In recent years, social media has evolved into not just a new judge of character but also a full court of law, which has a lot to do with the architecture of these online platforms. With over a billion monthly users, TikTok has quickly become an everyday platform for people to create, collaborate, and interact with.
People use the platform to share practically any type of material, from food and DIY videos to personal stories. While gaining attention on other social media platforms can be challenging, going viral on TikTok is much easy.
Anyone, regardless of how many followers they have, can go viral thanks to the platform’s unique recommendation mechanism.
While platforms like these can help provide the kind of fellowship we see in face-to-face groups, they are not without drawbacks. Harmful conspiracies and witch hunts have now become commonplace on TikTok.
One example is a trans woman who was wrongfully accused of being a serial killer by viewers after she posted a video of herself on the app dancing in her basement to Shania Twain.
However, a more recent example of the unintended consequences of TikTok virality is ‘West Elm Caleb,’ a New Yorker accused of mistreating a number of women he met through a dating app.
The videos about the guy went viral on the app, capturing the attention and ire of many people other than the women he had dated. He was eventually doxxed and lost his job as a result.
According to Casey Fiesler, a researcher who studies technology ethics and online communities, the reaction to stories like these has more to do with the masses forming parasocial relationships with content creators they follow and the subjects of the videos they watch, while also engaging with the content as if it were fiction, without considering the real-life consequences of resharing or chiming.
To read our blog on “TikTok has suspended material in response to Russia’s ‘fake news’ regulation,” click here.
