TikTok’s Creepy Algorithm Explained

The TikTok algorithm has been said to “know you better than you know yourself” which is honestly.. kinda creepy, right? It can feel as if TikTok is trying to show who you’ve always been. The algorithm has reportedly been able to do things like help users discover their sexuality and unpack childhood trauma leading some to describe it as “mystical” and “magical.”

So how does TikTok’s algorithm really work? Well I read on WIRED that The Wall Street Journal did an investigation to answer just this.

When someone creates a new account, the algorithm shows them a broad variety of popular videos – from viral dances to cooking hacks – “designed to test their response” For the most part, users won’t realize it’s happening but the algorithm is behind the scenes working to determine what and what doesn’t pull your attention. As a result, you’re carefully-curated “for you page” is based on your repeated scrolling behaviors

While it may feel like TikTok is uncovering truths you didn’t even know about your own self by directing you to certain types of content, it’s more accurate to say that “TikTok shows you where your attention already goes—or would go.” This can be dangerous though.

Let’s also remember TikTok’s algorithm is for-profit. Advertisers are lurking everywhere.  And “Once [the algorithm] puts you on a side, it keeps you there,” psychology professor Inna Kanevsky, told the Wall Street Journal.

So basically if you are disturbed by what is coming up on your TikTok, you put yourself there. Wow, I feel like my grandmother just told me, "You made your bed, now you have to sleep in it."

Source: WIRED