Social media can be a positive force, helping people connect with others or find reprieve from their everyday grinds. However, one man found there was no escaping one increasingly frustrating feature on TikTok: an inundation of sponsored posts, advertisements, and content designed to sell products.
TikToker myragingbileduct (@myragingbileduct) shared a clip that revealed just how severe the issue of excess product-oriented content on the platform had become.
@myragingbileduct #advertising#products #america #useless #money #toxic #awful ♬ original sound - Speedy sounds
"I decided I was going to record my TikTok feed until I hit something that wasn't an ad," he says, beginning to scroll through his "For You" page.
What follows is more than a minute of other users trying to sell products on TikTok Shop, with a couple of ads from major brands sprinkled in. All in all, the original poster counted 57 product posts and ads before encountering a "real human" video that represents what the platform was designed to feature.
"Why is my FYP all ads!" he exclaims in the caption, making sure to give the first normal post he comes across a like.
Other users have also criticized their experience on TikTok after the launch of its e-commerce platform, which opened for business in the United States last year. To be fair, this video is from January, when perhaps TikTok was working out some bugs, but the fact remains that the platform is increasingly focusing on revenue-generating content over organic content, without even counting the actual advertisements, which are necessary to sustain a free media platform.
Based on the OP's clip, it's not difficult to see why. As Adfree Cities notes, the influx of ads in the modern world can negatively impact our mental health, with many advertisers trying to sell products by painting an unrealistic picture of what it means to be beautiful and fulfilled.
One commenter highlighted how the sales tactics wouldn't be so easy to spot — if not for the TikTok Shop logo.
"They way they try to hide them as regular [videos] p*** me off so badly," they wrote.
These factors can influence shoppers to buy things they impulsively want rather than actually need, draining their wallets for items that will likely end up cluttering their homes or in landfills, where they'd generate methane, a warming gas that is 28 times more powerful than carbon dioxide.
Overconsumption can also hit consumers' wallets on the back end. Indulging in low-quality fast-fashion trends as opposed to mindfully selecting well-constructed products meant to stand the test of time, for example, could leave you at least $200 short at the end of the year (and add to the problem of environmentally and physically harmful toxic pollution).
Ultimately, if you need to purchase an item, there are plenty of ways to contribute to a cleaner future, including by supporting circular services and brands. In the meantime, these TikTokers were united in their anger toward the intrusive ads that promoted unnecessary consumption.
"I might just log off and enjoy life," one person said.
"It's so bad I can't watch anymore," another agreed.
"Just block/not interested as many ads as you can," the OP suggested.
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