I think part of combating this is making sure we’re following verified news sources that ARE on TikTok. PBS, The NYT, AP News, etc as well as multiple, reliable independent journalists are all on there. Anytime something comes up from a source I don’t know the reliability of, I’ve gotten pretty good about going to do more research elsewhere. Not to say that I haven’t made assumptions and claimed them as fact before verifying their accuracy in the past, but I think all of us have done that to a degree. All we can do is learn to be better about checking ourselves and our sources first!
This isn’t an insightful comment or anything but I just want to say that I’ve just had a real sense of deja vu reading this 😭😂 I could have sworn I read this exact post on SYSCA last year lmaooo! I had to check the date just to make sure it hadn’t just shown up in my feed because someone had liked it. I must have dreamed about it.
Isn’t deja vu just bizarre? Like what actually makes this happen???
I’m in my 40s so maybe how I use TikTok is different than people in their 20s and 30s, but I found this piece sort of applied to me on Instagram (but I’d say “oh, I learned that from an activist I follow” and depending who I was talking to I might say it was on IG). I recently left meta and Twitter which, aside from BlueSky, left only YouTube and TikTok for short form video. I avoided TikTok for years thinking it was all junk, but it’s actually one of the places I have found reliable independent journalists, researchers, activists, government reps, and educators creating thoughtful content (often those I already follow on Substack or BlueSky, but many new to me).
I am, however, also working on consuming news and using social media with intention. So unlike how I used to scroll on FB or IG watching whatever, I actually make a point to go to TikTok for news and commentary, usually seeking out certain creators. But it’s not the only place I go.
I won’t lie, I do search cat videos on TikTok to watch with my kid, but I primarily use it to see what’s new from the people I follow. When I open it, I hate that it’s automatically on the FYP and usually switch to following, but sometimes I forget. It’s usually clear pretty quickly that I’m not watching videos by people I follow, though I sometimes still check out what’s there since it does expose me to new creators that align with my interests (Canadian politics, US politics, medical news, science, education, psychology, social justice/activism). Before I follow anyone though, I vet them (researching to learn more about them or what they said and/or fact checking). And I’ve also often found myself reading the news and then going to TikTok creators for their take on what’s happening. I also think it’s important to also seek out other viewpoints so too get a full picture and ensure I’m not just in an echo chamber (lots of options for this like Ground News or All Sides).
Anyway, maybe my approach is weird? Maybe it’s my age, or that I’m late to TikTok, but I do think it’s useful for actual news and not just misinformation or commentary presented as fact. It’s scary though how many people don’t think critically about what they see on social media. There’s so much misinformation/disinformation/propaganda to wade through.
Growing up on facebook seeing soooo many celebrity death hoax's actually taught me to check my sources and not believe things immediately on social media, I can't believe that's what I have to thank for checking sources.
I'm not on TikTok and I'm telling you, things I HAVE read end up on a TikTok and I only know because I see them on YouTube shorts now or as my younger sibling likes to call it late TikTok (it's not even late anymore, people are uploading on both at the same time now a days.) none of us are having unique experiences. Whether we read them or watch them, if we're in similar bubbles of different platforms, we're all gonna get the same info.
Unrelated: I too totally “watched” that movie with the girls getting stuck on a pole
Related: I feel TikTok is a valid source for certain perspectives you won’t find anywhere else, but we have an obligation to supplement with other mediums and generally fact check everything as best we can, especially if we have a strong emotional reaction to it. I also think the admittance that you ARE in an echo chamber helps to be more critical in general.
In all fairness Fall is a very enjoyable (and scary if you dread heights) movie I also found out existed thanks to TikTok. Also, I wrote something similar a while ago (https://fidgeting.substack.com/p/truth-can-be-found-even-in-the-darkest), happy we're talking about this topic more 😊
If trump gets his way, the U.S. will buy TikTok with his new genius Wealth Fund. Then TikTok will simply become U.S. propaganda, and not nearly informative or entertaining. Oh, the irony.
GenX reader here. When I was younger we joked that "I heard it on NPR," was a white lie for "I saw it on Oprah." Now tiktok is Oprah.
I think part of combating this is making sure we’re following verified news sources that ARE on TikTok. PBS, The NYT, AP News, etc as well as multiple, reliable independent journalists are all on there. Anytime something comes up from a source I don’t know the reliability of, I’ve gotten pretty good about going to do more research elsewhere. Not to say that I haven’t made assumptions and claimed them as fact before verifying their accuracy in the past, but I think all of us have done that to a degree. All we can do is learn to be better about checking ourselves and our sources first!
when you said sparknotes i had a flashback to a previous life where i used to write for their lifestyle section
This isn’t an insightful comment or anything but I just want to say that I’ve just had a real sense of deja vu reading this 😭😂 I could have sworn I read this exact post on SYSCA last year lmaooo! I had to check the date just to make sure it hadn’t just shown up in my feed because someone had liked it. I must have dreamed about it.
Isn’t deja vu just bizarre? Like what actually makes this happen???
Anyway, love the words as always! 🩷✨
Didn’t even finish reading yet and I agree…mostly because I do this and I’m trying to grow out of it
My pride is intact. I don’t subscribe to Tik Tok
good for you pete rodriguez do you want a cookie
Nah. Modesty is one of my many, many virtues….it was hard choosing between modesty and humility but modesty won out!!🤣🤣🤣🤣
I’m in my 40s so maybe how I use TikTok is different than people in their 20s and 30s, but I found this piece sort of applied to me on Instagram (but I’d say “oh, I learned that from an activist I follow” and depending who I was talking to I might say it was on IG). I recently left meta and Twitter which, aside from BlueSky, left only YouTube and TikTok for short form video. I avoided TikTok for years thinking it was all junk, but it’s actually one of the places I have found reliable independent journalists, researchers, activists, government reps, and educators creating thoughtful content (often those I already follow on Substack or BlueSky, but many new to me).
I am, however, also working on consuming news and using social media with intention. So unlike how I used to scroll on FB or IG watching whatever, I actually make a point to go to TikTok for news and commentary, usually seeking out certain creators. But it’s not the only place I go.
I won’t lie, I do search cat videos on TikTok to watch with my kid, but I primarily use it to see what’s new from the people I follow. When I open it, I hate that it’s automatically on the FYP and usually switch to following, but sometimes I forget. It’s usually clear pretty quickly that I’m not watching videos by people I follow, though I sometimes still check out what’s there since it does expose me to new creators that align with my interests (Canadian politics, US politics, medical news, science, education, psychology, social justice/activism). Before I follow anyone though, I vet them (researching to learn more about them or what they said and/or fact checking). And I’ve also often found myself reading the news and then going to TikTok creators for their take on what’s happening. I also think it’s important to also seek out other viewpoints so too get a full picture and ensure I’m not just in an echo chamber (lots of options for this like Ground News or All Sides).
Anyway, maybe my approach is weird? Maybe it’s my age, or that I’m late to TikTok, but I do think it’s useful for actual news and not just misinformation or commentary presented as fact. It’s scary though how many people don’t think critically about what they see on social media. There’s so much misinformation/disinformation/propaganda to wade through.
This is universal throughout generations, and speaks to our inclination to (over)simplification!
Growing up on facebook seeing soooo many celebrity death hoax's actually taught me to check my sources and not believe things immediately on social media, I can't believe that's what I have to thank for checking sources.
I'm not on TikTok and I'm telling you, things I HAVE read end up on a TikTok and I only know because I see them on YouTube shorts now or as my younger sibling likes to call it late TikTok (it's not even late anymore, people are uploading on both at the same time now a days.) none of us are having unique experiences. Whether we read them or watch them, if we're in similar bubbles of different platforms, we're all gonna get the same info.
Unrelated: I too totally “watched” that movie with the girls getting stuck on a pole
Related: I feel TikTok is a valid source for certain perspectives you won’t find anywhere else, but we have an obligation to supplement with other mediums and generally fact check everything as best we can, especially if we have a strong emotional reaction to it. I also think the admittance that you ARE in an echo chamber helps to be more critical in general.
Of course one of the problems is verified news sources are often very censored and controlled.
In all fairness Fall is a very enjoyable (and scary if you dread heights) movie I also found out existed thanks to TikTok. Also, I wrote something similar a while ago (https://fidgeting.substack.com/p/truth-can-be-found-even-in-the-darkest), happy we're talking about this topic more 😊
If trump gets his way, the U.S. will buy TikTok with his new genius Wealth Fund. Then TikTok will simply become U.S. propaganda, and not nearly informative or entertaining. Oh, the irony.