CS371 Blog Post #2 - Alicia Max

In last week's lectures we had the ability to watch Burnam's film, Eighth Grade. As we watched Eighth Grade I couldn't help but wonder how different it would be with the advancements of social media platforms that we have today, specifically TikTok. As discussed in class, TikTok is classified as rich media in Baym’s seven concepts for understanding the powers of communication technologies, due to there being a wide range of cues, creating the feel of face to face communication. While relating Eighth Grade to the concepts we've discussed in class, the question of what role that TikTok would play in Kayla's life if the movie were to have aired today was prevalent. A main question for me would be the safety of Kayla on the app. While Kayla has just reached the age requirement of thirteen to be on the app, the need that she feels to accepted in combination with the viral algorithm that TikTok consists of worries me for Kayla's safety. Through articulation we see how consuming social media is, thus causing the question: how safe is TikTok for teenagers and those that are on the app while underage? While you are able to make a private account, many underage tweens and teenagers will not do so as this does not allow them to go viral. Without knowing the dangers of the internet, kids and teenagers are at risk of their privacy and safety with each post. Below I have attached an article written by The New York Times which discusses TikTok possibly getting fined due to their inability to protect the privacy of children. 

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/26/technology/tiktok-children-privacy-fine-uk.html


Comments

  1. Max MerovitzOctober 3, 2022 at 1:09 PM

    Hi there,
    You take a very interesting approach to the movie along with social media that I have never thought of before. I do agree with you that social media is a dangerous place especially when individuals chose to take advantage and abuse social media and its intended purpose. Kayla being in an impressionable, vulnerable place makes social media that much more dangerous. I believe that social media applications should be responsible for making these apps a safer place but also ensuring that young individuals do not lie about their ages just to join the app.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Maddie ClarkOctober 3, 2022 at 2:45 PM

    Hi Alicia,
    You made an excellent point about the safety of TikTok and underage tweens and teens creating accounts for the purpose of going viral. As we are all much older than the age of 13, it never occurred to me that TikTok could cause possible disruptions to those who are not permitted on the app. Being able to relate such content to the film "Eighth Grade" and to Kayla's struggles allows for more in depth thinking and for those to re-evaluate the safety of both the content produced and users on the app.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lauren PetrucciOctober 5, 2022 at 12:45 PM

    Hi Alicia,
    Safety issues with underage children TikTok is a serious concern when it comes to specific content and privacy issues being displayed. However, younger children on the app do not understand the concept of this, as they are more concerned with the social trends and popularity of the app. TikTok is one of the most popular social media apps, and is a place where users can post relatable content, promote yourselves and create new connections. I believe that stronger implications of privacy and guidelines should be put in effect in order to help prevent problems for the underage children using the app. Great post!

    ReplyDelete

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