Contemplating lies appears a human predilection, especially when those lies come from ideas they want to be true. I am not pointing to contemplation as meditation but in the sense of entertaining the evident falsehoods behind a statement. And when I say that I’m contemplating TikTok’s lies, I mean a clear falsehood behind a public statement.
And this isn’t the first time I write about my issues with the platform and misinformation.
Religion is rife with them. The idea that the Christian God is loving, for example, can only delight someone invested in the belief that the same God cares for them. Who else can contemplate the misconception that the biblical God symbolises love? Especially when the Bible shows his hatred towards those who do not worship him?
But I hate repeating myself.
And, you’d think, if you are one of the few humans who are predisposed to using your intellectual faculties, that the indulgence of lies is limited to abstract notions like belief, but you’d be wrong.
Humans tend to accept the nonsense that makes them happy.
Think about this. I heard a TikTok insider say that “the platform neither encourages nor supports sexual content.” Unfortunately, the insider didn’t make their name public to protect company privacy policies. A duty that he should observe as a well-paid employee of such a conglomerate.
What was obscenely funny to this Devil who rants here was the reactions of agreement by the other humans listening. They all contributed gestures of consensus, and the apparent acceptance of the insider’s lie was comical. The people in the audience cheered.
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Now, I do not condemn nudity or any other sexual behaviour entered into consensually. On the contrary, I applaud it. So should TikTok, given that nudity and burlesque constitute the vast majority of its popular content.
I’m against the lie. And more so, the attempt to demonise nudity and sexual content to appeal to an ostensible higher moral standard.
Oh, TIKTOK
No one who has been on TikTok for more than ten minutes believes what this employee of theirs had to say. But what should give us all pause is the evident disinformation efforts carried by the company.
Should all social media platforms regulate their content to protect minors from exposure to inappropriate content? Absolutely. But lying about it only protects their interest and misleading guardians to allow children on the platform.
Business is, after all, a game of numbers.
Here is a promise by TikTok that is taking longer to keep than expected: https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/9/22569954/tiktok-automated-moderation-video-removal-nudity-minor-safety
In conclusion, I will clarify that nudity and sexual content are acceptable. And perfectly enjoyable in the context of informed consent. However, to mislead the expectations of the public is unacceptable.
Thank you for reading.
— The Devil Unbound
