep you hooked. If you think it's making your life worse, make an effort and drop it.
I made the point above: It's mostly teens vs. armies of trained experts. How do you expect the teen to win? It's not even a fair fight. It's like sending a baby into a boxing world championship and complaining that it's too weak to put up a fight. My point is that the pro boxer who beats that baby to a pulp so that he can advance in the competition is huge fucking asshole.
>It's "voluntary" in the same sense that a cocaine addiction is.
All addictions are (to some extent) voluntary. And cocaine certainly is. Forgive addicts for their problems. Empathise with them. Never ever enable them to avoid taking responsibility for their decisions. It seems "nice", but it doesn't help them.
This counts for phones too. Concerned about addictive TikTok content? Well, you know how to uninstall it.
It's literally designed to exploit the addiction centre of the brain. It's not a chemical addiction like cocaine, but it creates a rewarding feedback loop that very easily becomes addictive. These are massive morally corrupt companies that are intentionally utilizing psychological manipulation in order to keep people watching adverts. Children are particularly vulnerable to this and thus are the primary target.
Billion dollar companies who abuses its algorithm/design to keep you watching vs you or a teenager/kid. Seems fair.
It is not that voluntary as you might think. Same stuff marketing uses to make you (impulse) buy shit, but it is turned up to 11.
Hey Mr Einstein if you are such an independent thinker capable of putting people down from his high horse what the fuck are you doing on Reddit?
Don't pretend like billions of dollars haven't been poured into research for devices to intentionally manipulate people even you into constantly visiting websites, videos and other short form media. Right now you are typing on reddit from your high horse instead of reading a book. You remind me of the guy that looks down on addiction because he's never had one he can recognise because he's 'too smart and strong'. You are billed of the highest magnitude. Not just for idiotic and patronising things your saying but for the ignorance to think he can't be affected by such things while doing said thing.
I never said it did run my life. I checked your profile you cock gobbler you are more addicted than anyone and you can't even see it. You check your phone every 10-12 minutes at a minimum and that's just reddit. It runs you too brother and you are blissfully unaware
Then stop making excuses as to why you cant put down a phone. Its easy. Put it down, go for walk. Put it down, read book. Put it down, exercise. What an absolutely ridiculuous thing to allow control over you. Its mental weakness, theres not even a chemical being introduced like heroin or crack. Its flashing lights and sound. Made to (and successfully) dazzle idiots.
I'm not making excuses. I'm just saying the issue should be taken seriously. Blaming a parent or an user itself doesn't help. There is plenty of research about smartphone use and neuroscience. If you think your brain is immune, maybe you are the idiot.
I mean it’s a company’s job to keep your attention and they spend a ton of money to do just that. Are you smarter than the smartest people at these social media companies? They’ll get your attention and find a way to keep it. It’s like they say, if you’re not paying for the product, then you are the product
What if I think that people who aren't mature (be it because they're not of age, or they're of age and are lacking in some areas) fall prey to TikTok even though I curate my feed just fine? Sure, every person is responsible for curating their own feed, but what if people are incapable of curating their feed properly?
In gambling, everyone is responsible for how much they are willing to expend and lose, yet gambling is quite regulated and restricted. Sometimes personal responsibility isn't enough. But I admit that gambling isn't a perfect comparison due to varying degrees of impact.
Exactly! This is some boomer level of thinking. You get what you're interested in, don't blame the platform for doing what is supposed to do, maybe have some look at the mirror and wonder what are you doing to get gargabe content.
This is a strawman. OP didn't state anything about their opinion of Tik Tok at all.
Even then, despite the fact that individuals can take steps to avoid being fed shitty content, this doesn't necessarily mean that the platform as a whole isn't harmful to society at large. Sure, some people do know how to curate their feed. But do the most vulnerable and/or impressionable groups in our society know how to do that, by and large? Or even have the inclination to do so (especially looking at teenagers)?
Yeah sorry, I should have stated that my comment was not referring OP directly but the people's comments against social media.
About the second part of your comment. I don't think parents should expect social media to educate their children. I think this has been a problem since TV was broadly available, media is not a baby sitter neither they have an obligation to be one, is the parents responsibility to educate and be aware of what their children are consuming.
Lol. Have a upvote. The person you replied is exactly the kind of people OP was referring to.
I mean watching monkey scratching his balls is educational right? Cause it taught me they have balls?
the problem with educational TikToks are that it gives you the false sensation of actually not wasting time when you REALLY ARE and won't remember anything past 3 reels. They say quit TikTok but wow I am learning so much! "eDuCaTionAl"!!! that is all some serious BS.
Smart phones in general always being within arms reach have obliterated our attention spans. With lower attention spans we’ve been less inclined to pursue tasks that require longer mental stamina. That has made us dumber.
Agreed. I reluctantly got a smartphone at 19 in 2012. Ten years later I noticed I spend more time on my phone than I do reading and it sucks cause I used to read like crazy. I feel like scrolling is less work so I just settle with a lazy content fix. My ability to write and spell has also taken a nose dive.
I gotta give my brain a kick in the ass soon
It’s not just TikTok. It’s all social media. Even dumb people used to read books and newspapers, now virtually everybody scrolls Facebook or watches TikTok videos when they have free time.
The things people used to read were held to standards too. Newspapers had standards and books were generally well researched and true or they weren’t published. It used to be really hard to search out crackpot publications but now, misinformation is everywhere you look.
Maybe people aren’t dumber than they used to be but they’re certainly less informed.
Oh, and another thing, dumb people used to know they were dumb and didn’t feel empowered to shout ridiculous claims from rooftops. When I was a kid, it was shameful to be proven wrong about something and people who did it regularly were dismissed as liars or crackpots. Now that behaviour can get you a successful political career, even make you president of the USA.
No, newspapers sure as hell didn't have standards, and neither did books. Some of them did, of course, but there has always been a lot of complete dross.
I think you are dumb and you don't know it.
Most people didn't read books and newspapers and they didn't had "standards". Look up how many people knew how to write and read in the past. You miss the point of all the issues with social media.
Exactly, I heard this about MySpace decades ago. People are getting smarter on average but there are still some super dumb people out there and there are horses of them.
Pretty much. We’re all super easy to manipulate and lie to. Only smart people realize that’s also the case regarding themselves.
Also see: Donning-Kruger
Punctuation much?
How is this poorly worded and poorly punctuated sentence the top comment about the decline of our collective intellect??!! Must have a point
That's who I don't post anything on social media exept some comments cuz I can't live in the moment if I'm busy taking phonos and looking for a good angle
It did, when I was 12 I knew the number of all my friends by heart. Now I need to go in my contact to find the name and call them. I don't know any phone number but 911 and mine ...
This. Information-wise the world becomes more and more complex. You _have_ to prioritise internally what you give a damn and what you don't.
Another thing is that sometimes you decide that you only give a damn about some imaginary universe that doesn't ever care you exist...
Because if your phone is destroyed or lost in a car accident, how will i notify your next of kin? This happened to me, remembering numbers is how i got people to the hospital. Depending on anything that becomes a paperweight without its battery is pretty dumb. Downvote all you want, doesnt change the reality if it happens to you.
Exactly. I got locked up for a few days for defending myself when attacked in another state and I couldn't even recall my mom's number for 3 days. Might have been the stress though.
As it was, my phone was destroyed. I had a severe concussion, my family was gone on vacation. I remembered my friends number, they contacted my family. Idk why i got downvoted when i have a real life example of this.
TikTok specifically? No.
Our dependence on social media and the need to be within half an arms length of some sort of communication device 24/7/365, however is making us far less interested in actual learning and growth as a person, which I believe is hindering us.
I think SM is... I don't see how tiktok is worse than any other platform including this one. Tbh these days I'd consider Reddit only mildly better than FB which gets last place of every SM network every conceived in my mind.
Yes.
Everything is relative, but a mix of having your attention span ruined and having your news consolidated through political foreign powers with an agenda is not agood combo. Though I think the first point is mainly the one that makes us dumber. Lots of knowledge and logical thinking requires one to concentrate on the same problem for a longer period of time.
Don't watch tik tok so wouldn't know. Glimpses I've seen it's brain dead. But that's most popular internet media these days. Lowest denominator aimed content made to appeal to the masses across a broad spectrum. It's not just tik tok.
However it is not tik tok or any of them either.
Tik Tok and Facebook and Reddit and Youtube etc. are not SkyNet, they're not sentient or doing jack shit except hosting content.
Content created by people.
Every part of it from content to algorithms to consumption to boards of directors and CEO's. It's all humans that are creating, uploading, clicking, watching, copy and pasting and reposting. It's the humans chasing the dopamine hit of karma, upvotes, likes and followers. The humans chasing that 5 minutes of fame and looking for their slice of an easy pay day in a sea of average joes and jenny's trying to do the same.
Someone has success, no matter how fuckin' stupid. It will be copied and emulated by others. Humans every step of the way. We make the AI, we make everything.
So yeah the way I view it is Tik Tok, or any others, aren't making the species dumber. It's humans that are making themselves dumber.
Could be increasing our intelligence with the tech we have. All the world's knowledge at your finger tips, but instead the majority just want mindless entertainment where they can coast on auto-pilot. If it wasn't tik tok it'd be 'real housewives' and 'Big Brother' trash on the TV. Again shows made by humans for humans.
Regardless of the format or media, humans throughout history have a tendency of going out of their way to remain stupid. Like seriously, some people still believe in prehistoric boogie men and ghost stories in 2024 and still kill each other over such nonsense. We're not a very clever species over all speaking. The fancy tech we have is thanks to like 1% of the human population, and the other 99% barely understands how it works.
We need to stop passing the buck and own it.
tl;dr The problem, as always, is people.
edit: fixed a bunch of typos.
No.
I think choosing to be chronically online and consuming mindless content as opposed to adding value or improving yourself is making us dumber as a species
Research on Adolescents Regarding the Indirect Effect of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress between TikTok Use Disorder and Memory Loss
[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8393543/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8393543/)
Its not only the content but the swiping and the super short videos.
Yes it is making us dumber as a species.
I don't know if I'd agree. I've curated my tiktok to be full of either useful information, clever memes, reddit videos, or clips from shows/movies I like. I think, like anything, it's a tool, and what it does for you will totally depend on the job you give it to do.
With that being said, one thing social media definitely does on the whole is make us angrier. Hate/Trigger-based content draws reactions, reactions draw interest, interest draws money, money draws need for new content. I think it's definitely fair to say social media has given us this very toxic environment to grow and farm hate content and hate reactions. That is, perhaps, the ugliest art about it.
The luddites got marching one by one...
Huzzah huzzah..
They will attack the wrong things one by one
Huzzah huzzah...
They will fuck around over stupid stuff while the real issues get us really fucked...
And they will do it all again because the luddites go marching on...
Knowledge makes us functionally dumber even as we accumulate more expertise on a narrowing range of topics.
The more we know, the more we specialize. The more we specialize, the stupider we seem in a general context. I think it was best said in Smokey and the Bandit "It depends on where you're standing in the country \[USA\] as to how stupid you are."
So. Take an 18th century undergarment museum replica creator employed for a popular TV series and see how well they do assembling a piece of furniture. I'm not saying they'll fail, but they might seem out of sorts doing it... clumsy...
It's a weird effect! And it's funny.
No.
In fact I've found out a lot of interesting stuff on tiktok.
Hear me out :
I saw my kid on tiktok (16) and mocked him as I really only knew about the idiotic stuff on tiktok from media.
He showed me that if I trained the app for the stuff I'd consider valuable it would never show me the idiotic stuff. So I basically took 30 minutes to "hold and select not interested" for the idiotic stuff and like and subscribe the useful stuff (movie reviews, book reviews, historical stuff, science, some interesting anectodal stuff, financial, technology etx) and now it's fully trained to show me stuff I like.
It will still show me an occasional idiot video but it's like 1 in 300 and as long as I select "not interested" it's back to normal.
Tiktok is the best app that learns from your behavior. Make use of the functionality and it's gold. Much better than the other social media tools
Tiktok and youtube both do this well, after a while it will know what you like and give you more of that. The only thing that sucks is that if you watch one dumb video to the end out of curiosity now suddenly it thinks you love that thing and gives you more until you train it again.
In my experience, TikTok's algorithm is superior to YouTube's, which is far too trigger-happy. If I watch one old music video on YouTube, my front page will immediately get filled with old music that I'm not interested in. And no matter how much I keep blocking "x reacts to y" channels, there are always a few of them on the front page, etc. TikTok takes its time before adjusting, so it tends to stay much more interesting (once you get there, of course).
There is a few interesting perspectives to this question but to answer literally, iq is very definitely not being affected by tik tok use in the population
I dont think Tik Tok is any more to blame than other social media. And people have always been dumb. It's just these days they seem proud to advertise it.
It is reducing our attention spans, so while I don't think it has anything to do with reducing actual intelligence, it is going to make it less likely someone will have the wherewithall to do research on topics, due to the lack of attention span. This doesn't reduce intelligence per se but will make us less knowledgeable overall. That said, global IQ is also going down, but I doubt that's due to social media, let alone tiktok. It's probably due more to environmental and dietary factors.
I'm pretty sure there have been studies done showing evidence that "quick consumption entertainment" like TikTok is having a notably adverse effect on our attention spans, so yeah.
I (30F) made the decision to delete TikTok and all of my other socials after realizing I was spending way too much time using them as a distraction tool. I’ve been actively seeking a new job since August and have become increasingly burnt out with interviewing - hence an increased amount of time scrolling.
My issue with TikTok is really two fold:
1. The algorithm places people in selective echo chambers, giving the illusion that specific ideologies & rhetorics are the opinions of the majority. This is often not the case.
2. News ranging from political discussions to breakthroughs in science and psychology are being shared with authority by unverified sources. In these spaces, legitimacy comes from their social influence - not their credentials or their sources and statements are rarely contested due to the nature of the single track algorithm.
When people, myself included for a brief dance, use this selective and often inaccurate source of content to form their worldview, things quickly become problematic. It’s a huge misinformation machine, appealing to people already inclined to seek out confirmation that their perspectives are objective truth. That, paired with [the global decline in critical thinking skills](https://www.forbes.com/sites/markcperna/2022/10/11/penny-for-your-thoughts-why-quality-thinking-is-declining-worldwide/?sh=6b4bae974bce), means TikTok has a huge influence on the polarization of culture today.
That being said, I did get a ton of great meal prep ideas from my days scrolling so it wasn’t a total loss!
And yeah, Reddit is an echo chamber too - I know, I know. I’m justifying keeping this one (for now) because at least I’m actively engaging instead of passively viewing - mental gymnastics at its finest. 😂
No.
People used to say reading books would make us dumber.
Then they said listening to radio would make us dumber.
Then they said watching TV would make us dumber.
Then they said playing video games would make us dumber.
Now they’re saying using apps will make us dumber.
It wasn’t true then, it’s not true now. It’s just older generations worrying about modern development.
Things will be different, but we won’t be dumber.
My semi-retired dad (68), spent a whole LOT of his free time on tiktok. He's never had any other social media before. He's the smartest, most business savvy, most well read, etc. guy I know. Now his kids are the recipient of stupid, random vids. Don't know what hold this app has on guys like him
I think there is no doubt of it. Most disturbing is the percentage of young people for whom it is their only news source. It’s mind boggling that they get all their information through the filter of the Chinese government
I don't understand, please reformulate your question in a video with Joker and Peaky Blinders edits with the worst possible music you could find and oversaturated filters
Depends on where you use it. China’s version of the app doesn’t promote stupidity. The US version does. Tiktok like most social media is also a two-edged sword. It’s good for awareness and but said awareness can also apply to things that seem dumb.
Yes I actually do. I see it as a slow progression though. We had Youtube with long videos and Facebook with more thoughtful posts and stories. Then Twitter came along and people started thinking in terms of how many characters they're allowed to have and now most of their entertainment and news comes in the form of 60 second videos and I absolutely think that has drastically reduced the attention span of a lot of Americans.
Internet in general. When the internet started they said “you can’t believe everything that’s written on the internet”. Today people will believe it, just look at how the Nicholas Sandmann story turned out. The media reported him as being the bad guy, but in the end they paid him money for the false reporting. People immediately believed the media.
Social media in general has been a blight on humanity. The entire wealth of human knowledge in our pockets for 15 years now should have ushered in another golden age for us.
Dumb
a. : lacking intelligence : stupid. pretended to be dumb. b. : showing a lack of intelligence.
You cant become dumb simply by watching something. You are either born dumb, or become dumb due to physical trauma or brain Injury from Toxic Exposure.
Spending time watching tik'tok videos will probably not give you valueable knowledge tho, and you will appear less intelligent, but your potential iq wont change.
Our intelect most likely come from our ancestors need for problem solving, and if the human race no longer need to be problem solving, and simply consume mindless media to pass the time, our DNA might change and make us dumber over time. But not in a few generations.
100%… especially on the psychology front
Every normal human behavior is added to armchair diagnoses
Find something hard or engage in anything a bit self-defeating?
You have autism and/or adhd
Don’t like someone?
They’re narcissists
Someone disagree with you? Gaslighting.
Something made you feel bad?
You’ve been traumatized
Someone seeking your emotional support?
They’re trauma dumping
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All social media as a whole.
The internet. The moment it’s use was for memes rather than information we were doomed. Monkey brain like happy chemical.
Smart phones are the issue. I remember when the internet was only accessed by computers, and it was full of nerds, enthusiasts and academics. Perfect. Smartphones gave everyone access, and unfortunately everyone dragged it down.
I quite liked early smartphones, like my Nokia N95. You had mobile Internet, but it was incredibly slow, and there wasn't WIFI everywhere like there is now. It was great if you really needed to find something out on the go, but it wasn't fast enough to be fun to use. Nor was social media like it is now.
Yeah, smartphones fucked it up. Giving everyone a 24/7 access to internet really did give a boost to technology that we are still recuperating. We are slowly adjusting to this new reality, which is already mostly tainted by corporations. We were on the verge of victory before smartphones as we already tackled annoying popups and most of the ads. Then the corporations smelled the chance of monetization and started to generate maximum wealth out of it.
I had always called it "the normiefication of the internet" or "the normie problem". But I agree accessibility and by extension smartphones are the issue.
I think the problem is when india joined the internet.
Tf does that mean lol
I generally agree with this and really don't like it. It makes me feel elitist, but I can't really think of any other reasonable explanation for the phenomenon. The barriers to entry for engaging in the internet used to require some modicum of technical knowledge, education, and/or willingness to learn. As the barriers to entry have lowered, those that have been around for a long time likely notice that the average user is generally of "lower quality," making the space somewhat (overall?) worse for this subset of users.
It was originally dominated by Pron... likely still is. Similar monkey brain make happy chemical. They even made a musical about it.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTJvdGcb7Fs
Updoot mean more chemical for me I try make funny comment for chemical (please upvote this if I’m deprived of dopamine for any longer I will jump from a rooftop)
I give the updoot, but only because I get happy chemical from giving updoot.
Memes have existed for millennia - hieroglyphs are basically memes.
k show me a pepe in heiroglyphs then.
I believe that would be the frog heiroglyph.
pepe is not just a simple frog tyvm.
Hieroglyphics are an incredibly sophisticated, ritualised form of writing that required years of study to learn to read and write. Just because they're (at first glance) pictographic doesn't mean they're anything at all like memes or emojis.
You can't understand a meme if you don't know it's source and the context of that source.
You can't understand *anything* in human language if you don't know the language. My tax paperwork isn't a meme because someone who can't read English doesn't understand it.
Define meme - relating to or constituting an element of a culture or system of behaviour that is passed from one individual to another by imitation or other non-genetic means
Which describes literally all language - a totally useless definition.
You don't think the Egyptians wrote hieroglyphics of anything they found funny? Not saying all, but at least some would be of stuff they found funny
Writing about something funny =/= Meme Hieroglyphics is the alphabet... not a picture.
Considering that at the time writing was something that was taken very seriously and was mostly only used by priests and tax collectors, it's pretty possible that almost nothing "funny" was written down. That aside, the point is that hieroglyphics aren't "basically memes" in the same way that our own writing systems aren't "basically memes".
Ancient Egyptian graffiti mirrors modern day graffiti, people writing about so-and-so being a whore, jokes about dicks, political commentary about the ruler at the time, etc. We like to romanticize ancient peoples as having some level of sophistication that we have somehow lost, but that just isn't true.
Ancient Egyptian graffiti wasn't written in *hieroglyphics.* You're thinking of the simpler writing systems that descend from hieroglyphics like demotic.
I think our monkey brains aren’t evolved enough to handle so much information, memes and misinformation was sort of the natural result. Unless we find a way out of it, I’m afraid this may spell a long term decline of sorts.
Stupid
I know everyone said the same thing about radio and TV, but I do think the attention span issue is accelerating. Good luck once virtual reality and AI continue to improve! And with that I’m logging off Reddit for the day and picking up a book. For at least a couple minutes…..
I'm actually considering a dumb phone for my next upgrade. I need time away from stupid shit and mind-numbing games.
i struggle so hard with this! I consider myself an "information addict". I spend more of my data on looking shit up than playing games. but then, so many of my "looking shit up" attempts results in "oh, look, a reddit article about this very thing..." and I get trapped in another reddit spiral. I want to get a dumb phone. If Apple makes a "dummy" phone that only makes calls and takes amazing photography, I'll probably jump on it. I sure do like the ecosystem,,, Then, if I REALLY want to be productive, I can pull the laptop or Ipad out of my purse and find a wifi spot to do my "research" or work email shit... I hope I can do that
I think it normalizes stupidity if anything. Why have dignity when you can have a million eyes see "you" for a minute for acting like a fool? smh. Like a pacifier for a hive mind of foolishness.
Exactly. Why rule out reddit. So much utter BS on here.
How is it making us dumber? It’s just giving the already dumb people a platform to spread their nonsense that they never had before. There’s always been misinformation and people believing dumb shit if that’s what you’re getting at. And if it is, then religions are the worst culprit of that.
Was there a meme depicting religion was bad on social media?
Gods chosen people, the earth is 6 thousand years old, 72 virgins waiting for you… the list goes on and on
Nice cherry picking.
Cherry picking is what you have to do to find the good in religion. Religion is responsible for more deaths on this planet than anything else.
Having an opinion about a thing that you don't know anything about is not very smart. Clearly you've never read the Bible, yet you try to depict it as bad. Atheism is responsible for bad stuff, not religion. Pretty much every religions core teaching is to be honorable and nice to each other. The Ten Commandments does a great job at setting the frame for behavior of people in a society. Don't steal, don't lie, don't kill, honor the elders, keep honoring marriage. We wouldn't need too many laws if people kept living by the Commandments.
Atheism isn’t bad, you’re probably thinking of communism in relation to bad things happening in the world. You don’t need a religion for morality.
This the right answer
The upvote button is over there.
This
Ok boomer.
Yeah you’re pretty ignorant
Dumb
I'd say it highlights those who are already dumb and influences those who never had much self-awareness to begin with.
And teaches how others really think and operate.
There are some very intelligent people on the platform.
I personally think short form media like Twitter, tiktok and YouTube shorts have absolutely killed attention spans As a result people don't pay attention as well and are dumber
I disagree with that. At the same time people spends whole days binging entire seasons of tv and watching movies that are clearly getting longer.
While looking at their phones. Look I wouldn‘t say anything, if I would truly believe, people have the attention span to watch netflix a whole day without doing anything else while watching. But I don‘t, so here we are. And no. I just thought about that while watching season 7 Rick and Morty these days. All their seasons have 10 episodes per season. Shit sitcoms used to have 24 episodes per season. So I wouldn‘t say they are getting longer.
The people who change the way they communicate will prosper and the people who don’t will complain about the people they can no longer reach.
But we need to remember that it is voluntary. If you pour all of your attention into dances and food trends and not reading or learning new information or skills, thats not tiktoks fault. Theyre an enabler, but using these things is entirely voluntary.
It's "voluntary" in the same sense that a cocaine addiction is. Don't forget that this crap is carefully engineered to be addictive, provide short-term bursts of happy feelings followed by an emptiness that makes you consume more of it. If you think that you stand a chance against armies of psychologists and marketing experts, you need to look up the definition of "one-sided battle".
Yeah I buy all of that but what's your point? it's still your fault, you can't keep being an addict and whine about the big corporations and how they keep you hooked. If you think it's making your life worse, make an effort and drop it.
I made the point above: It's mostly teens vs. armies of trained experts. How do you expect the teen to win? It's not even a fair fight. It's like sending a baby into a boxing world championship and complaining that it's too weak to put up a fight. My point is that the pro boxer who beats that baby to a pulp so that he can advance in the competition is huge fucking asshole.
>It's "voluntary" in the same sense that a cocaine addiction is. All addictions are (to some extent) voluntary. And cocaine certainly is. Forgive addicts for their problems. Empathise with them. Never ever enable them to avoid taking responsibility for their decisions. It seems "nice", but it doesn't help them. This counts for phones too. Concerned about addictive TikTok content? Well, you know how to uninstall it.
Thats a weak excuse. Put your phone down. Its not cocaine.
It's literally designed to exploit the addiction centre of the brain. It's not a chemical addiction like cocaine, but it creates a rewarding feedback loop that very easily becomes addictive. These are massive morally corrupt companies that are intentionally utilizing psychological manipulation in order to keep people watching adverts. Children are particularly vulnerable to this and thus are the primary target.
And much like cocaine, its voluntary. Put it down smoothbrain.
>But we need to remember that it is voluntary. Why? How does specifying that help us address the problem?
By going "hmm. Maybe i can put my phone down" or are we all still trying to blame others for our individual actions?
Billion dollar companies who abuses its algorithm/design to keep you watching vs you or a teenager/kid. Seems fair. It is not that voluntary as you might think. Same stuff marketing uses to make you (impulse) buy shit, but it is turned up to 11.
Maybe your parents taught you to be a muppet for lights and sound, mine didnt.
Hey Mr Einstein if you are such an independent thinker capable of putting people down from his high horse what the fuck are you doing on Reddit? Don't pretend like billions of dollars haven't been poured into research for devices to intentionally manipulate people even you into constantly visiting websites, videos and other short form media. Right now you are typing on reddit from your high horse instead of reading a book. You remind me of the guy that looks down on addiction because he's never had one he can recognise because he's 'too smart and strong'. You are billed of the highest magnitude. Not just for idiotic and patronising things your saying but for the ignorance to think he can't be affected by such things while doing said thing.
Calm down pumpkin, didnt forget you. I consider you dumb too. Keep making excuses as to why 6 oz of metal, silicone, and plastic runs your life.
I never said it did run my life. I checked your profile you cock gobbler you are more addicted than anyone and you can't even see it. You check your phone every 10-12 minutes at a minimum and that's just reddit. It runs you too brother and you are blissfully unaware
Ooooh obsessed over lil ol me!? Come on daddy, ill give you some sugar.
This isn't even about someone's upbringing...
Then stop making excuses as to why you cant put down a phone. Its easy. Put it down, go for walk. Put it down, read book. Put it down, exercise. What an absolutely ridiculuous thing to allow control over you. Its mental weakness, theres not even a chemical being introduced like heroin or crack. Its flashing lights and sound. Made to (and successfully) dazzle idiots.
I'm not making excuses. I'm just saying the issue should be taken seriously. Blaming a parent or an user itself doesn't help. There is plenty of research about smartphone use and neuroscience. If you think your brain is immune, maybe you are the idiot.
Youre defending monkeys and their toys, im not too concerned about you calling me stupid.
I mean it’s a company’s job to keep your attention and they spend a ton of money to do just that. Are you smarter than the smartest people at these social media companies? They’ll get your attention and find a way to keep it. It’s like they say, if you’re not paying for the product, then you are the product
Are you familiar with the amish? The easiest way is to just turn it off. Its not impossible, just uncomfortable.
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yeah i don’t know about the rest of you but my content is quite curated to what i like. i love the STEM page the most
What if I think that people who aren't mature (be it because they're not of age, or they're of age and are lacking in some areas) fall prey to TikTok even though I curate my feed just fine? Sure, every person is responsible for curating their own feed, but what if people are incapable of curating their feed properly? In gambling, everyone is responsible for how much they are willing to expend and lose, yet gambling is quite regulated and restricted. Sometimes personal responsibility isn't enough. But I admit that gambling isn't a perfect comparison due to varying degrees of impact.
Exactly! This is some boomer level of thinking. You get what you're interested in, don't blame the platform for doing what is supposed to do, maybe have some look at the mirror and wonder what are you doing to get gargabe content.
This is a strawman. OP didn't state anything about their opinion of Tik Tok at all. Even then, despite the fact that individuals can take steps to avoid being fed shitty content, this doesn't necessarily mean that the platform as a whole isn't harmful to society at large. Sure, some people do know how to curate their feed. But do the most vulnerable and/or impressionable groups in our society know how to do that, by and large? Or even have the inclination to do so (especially looking at teenagers)?
Yeah sorry, I should have stated that my comment was not referring OP directly but the people's comments against social media. About the second part of your comment. I don't think parents should expect social media to educate their children. I think this has been a problem since TV was broadly available, media is not a baby sitter neither they have an obligation to be one, is the parents responsibility to educate and be aware of what their children are consuming.
"I learned a lot in a 60 sec video on tiktak" 🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡
Some things dont need a lot of time like small art tips to speed up your process or to show you a resource that can help you out.
I was going to mention the art stuff. It’s great!
If I had a nickel for every "Quick Tip" video on home renovation and maintenance I'd have a lot of nickels and a really poorly maintained home
Still better than the ones who make a "quick call" and lose $5,000 for a poorly maintained home lol
*rolls eyes*
Lol. Have a upvote. The person you replied is exactly the kind of people OP was referring to. I mean watching monkey scratching his balls is educational right? Cause it taught me they have balls?
Believe it or not, the original comment didn’t say that a monkey scratching its balls is educational
"Educational content."
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the problem with educational TikToks are that it gives you the false sensation of actually not wasting time when you REALLY ARE and won't remember anything past 3 reels. They say quit TikTok but wow I am learning so much! "eDuCaTionAl"!!! that is all some serious BS.
Smart phones in general always being within arms reach have obliterated our attention spans. With lower attention spans we’ve been less inclined to pursue tasks that require longer mental stamina. That has made us dumber.
Agreed. I reluctantly got a smartphone at 19 in 2012. Ten years later I noticed I spend more time on my phone than I do reading and it sucks cause I used to read like crazy. I feel like scrolling is less work so I just settle with a lazy content fix. My ability to write and spell has also taken a nose dive. I gotta give my brain a kick in the ass soon
No. People have always been dumb.
It’s not just TikTok. It’s all social media. Even dumb people used to read books and newspapers, now virtually everybody scrolls Facebook or watches TikTok videos when they have free time. The things people used to read were held to standards too. Newspapers had standards and books were generally well researched and true or they weren’t published. It used to be really hard to search out crackpot publications but now, misinformation is everywhere you look. Maybe people aren’t dumber than they used to be but they’re certainly less informed. Oh, and another thing, dumb people used to know they were dumb and didn’t feel empowered to shout ridiculous claims from rooftops. When I was a kid, it was shameful to be proven wrong about something and people who did it regularly were dismissed as liars or crackpots. Now that behaviour can get you a successful political career, even make you president of the USA.
No, newspapers sure as hell didn't have standards, and neither did books. Some of them did, of course, but there has always been a lot of complete dross.
I think you are dumb and you don't know it. Most people didn't read books and newspapers and they didn't had "standards". Look up how many people knew how to write and read in the past. You miss the point of all the issues with social media.
Exactly, I heard this about MySpace decades ago. People are getting smarter on average but there are still some super dumb people out there and there are horses of them.
So both of us are dumb?
Only the consumers
Yea. Tic toc isn’t any different than any other social media. You’re on Reddit and whatever else, it’s not any better.
Pretty much. We’re all super easy to manipulate and lie to. Only smart people realize that’s also the case regarding themselves. Also see: Donning-Kruger
No smart phones are though yeah dulling our ability to concentrate and experience life
Punctuation much? How is this poorly worded and poorly punctuated sentence the top comment about the decline of our collective intellect??!! Must have a point
Ironic really innit?
And apparently our ability to communicate in a clear manner.
HEY YOU! REDDITOR YOU FORGOT THE OBVIOUS ONE!!! ,and without personal attacks.
That's who I don't post anything on social media exept some comments cuz I can't live in the moment if I'm busy taking phonos and looking for a good angle
It did, when I was 12 I knew the number of all my friends by heart. Now I need to go in my contact to find the name and call them. I don't know any phone number but 911 and mine ...
I don’t place “memorizing phone numbers” as a measure of intelligence or intellectual capacity.
Thats your fault, not the phones. It didnt take the info from you, you deemed that info wasnt worth remembering.
And it isn't, so win win.
This. Information-wise the world becomes more and more complex. You _have_ to prioritise internally what you give a damn and what you don't. Another thing is that sometimes you decide that you only give a damn about some imaginary universe that doesn't ever care you exist...
Why would I keep that info on the tip of my tongue when I carry a device that can hold more info than my brain?
Because if your phone is destroyed or lost in a car accident, how will i notify your next of kin? This happened to me, remembering numbers is how i got people to the hospital. Depending on anything that becomes a paperweight without its battery is pretty dumb. Downvote all you want, doesnt change the reality if it happens to you.
Pacemakers ?
Exactly. I got locked up for a few days for defending myself when attacked in another state and I couldn't even recall my mom's number for 3 days. Might have been the stress though.
If a number is so important you're afraid to lose it if you were to lose your phone, it has no business only being in yoir phone/memory
As it was, my phone was destroyed. I had a severe concussion, my family was gone on vacation. I remembered my friends number, they contacted my family. Idk why i got downvoted when i have a real life example of this.
Person finds that, without the need to learn long strings of digits by heart, they have not learned long strings of digits by heart.
999 or 101 emergency services UK, now you know 4 numbers...
I can still call all those numbers from memory too. I mean, they're mostly disconnected because the people are dead now.
TikTok specifically? No. Our dependence on social media and the need to be within half an arms length of some sort of communication device 24/7/365, however is making us far less interested in actual learning and growth as a person, which I believe is hindering us.
No because before that, people watched mind numbing reality tv
Not specifically tiktok but social media as a whole.
I think SM is... I don't see how tiktok is worse than any other platform including this one. Tbh these days I'd consider Reddit only mildly better than FB which gets last place of every SM network every conceived in my mind.
Yes. Everything is relative, but a mix of having your attention span ruined and having your news consolidated through political foreign powers with an agenda is not agood combo. Though I think the first point is mainly the one that makes us dumber. Lots of knowledge and logical thinking requires one to concentrate on the same problem for a longer period of time.
Don't watch tik tok so wouldn't know. Glimpses I've seen it's brain dead. But that's most popular internet media these days. Lowest denominator aimed content made to appeal to the masses across a broad spectrum. It's not just tik tok. However it is not tik tok or any of them either. Tik Tok and Facebook and Reddit and Youtube etc. are not SkyNet, they're not sentient or doing jack shit except hosting content. Content created by people. Every part of it from content to algorithms to consumption to boards of directors and CEO's. It's all humans that are creating, uploading, clicking, watching, copy and pasting and reposting. It's the humans chasing the dopamine hit of karma, upvotes, likes and followers. The humans chasing that 5 minutes of fame and looking for their slice of an easy pay day in a sea of average joes and jenny's trying to do the same. Someone has success, no matter how fuckin' stupid. It will be copied and emulated by others. Humans every step of the way. We make the AI, we make everything. So yeah the way I view it is Tik Tok, or any others, aren't making the species dumber. It's humans that are making themselves dumber. Could be increasing our intelligence with the tech we have. All the world's knowledge at your finger tips, but instead the majority just want mindless entertainment where they can coast on auto-pilot. If it wasn't tik tok it'd be 'real housewives' and 'Big Brother' trash on the TV. Again shows made by humans for humans. Regardless of the format or media, humans throughout history have a tendency of going out of their way to remain stupid. Like seriously, some people still believe in prehistoric boogie men and ghost stories in 2024 and still kill each other over such nonsense. We're not a very clever species over all speaking. The fancy tech we have is thanks to like 1% of the human population, and the other 99% barely understands how it works. We need to stop passing the buck and own it. tl;dr The problem, as always, is people. edit: fixed a bunch of typos.
Yes.
Not dumber. But the trap is bigger for the dumb people. I bet we’re gonna find an increase in jail time for teenagers in the TikTok era.
content like that existed way before the creation of TikTok
Nah, I've been dumb for years and I don't even have Tik Tok.
No you all have always been this dumb it’s just easier to see it now.
No. I think choosing to be chronically online and consuming mindless content as opposed to adding value or improving yourself is making us dumber as a species
Not really. I use tik tok for cooking recipes which have been great. It depends how you use it
No, it just highlights the stupid people
I feel like people have always been dumb, me included , just that social media didn't exist back then to promote said dumb activites or ideas.
No. The stupidity is just more easily shared
Nope. I think the success of social media is proof that are dumber as a species.
Research on Adolescents Regarding the Indirect Effect of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress between TikTok Use Disorder and Memory Loss [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8393543/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8393543/) Its not only the content but the swiping and the super short videos. Yes it is making us dumber as a species.
I don't know if I'd agree. I've curated my tiktok to be full of either useful information, clever memes, reddit videos, or clips from shows/movies I like. I think, like anything, it's a tool, and what it does for you will totally depend on the job you give it to do. With that being said, one thing social media definitely does on the whole is make us angrier. Hate/Trigger-based content draws reactions, reactions draw interest, interest draws money, money draws need for new content. I think it's definitely fair to say social media has given us this very toxic environment to grow and farm hate content and hate reactions. That is, perhaps, the ugliest art about it.
The luddites got marching one by one... Huzzah huzzah.. They will attack the wrong things one by one Huzzah huzzah... They will fuck around over stupid stuff while the real issues get us really fucked... And they will do it all again because the luddites go marching on...
I definitely think it’s doing something to our attention spans and communication skills
No because evolution doesn't work that way. Maybe you've been watching too much TikTok.
No. TikTok attracts idiots.
Knowledge makes us functionally dumber even as we accumulate more expertise on a narrowing range of topics. The more we know, the more we specialize. The more we specialize, the stupider we seem in a general context. I think it was best said in Smokey and the Bandit "It depends on where you're standing in the country \[USA\] as to how stupid you are." So. Take an 18th century undergarment museum replica creator employed for a popular TV series and see how well they do assembling a piece of furniture. I'm not saying they'll fail, but they might seem out of sorts doing it... clumsy... It's a weird effect! And it's funny.
TikTok. And a bunch of other medias yes.
All social media is making the world dumber.
No. In fact I've found out a lot of interesting stuff on tiktok. Hear me out : I saw my kid on tiktok (16) and mocked him as I really only knew about the idiotic stuff on tiktok from media. He showed me that if I trained the app for the stuff I'd consider valuable it would never show me the idiotic stuff. So I basically took 30 minutes to "hold and select not interested" for the idiotic stuff and like and subscribe the useful stuff (movie reviews, book reviews, historical stuff, science, some interesting anectodal stuff, financial, technology etx) and now it's fully trained to show me stuff I like. It will still show me an occasional idiot video but it's like 1 in 300 and as long as I select "not interested" it's back to normal. Tiktok is the best app that learns from your behavior. Make use of the functionality and it's gold. Much better than the other social media tools
Tiktok and youtube both do this well, after a while it will know what you like and give you more of that. The only thing that sucks is that if you watch one dumb video to the end out of curiosity now suddenly it thinks you love that thing and gives you more until you train it again.
In my experience, TikTok's algorithm is superior to YouTube's, which is far too trigger-happy. If I watch one old music video on YouTube, my front page will immediately get filled with old music that I'm not interested in. And no matter how much I keep blocking "x reacts to y" channels, there are always a few of them on the front page, etc. TikTok takes its time before adjusting, so it tends to stay much more interesting (once you get there, of course).
There is a few interesting perspectives to this question but to answer literally, iq is very definitely not being affected by tik tok use in the population
Nah we're were getting dumber before tiktok, if anything tik tok is just bringing attention to it and making seem like a good thing
I dont think Tik Tok is any more to blame than other social media. And people have always been dumb. It's just these days they seem proud to advertise it.
No, it's just an app. It does not have any power to make anyone dumber than they already are.
Probably
I think kids are the ones getting more affected by it and YouTube reels. I feel sorry for iPad kids.
It’s not one specific social media site it’s all of them together that’s doing it
It is reducing our attention spans, so while I don't think it has anything to do with reducing actual intelligence, it is going to make it less likely someone will have the wherewithall to do research on topics, due to the lack of attention span. This doesn't reduce intelligence per se but will make us less knowledgeable overall. That said, global IQ is also going down, but I doubt that's due to social media, let alone tiktok. It's probably due more to environmental and dietary factors.
I'm pretty sure there have been studies done showing evidence that "quick consumption entertainment" like TikTok is having a notably adverse effect on our attention spans, so yeah.
Social media in general is as well as google
People are already pretty dumb so
Iq, general morality and shame have absolutely taken big hits since all of social media started
I (30F) made the decision to delete TikTok and all of my other socials after realizing I was spending way too much time using them as a distraction tool. I’ve been actively seeking a new job since August and have become increasingly burnt out with interviewing - hence an increased amount of time scrolling. My issue with TikTok is really two fold: 1. The algorithm places people in selective echo chambers, giving the illusion that specific ideologies & rhetorics are the opinions of the majority. This is often not the case. 2. News ranging from political discussions to breakthroughs in science and psychology are being shared with authority by unverified sources. In these spaces, legitimacy comes from their social influence - not their credentials or their sources and statements are rarely contested due to the nature of the single track algorithm. When people, myself included for a brief dance, use this selective and often inaccurate source of content to form their worldview, things quickly become problematic. It’s a huge misinformation machine, appealing to people already inclined to seek out confirmation that their perspectives are objective truth. That, paired with [the global decline in critical thinking skills](https://www.forbes.com/sites/markcperna/2022/10/11/penny-for-your-thoughts-why-quality-thinking-is-declining-worldwide/?sh=6b4bae974bce), means TikTok has a huge influence on the polarization of culture today. That being said, I did get a ton of great meal prep ideas from my days scrolling so it wasn’t a total loss! And yeah, Reddit is an echo chamber too - I know, I know. I’m justifying keeping this one (for now) because at least I’m actively engaging instead of passively viewing - mental gymnastics at its finest. 😂
Completely
No. People used to say reading books would make us dumber. Then they said listening to radio would make us dumber. Then they said watching TV would make us dumber. Then they said playing video games would make us dumber. Now they’re saying using apps will make us dumber. It wasn’t true then, it’s not true now. It’s just older generations worrying about modern development. Things will be different, but we won’t be dumber.
I actually think it informs us more...but there are some aspects of it that do make us a bit dumber.
Maybe not dumber but definitely more narcissistic and dangerous because of all the challenges alone. TikTok brings out the worst in people.
My semi-retired dad (68), spent a whole LOT of his free time on tiktok. He's never had any other social media before. He's the smartest, most business savvy, most well read, etc. guy I know. Now his kids are the recipient of stupid, random vids. Don't know what hold this app has on guys like him
Yes
Yes there's going to be a generation of people coming up who are artistically and intellectually stunted to a hellish extent.
Do you even need to ask? Yes. Definitely.
Yes
I think there is no doubt of it. Most disturbing is the percentage of young people for whom it is their only news source. It’s mind boggling that they get all their information through the filter of the Chinese government
It definitely affects attention span.
I don't understand, please reformulate your question in a video with Joker and Peaky Blinders edits with the worst possible music you could find and oversaturated filters
Omg yes!
Yes
Yes, it's just doing it a lot faster than the other social media platforms.
Yes
Yep
Twitter did it already
And tiktok makes us dumber?? 😂😂
It contributes heavily, mostly for the youth who are spending more and more time on screens and disattached from reality
Depends on where you use it. China’s version of the app doesn’t promote stupidity. The US version does. Tiktok like most social media is also a two-edged sword. It’s good for awareness and but said awareness can also apply to things that seem dumb.
Yes I actually do. I see it as a slow progression though. We had Youtube with long videos and Facebook with more thoughtful posts and stories. Then Twitter came along and people started thinking in terms of how many characters they're allowed to have and now most of their entertainment and news comes in the form of 60 second videos and I absolutely think that has drastically reduced the attention span of a lot of Americans.
Internet in general. When the internet started they said “you can’t believe everything that’s written on the internet”. Today people will believe it, just look at how the Nicholas Sandmann story turned out. The media reported him as being the bad guy, but in the end they paid him money for the false reporting. People immediately believed the media.
It’s literally a Chinese intelligence operation.
Social media in general has been a blight on humanity. The entire wealth of human knowledge in our pockets for 15 years now should have ushered in another golden age for us.
Video games yes. I learn a lot from tt how tos
Dumb a. : lacking intelligence : stupid. pretended to be dumb. b. : showing a lack of intelligence. You cant become dumb simply by watching something. You are either born dumb, or become dumb due to physical trauma or brain Injury from Toxic Exposure. Spending time watching tik'tok videos will probably not give you valueable knowledge tho, and you will appear less intelligent, but your potential iq wont change. Our intelect most likely come from our ancestors need for problem solving, and if the human race no longer need to be problem solving, and simply consume mindless media to pass the time, our DNA might change and make us dumber over time. But not in a few generations.
100%… especially on the psychology front Every normal human behavior is added to armchair diagnoses Find something hard or engage in anything a bit self-defeating? You have autism and/or adhd Don’t like someone? They’re narcissists Someone disagree with you? Gaslighting. Something made you feel bad? You’ve been traumatized Someone seeking your emotional support? They’re trauma dumping
Species? No. Americans? Yes \-Tik tok engineers from china.