LOVE LETTER TO TIKTOK

If someone wanted to create their ideal world, it would be enough for them to spend a few days on TikTok.

TikTok's algorithm is (as strange as it may sound) probably the system that knows me best. And I include other human beings, apps, everything that exists and has some level of consciousness or at least the ability to learn and adapt to the systems. The TikTok algorithm quickly concludes what I want and everything that is beyond my desires simply ceases to exist. At first, I feel like God, then I am locked in my bubble, and I forget that there is anything outside of it (and myself).

IT WAS SHOCKING AT THE BEGINNING

Getting started on TikTok is hard because you’re overwhelmed with content you don’t want to see. At least I didn't want to see it, which is why I may be projecting, but the people I talked to about this topic shared a similar impression. You have been served what is popular at the moment, especially in your region, which leads to numerous prejudices. People who are just opening the application, including myself, and do not want to watch dance challenges, lipsync videos (in which the voice and mouth opening usually do not match, so you wonder WHAT'S THE POINT), or listen to humor that is often not humor but covert misogyny, homophobia, racism... will find themselves in a situation where the popularity of the application is not clear to them. In addition, there is a standard lamentation about "where this world is going" for the simple reason that everything new is more despised than what we are already used to (and which was initially also despised because people, although easily adaptable, despise change).

TIKTOK OR RELATIONSHIP WITH NARCISSIST

But, when we stop being surprised and horrified, which usually happens quickly (especially if your job is connected with social media and trends), we enter the world of TikTok without resistance. The reason is simple ‒ this world is created especially for us. Instagram or YouTube algorithms can recommend something similar to what you want, but can also completely fail, which they often do. In the end, you remain confused and wonder when they will stop bothering you. You still often watch recommended content, but it is much more often a hate-watch.

TikTok gives you the opportunity to LOVE and ENJOY everything you watch because that is all you have been given. I have to admit that this sounds a bit like the love-bombing phase of a relationship with a narcissist ‒ the narcissist gives you everything you want, all the necessary affirmation, and you in turn pay attention to them and feel like you've found the perfect partner. Maybe the TikTok algorithm should prolong this illusion of bliss indefinitely, and maybe the situation will change over time.

I can't help but think what kind of hell this app can be for people (especially young people) who don't know what they want. Instead of a place of bliss, it can very easily turn into a space of constant re-examination and strengthening of one's own insecurities.

IT’S NOT ABOUT THE DURATION

What is certain is that TikTok does not stop growing, despite attempts to be copied by Instagram and Youtube. As a person who has watched a large number of reels, but also YT shorts, I have to notice that the main difference between them and TikTok is the algorithm. It's true that I occasionally come across something interesting (which is mostly TikTok published as a reel), but much more often I come across annoying clips that I persistently interrupt and skip. The same happened initially on TikTok, but this algorithm learned about me, which did not happen with Instagram. The bottom line is ‒ it's useless to take and use a popular format if you don't understand the essence of what makes it popular.

I know that we are constantly faced with the myth of shortening attention span, where the responsibility for failed content is transferred to the viewers and their attention, which allegedly lasts only a few seconds. As I have already written, attention span is not shortened, we just have enough choices available to choose exactly what we want. TikTok beats the competition in a seemingly simple manner ‒ it learns what we are interested in. If the attention was shortened, the duration of the TikTok video would not grow (and it grows). Instagram first thought it was a matter of duration, but now it has started extending reels.

To conclude this topic: it was never about the length of the video – it was always about how much the video communicated with the audience. And in order to communicate, you have to know the audience. AND THEN YOU RECOMMEND THE NEXT VIDEO THAT WILL BE SIMILAR.

YES, I FELL IN LOVE WITH HIS STYLE

The TikTok algorithm is not only focused on the type of content we are interested in, but also on our taste – it hits the finesse of choosing just our style of humor, the type of presentation we like, our favorite aesthetics... This algorithm is ahead of all others because it recognizes the main feature of human beings  – for us, liking something is not a matter of form but of style.

This is something we often lose sight of in influencer marketing. We are looking for a creator who has the trust of his community because of the WAY he/she communicates, and then we demand that he/she present our brand exactly as we imagined it. Advertising can go well because followers want to support the creator, but essentially you, as a brand, have not achieved anything.

I hope that more aggressive marketing will not ruin TikTok, that we will actually finally learn to listen to people and their wishes, and, most importantly, that we will understand that the key to success is in precise targeting that leads to attachment, not just a temporary massive reaction.

TikTok is slowly proving that it is not a passing trend, and even if it goes out on its own, the way its algorithm works will be an inspiration for all platforms and applications that are yet to come. A step back is impossible, now we have learned that as users we expect the world to our liking and nothing less than that is enough for us.

*The title is an allusion to the poetry book Love Letters to Google by Ognjenka Lakićević.

Author: Natalija Jovanović, Senior Content Manager