I Hate Tik Tok But I Don't Think It Should Be Banned
Banning Tik Tok is not the solution, it can actually have some serious repercussions.
Amidst the series of news highlighting the COVID-19 situation in India and the plight of migrant workers trying to get to their home, I came across a news piece that made me smile after a really long time -- Tik Tok ratings dropping after YouTube supporters just bombed the app with negative reviews.
Reuters
Yes, it¡¯s true, I truly despise Tik Tok. Absolutely hate it. I've never had the temptation or curiosity to install the app. One of the main reasons why I hate it is the cringe-worthy, baseless and sometimes disgusting content that tries hard to be funny but fails miserably (the WhatsApp statuses and Facebook posts were enough to fill me in with what I¡¯d get on the app, to make me avoid it at all costs).
Surprisingly, Tik Tok videos are something people in India and across the world find very entertaining, which blows my mind whenever I think about it. It's not that Tik Tok has had smooth sailing in India, but last week when a YouTuber called CarryMinati lashed out on Tik Tok creators trying to speak against YouTubers, public hate against Tik Tok reached an all-time high -- at least here in India.
Instagram/YouTube
Not saying I support or condone what CarryMinati's video rant stood for (filled with cuss words and gender slurs against the gay community), however, this reignited the anti-Tik Tok sentiment (how can we forget Madras High Court¡¯s Intermin ban on Tik Tok) that has never really gone away from people's social feeds.
So I tried to find out why people just generally hate TikTok so much, and is the hate baseless or coming from a position of privilege.
Why do people hate Tik Tok?
There are several people today in the world who hate Tik Tok, and there are various reasons for their hatred.
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¡ª Dinesh Desai (@meetdineshdesal) May 19, 2020
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Some hate it since it originates from China and not only are they using this to express their protest against COVID-19, but also for the simple reason that a Chinese conglomerate is able to mint millions of dollars by content produced by people in India.
Pro chinese Indian liberandus supporting TikTok is not suprising.
¡ª Atul Ahuja (@atulahuja_) May 19, 2020
It is their masterplan to keep youth of India busy in making shitty 15 secs videos for some fame and all and keep them away from any kind of productive activity.pic.twitter.com/TRRlFj3ady
Another group of haters are the one that complains about the kind of content that is being uploaded on the platform (like me). Whether it is pertaining to the silly and cringe content race to be popular or be called ¡®a celebrity¡¯.
Such cringy creatures, evolve & breed upon the views & following we show them on such apps.Every post of them it's just a fudgel show of their efforts of surfacing Filth on Social Media. #BanTikToklnlndia @NCWIndia #tiktokexposed #tiktokers pic.twitter.com/y5wjeBnje5
¡ª Melwin Mathews (@melwinmathews1) May 19, 2020
Or for the kind of content that is downright wrong, spiking social disharmony and sending the wrong message.
Kill you parents and get likes and views #TikTok life ??#tiktokrating #tiktokexposed #BanTikTokApp #tiktokban #tiktokdown #BanTikToklnlndia #tiktokdown #BanTikToklnlndia #tiktokexposed#??????_????_??_?????? pic.twitter.com/1jY8KCXaOl
¡ª Mr SKR? (@BaabuSKR) May 19, 2020
These are the main anti-Tik Tok themes I could find and think of, encouraging people to share #BanTikTok and demand banning of the video-sharing platform. Something like this was seen exactly last year when Madras High Court did ban the app for a couple of weeks and then turned things back to normal.
However, despite all the emotion of hatred and disgust that people have against this app, banning Tik Tok is not the solution. In fact, it can actually have some serious repercussions.
What about our online freedom?
Whether you like it or not, social media platforms are our way to reach out to the masses and in the Internet Age it's a strong form of public opinion and expression. Surely, it gives rise to some really unbearable content every now and then, but at the same time it is a privilege to be able to express yourself online. We should never take it for granted.
Getting Tik Tok or any other app banned in totality sets a very bad precedent as far as our online freedom of speech is concerned. And secondly, do bans actually work? We tried to ban PUBG Mobile because of people getting addicted to the game, and see what happened? Nothing, absolutely nothing. Eventually people learn that it's not as much the medium's fault as it is the users who use the medium, especially what they use it for.
Reuters
Examine your privilege
One thing I¡¯ll admit, as will other creative people who love shooting videos, the advent of Tik Tok (or Musically as it used to be) has truly made ordinary people, from everyday walk of life, instant content producers that plan and shoot videos like clockwork -- a routine similar to several YouTubers. This is noteworthy.
Access to reasonably priced data and the thirst to get popular with people who started using Musically has now transformed into videos with transitions, special effects and even decent camera work at times, all shot and edited on their budget smartphones.
The proof of the pudding is in its eating, after all. Tik Tok claims to have over 200 million users in India, of which 120 million are active on a monthly basis, and they plan to cross the 300 million user mark by end of 2020. This proves one thing and one thing only -- I may not like Tik Tok, many people may hate Tik Tok in India, but there are very many people out there who also love Tik Tok.
Reuters
Yes, racism, bigotry, sexism, boys locker rooms and many other social evils exist online. It exists on Tik Tok, just the way it exists on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, or any other social platform out there -- and this shouldn't be the case, in an ideal world. Communities must fight to protect their online spaces. But calling something cringe-worthy or crass is a matter of personal opinion. Ask yourself this: Would 200 million users flood a platform if all of it was just crass? Don't like what you see on Tik Tok, save your time and look away -- like me. Why are you trying to spoil someone else's party? Because you're not invited to it? Sigh.
In the end, banning Tik Tok won¡¯t achieve anything. Content is what will make or break Tik Tok, as it should, in my opinion. I don't look forward to find that out, though, as I don't think I'll be installing Tik Tok on my phone anytime soon.
