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Jazmine Ibarra

Sarah Thaller

Fire Cohort

22 January 2021

TikTok Algorithm

I don’t have a TikTok account, but if I did, it would include the following content: plants,

cooking/food, humor, art/crafting (ex. Drawing, painting, sewing), music, singing, books, movies(?), and

maybe more. I think this does seem accurate to me because they are things that I am interested in,

however, I do not think that these things represent the totality of me. Yes, a stranger can find out what I

like by reviewing my history in an algorithm, but they will not learn how I am as a person in terms of my

personality, my thoughts, and actions. I cannot think of any other things that I would like to add because I

am not sure what is on TikTok, but one thing is for certain...TikTok does have some positive and negative

parts. For one, it makes girls question their physical beauty. The number of views of a short video clip

shouldn’t matter very much, but to some, it matters a lot. It might be the popularity or the satisfaction of

knowing that many people think that you are this and that, but honestly, the opinion that matters most is

what you think of yourself. However, the digital age is only growing. Technology is constantly changing

and improving, but there are downsides to it. Things such as how it impacts one’s mental health as well as

our physical well-being. Our eyes will sting from staring at a screen for too long, our necks and backs

ache, our fingers just keep scrolling, and for TikTok, one can scroll forever! I think it would be

meaningful to add self-love, self-care, and more positive, accepting, and kind content on TikTok, or on

any social media platform. It is extremely lacking, I think. Despite the fact that I don’t have any social

media, I strongly believe that it needs to be improved. Suicide rates are spiking with my generation and it

is very concerning. It honestly makes me sad to read the mean things that people say about themselves

and one another. In an ideal world, people would care about one another and help each other out when

they notice something is wrong, but more often than not, that doesn’t happen. I think the one thing that I

would like to take away from TikTok if I had the power to, would be the beauty algorithm. It only picks
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people with specific facial features or characteristics. Someone could be physically beautiful and also

have a not-so-beautiful personality. If that goes viral, that same behavior is being shown to my generation

and is, therefore, being applauded, not corrected. Of course, an algorithm cannot correct one’s behavior,

but it would be amazing to see negative comments and content filtered out. For the last question, TikTok

thinks that I am the things and have an interest in the things that I mentioned because I am watching or

liking such things. Obviously, if I didn’t like the content, I wouldn’t be watching it, but I’m not sure why

TikTok would think I am the things that I am interested in. They are a part of me, but they are not me if

that makes sense. That is the best way that I can describe it.