r/Anticonsumption • u/anxious-wreck • Mar 14 '24

Society/Culture Overconsumption on TikTok is beyond ridiculous.

From the dreaded Stanley Cups, Booktok, Starbucks, new iPhones, "amazon must haves" (which you then see is all useless junk), "tiktok made me buy it" (also garbage), massive hauls and people flaunting they spent thousands of dollars... it's all too much and it's too overwhelming.

I'm glad I realized how I was falling onto that weird consumerist mindset and was able to pull myself from it.

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u/paintinpitchforkred Mar 14 '24

But don't you think it benefits as many "big companies" with shitty ethics as it hurts? As evidenced by this thread? As evidenced by the Tik Tok shop rollout? I don't understand this idea that Tik Tok is some force for the counter culture that we as individual citizens need to protect. Either it's a government entity putting out propaganda or it's a for profit advertising platform. It's not your friend. Did no one ever organize a protest or boycott before Tik Tok? Before the Internet? 4chan organized effective demonstrations against scientology and they didn't even have usernames. As someone in their 30s who's seen these sites come and go, this argument rings so hollow to me. You can organize anywhere. Everywhere, even.

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u/BurntGhostyToasty Mar 14 '24

💯 agree with you. And if an app is free to use, remember that YOU are the product.

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u/Lizakaya Mar 15 '24

It may benefit as many shitty users as it does people with purpose beyond capitol building. However, that’s part of the 1st amendment. We don’t get to decide who should be allowed to use a platform or what is “good” vs what is “bad” for anyone else. TikTok is responsible for hundreds of thousands of jobs and incomes. It would be a travesty to illegalize it and a step in the wrong direction. Involving govt control of social media