Are You Too Ugly for TikTok?
The viral app filters our kids’ faces with a beauty algorithm straight out of Black Mirror while we’re busy focusing on Facebook’s misdemeanors.
Scrolling through TikTok, I can see how it bewitches kids.
One minute a pig meanders through the mountains; the following adorable puppies clamor for food until three teens doing a funny trick involving their mouths and a credit card demand your attention.
Let’s face it, TikTok is fun, like bubble gum for your eyes.
And that is precisely how the video app has danced its way into Gen Z’s hearts, taking over Instagram as the second most popular app in 2020 among US teens and raking in a cool $34.3 billion.
With Instagram and Facebook, scratch the glossy veneer, and you’ll see a sinister side. TikTok is no exception.
The only difference is, while we (rightly) vilify Zuckerberg, no one, despite India’s ban, Italy’s probe, and Trumps’ short-lived concerns, seems to condemn TikTok’s CEO.
But with the New York Times estimates that a third of its users may be 14 or under, isn’t it time we found out more?
Is TikTok the new Facebook?
TikTok, a short-form video app, launched in 2017 and blew up during the pandemic. In September, its Chinese…
