For Those Saying TikTok is for Kids

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I read a post the other day by the lovely @sol_cee in regards to TikTok and why she tried it and ultimately didn't stick with it. Which is totally fine! I'm not a TikTok crusader over here, you like it or you don't. Some people don't do social media at all, which is totally fine. As an introvert cave person, I personally like being on social. I rarely post on my own accounts, but I do like to see what other people in the world are talking about. What I wanted to discuss in this post was the misconception I saw in a lot of the replies to the OP that TikTok was for kids. It's really not. If a kid is using TikTok, it's tailored for that kid. TikTok is an algorithm site, which means it learns your tastes and your likes, your age demographic and political beliefs, your orientation and your values, and it gives you content based on what it learns about you while you're scrolling through videos. Usually my TikTok is full of animal videos and LGBTQA+ speakers and standup comedians, with celebrities from my age group making their own accounts, with fellow late Gen X/early Millenials sharing their humor, professional dancers showing off their craft, people talking about their favorite books, etc. Today and the last several days my timeline has been full of videos like these (and no, you don't need a TikTok account to view them): https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdSKSoGA/ https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdSKR1Ay/ https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdSKyjCm/ https://vm.tiktok.com/TTPdSKFFBQ/ This war in Ukraine is not something happening in a third world country where the rest of us are somewhat detached. This is happening to people like us who are on social media, who are using their platforms to show the world what it's really like over there. I don't watch the news, I watch the real people who are actually dealing with this crisis in real time who are either there or who have families there. I watch people on both sides of the conflict pleading for this to stop, and it's heartbreaking. But it's real and it's definitely not "for kids." It's 2022, folks. Social media isn't a child's toy anymore, it's how people are reaching out and connecting to others all over the world. For some people, like those in Russia who are protesting the conflict, TikTok is actually one of the only ways they can get their message out due to heavy policing of their own government on other types of news outlets. So next time someone says something about how they're on TikTok or any other modern social medium, don't just discredit it as a child's outlet. Just say it's not for you, because for a lot of people it's so much more than that. It's the only voice they have.