TikTok’s time bomb: how the app wields massive influence on America’s attention — and potentially its direction

So many Tok clones... No one’s safe from vertical videos. US social giants have desperately tried to replicate the success of TikTok, the short-video app that’s captured Gen Z's consciousness (call it "GenT"). One of the biggest threats to Meta, Google, Snap, and Twitter isn't slowing social usership in general — it’s slowing usership because of TikTok.

• 44 mins/day: Last year people spent more time on TikTok than on Facebook. The Tok may’ve even surpassed time spent on Insta and YouTube worldwide.
• 1.6B brains: TikTok has more monthly users than Twitter, Snap, and LinkedIn combined.
• The news: TikTok just added new screentime controls to make its app seem less intensely addictive (think: break reminders).
• The reality: It likely won't help. The app’s already shortened kids’ attention spans to where many can't even sit through a movie or a class.

Dancing to the (algo)rhythm... To curate your feed, TikTok's mysterious algorithm figures out what engages you. And while that’s mostly lip-syncs, cat pranks, and makeup hacks, there's a dark side to TikTok, which is owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance — which China’s gov’t owns a stake in.

• Dangerous content: In addition to life-threatening viral challenges (like holding your breath until you faint or OD'ing on Benadryl), TikTok's algo has sent teens down rabbit holes promoting eating disorders, porn sites, and gun violence.
• Misinfo: Many get their news on TikTok, but no one really knows how info (and misinfo) spreads there. Recently TikTok’s been flooded with videos pushing Russia's narrative on the Ukraine war — which China supports.
• Censorship: TikTok has cracked down on topics at China’s behest (think: the Uyghur crisis). Any interference from the Chinese government could wreak havoc on US elections and an already divided American democracy.