#10: Anti-War

Anti-War

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    Anti-war opinions are ones that people can't typically spread in mainstream news spaces. News is meant to be concrete and not very opinion-based. It can be biased, but overall, opinions should be avoided. If we are always in wartime and the news is constantly reporting on it, how can they be antiwar? Of course, they could condemn it while reporting on it, but that becomes a slippery slope. Once you rope opinions into the news, the writers or the website might lose credibility.

    More people should consume independent/obscure media because writers can give alternate opinions without consequences. All you need to do is view the titles of some of the articles featured in "The American Conservative," such as "Modern Wars are Wars of Attrition." The subhead under another reads: "Ukraine–Russia war has dragged on for at least two years longer than it had to—and for what?" This article about the Ukraine-Russia conflict lays out what we know about possible peace talks and negotiations orchestrated by other countries. 

    Most of my political media is consumed through Twitch and Twitter, leading me to do separate research on various independent sites. I consume a lot of opinion-based press because it is more digestible and aids me in forming my own opinions from different perspectives. After this, I will go to independent media to further my research. 

    There are a lot of truths I've learned from doing independent research. No one likes war, but so many groups benefit from it. War provides jobs. War includes money for the US through arms deals. Last year, they made $80.9 billion. I'm not saying this is good or bad; it's just a fact. Whatever groups benefit from it will suppress whatever media they need to so they can keep the public out of the loop. This is how the world works and will most likely always work. We need to do our best to keep these independent media outlets alive and thriving so people can read about what is happening worldwide.  

#9 EOTO 2

EOTO 2: TikTok bans

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You might have seen news of a possible TikTok ban in the US, but what does that mean for us? 

    First, we will start with the background. The Chinese app "ByteDance" bought out the app "Musical.ly" in late November 2017 and relaunched it under the name "TikTok" in 2018. The app remained the same for users, with a different name, logo, and color interface. At the time, not many people thought much of it other than some distress from users. Soon, that disappeared, and the app started gaining more traction. As the app grew, security concerns regarding national security and data privacy began to be raised. The United States government gave ByteDance an ultimatum: They needed to sell the US side of their company, or the government would ban the app. 

    Banning the app in its entirety could decrease security risks and protect our data, but it could also lead to adverse effects. This ban could result in job losses, advertising shifts, disruption of news sources, and creativity limitations. 

    Job losses refer to the influencers and content creators relying on TikTok as their primary income source. Forms of entertainment, such as live comedy, have found a new life in the form of TikTok lives. These lives can bring in many new fans and money for the creator. Cutting this off forces these people to transition to a new app to share their comedy, which only sometimes has a high success rate. News on TikTok is typically not backed by sources and can be hearsay. As I mentioned in my first blog post, I will hear something on the app and then use a different website or app to fact-check it. Typically, the story resembles what was said in the TikTok video but is a much calmer and less dramatic version. 

Who could this ban affect?

    As I mentioned previously, content creators' lives would shift dramatically. What about TikTok's primary user base, the youth? They don't only use it as an entertainment app; it's a way to connect with their friends, learn, and keep up with their favorite influencers. The platform is also used for activism, particularly by Gen Z. It's a straightforward way to spread awareness about social issues worldwide. During the height of the black lives matter movement in mid-2020, the app was a center for activism. TikTok as an activism platform is super effective because awareness about problems can be shared in digestible ways because of its short-form format. This allows the user to see hundreds of videos an hour if they desire, which is a lot of content to consume in a relatively short time. 

Why is the government allowed to do this?

    Back to what I mentioned earlier, it's become national security and caused data privacy concerns. It all comes down to the US being nervous about what China might do with our info. They have referenced laws that allow the Chinese government to demand data from Chinese companies. They hold all of the American data, which threatens our government. 

    Many people find the TikTok bans aggravating, but the idea behind them is meant to prevent any possible issues in the future. 

#8: Diffusion

Diffusion: TikTok

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    Let's view TikTok through the lens of the diffusion theory. The app used to be considered embarrassing, but it quickly became the top app for Gen Z entertainment. 

    Many were early adopters because it was previously another popular app called "musical.ly." ByteDance bought the app and turned it into TikTok. I was a user then, and I remember many people being upset at the change, although everything about the app stayed the same. Quickly, the users declined. 

    People started re-downloading the app for many reasons, such as boredom and wanting another app to share things with their friends. It blew up again around 2019 and was active during 2020 when everyone was at home in quarantine. This user base has steadily increased until recently, with all the bans due to security concerns. 

    This platform is, for the most part, fun, but it could be bad for some people due to overuse and possible adverse mental health effects. I can see why someone would delete social platforms or not sign up. I think they can suck you in with a gnarly force, and it's hard to escape that. You learn to get the tiny bits of dopamine from other things outside a social platform. You most likely save time, too! This is all relative to the person. What might damage one person's well-being could be ineffective for another or even positive. This paid off monetarily for ByteDance, but it might have damaged us mentally in return.