tiktoking.

So. Because it was for class purposes, I now have a TikTok account. This is not something that I thought I would be getting anytime soon, however, upon planning my learning project, I decided this would be an appropriate social media tool to help get me started since TikTok has many crochet tutorials under hashtags such as #crochettutorial #crochetforbeginners and my personal favourite, #crochetlefthand.

I found the results overwhelming, complete choice paralysis! Below are some screenshots of my initial searches after downloading the app for the first time.

I am undecided if I will actually be using TikTok to assist me with my crochet learning plan. I honestly think I’ll feel more comfortable with a more familiar platform, like YouTube, to search up tutorials. At least initially this week as I am getting started. I intend to revisit TikTok for inspiration or if I’m feeling more comfortable with my crochet skills/adventurous.

I am also keeping in mind that I could try using TikTok to make some progress videos… So we might try that eventually. I am planning to use Instagram reels first, and we’ll see where things go from there.

I also noticed this morning, checking my Feedly, that I was not alone in my choice to start a TikTok account! I read Chris’, Leigh’s, and Megan’s posts on their TikTok ventures. I agreed with Megan that the learning opportunities for new skills are endless, especially recipes, which I am interested in as well! Megan also mentioned the problematic “challenges” posted on TikTok, which I also find very troubling. I work with many impressionable youth and know that they are seeing these challenges and are not fully capable to process the possible dangers of trying out these challenges. I also read the article that Leigh tweeted about using TikTok in the classroom, the benefits educators found, especially when adapting to online learning during the pandemic.

I also discussed TikTok with my stepsister, who is a grade 9 student, about her TikTok experience. She spends a large amount of time on TikTok, and explained to me the allures of the app, all of the different content, and how the more you watch, the more the app figures out what you like. The content is more your preference, so you watch more, because everything is tailored to you. She also explained that sometimes you might see things that make you feel uncomfortable, violent or overtly “creepy” (read: sexual in teen speak) videos, and she explained that you need to swipe by them in a certain way, from what I understood, quickly(?) to ensure the algorithm doesn’t think that you would want to see more of these videos.

YIKES GUYS.

My stepsister is quite intelligent for her age, and is understanding how this app works, how it tracks her usage and tailors it to her, and is wary of making sure this app does not get the “wrong idea” about what she wants to see.

What about other kids who are younger users/not as savvy online/more impressionable with seeing this questionable content? I mean, some of these videos are described as looking at a car crash, you cannot look away! So then the app thinks you want more of this content, and keeps feeding it to you? Oy. This knowledge makes me nervous.

Does anyone else know more about this than me? I am hoping some of you can fill me in here, as I only have a little bit of information to go off of. I don’t want to spread misinformation either.

I just wanna sit and crochet… and not deal with the scary TikTok world out there…