I am an autistic 29 year old guy who started developing a serious addiction to Instagram and TikTok during the COVID pandemic. It got worse around 2022 when I lost my job. TikTok, like Reddit, does have lots of very informational and interesting content on there and I enjoyed watching lots of travel videos as well as many math and science related videos. However even those “educational” travel videos can become toxic as it’s mainly travel influencers who travel all over the world to visit nice places and make give us FOMO. In reality, they most likely come from wealthy families, have an abnormally high carbon footprint flying to all sorts of different places, and likely staying in cheap Airbnbs instead of hotels.
Most of these problems started when I got into some problems with some younger women on TikTok I didn’t know but made me very angry for some reasons. I made some nasty messages about them until one of them called me out. Thinking about it now, I very much regret it now and I wished I could apologize. After this, I’ve been contemplating about deleting TikTok. I already uninstalled Instagram but I still don’t want to delete it completely as I have lots of great material on there from the past.
TikTok, and social media in general, has became a massive scourge for younger people. It has made marginalized men more misogynistic and chauvinistic. It has made marginalized CIS heterosexual people more homophobic and extremely transphobic. It has made people in general much more racist towards other ethnicities.
Nowadays, TikTok has suddenly became an extremely vile place for anyone who is Indian. It’s a Chinese social media giant that was banned in India for some bizarre reasons, but this means that India has become the punching bag for jokes. I don’t mean playful jokes. I mean genuinely disgusting and racist comments I am of Indian-origin (born to Indian immigrant parents) and right now there is a conflict going on with India and Pakistan. On one video, there is a comment made by an anonymous user that has over 3,000 likes that said “I hope Pakistan nukes the sh** out of India and cleans the entire world of this plague!” On another video, another comment with over 10,000 likes said “The smelliest war in the world!” India has a myriad of problems, especially when it comes to public safety and corruption. However after reading some of these comments, I am ready to pull the plug on my TikTok account and say “Bye Bye” to TikTok forever.
TikTok, and social media in general, has became a massive scourge for younger people. It has made marginalized men more misogynistic and chauvinistic. It has made marginalized CIS heterosexual people more homophobic and extremely transphobic. It has made people in general much more racist towards other ethnicities.
This shows some extreme vulnerability and deep introspection. The Internet has become a much more openly denigrating place… You’ve come over to Lemmy, which is a good start. I assume you’re also into technology that you own and can do what you want with. Welcome to our little corner of the web.
My social skill outlet always was through the Internet, mostly through World of Warcraft, as I am a massive nerd/geek, and found strong community with others who didn’t feel like making friends in real life was as easy as online. Friendships ebb and flow, as empires rise and fall, but along the way we have to realize that we play the various instruments in the orchestra throughout our lives.
After deleting my Instagram and other assorted canonical social media platforms, it has been tough, as you don’t have any of the “relatable” apps, but it also gives you a way to put more meaning and purpose into the relationships you form with others. Those around our age group seem to cling to accounts that they’ve had since their childhoods, or apps that came out a decade or longer ago that don’t even resemble their original UI or experience.
I have always felt like these platforms bring out the more hateful side of people due to its provocative nature. When you have autism, I think that that type of content can be 10x more harmful due to the way our monotropic brains are wired.
My friend, almost all social media these days is intentionally designed to provoke outrage, overtly, or indirectly.
Good for you for recognizing it brought out the worst in you. Don’t beat yourself up. Like I stated, it was designed to. But you were smart enough to see it.
Get rid of all social media. If you have to, keep an account here (Lemmy isn’t perfect, but it’s mostly left leaning, and avoid the “tankie” instances, you can find out what they are.)
Don’t watch YouTube “Manosphere” or “MAGA” celebrities like Rogan, Walsh, Shapiro, Crowder, Jordan, Pool, Brandt, etc.
Get your news from legitimate, and mostly unbiased sources like Associated Press (AP,) or Reuters.
Take care of yourself, and don’t poison your mind and soul. Good luck.
Good video on the Slippery slope, that has become social media and how the algorithm radicalizes young people.
This video is of course about porn, but it could be any subject really.
The creator of this video is apparently right-wing among other things. I would not support him.
The strategy is the same.
Thanks for the contrast.
Good for you. These platforms are more addictive than alcohol, which is saying something.
Try to find a hobby that will occupy your mind.
Another tip: YouTube is bearable if you turn off your video history and only subscribe to channels that provide interesting, thoughtful and constructive videos.
Never, ever, ever give in to the constant whining of YouTube to turn history back on so they can give you better ‘recommendations’.
Excellent move. To increase your chance of successfully staying off TikTok, think of the transition not only as stopping TikTok, but starting something else. This something else is for you to determine, and should take up some good portion of your new free time, at least at first.
