TikTok is testing out a new feature via which users on the platform will be informed of several new followers that they have gained through the profile page.
With TikTok being the current scene for influencers and internet celebrities, this is exactly the sort of minor tweak that comes in handy. On the contrary, it could also feed into the unhealthy obsession that individuals are now facing since the advent of social media where we continue to attach our worth further and further to arbitrary numbers instead of making content for our contentment. I’m willing to bet money on the latter, but I wouldn’t be happy inevitably winning it back.
Just sliding off into one of my endless tangents, it does feel like social media platforms these days keep providing users with more and more ways of quantifying interactions on their sites. WhatsApp hands out reactions to messages like emojis weren’t enough, Instagram allows users to react to Stories, YouTube’s creator programs are literally built to reward users for generating certain numbers of views, and finally, here's today’s topic of concern. TikTok is providing a new way to more easily measure a metric that the platform already provides information about beforehand.
Now, every time a user logs onto the platform, their profile page will display the number of new followers they have gained in-between visits. These will be depicted in the same space as the number of followers, albeit in a relatively smaller, red font instead. It’s an interesting way for users to map their progress across the site, with content creators being informed outright if certain content of theirs ends up doing much better for itself than expected. However, I feel like it’s honestly more geared towards feeding into unhealthy habits a bit more. I’m pretty sure I surprise no one when I mention something along the lines of how all social media platforms build their empires upon exploiting users in some way or another. TikTok needs content creators and users to create videos for the platform and to engage with ad content.
H/T: Ahmed Ghanem
Features such as this new one will only help users obsessively keep track of whether or not their content’s doing well.
Read next: New Study Shows the Engagement Improving Benefits of Native Videos on Instagram and TikTok
With TikTok being the current scene for influencers and internet celebrities, this is exactly the sort of minor tweak that comes in handy. On the contrary, it could also feed into the unhealthy obsession that individuals are now facing since the advent of social media where we continue to attach our worth further and further to arbitrary numbers instead of making content for our contentment. I’m willing to bet money on the latter, but I wouldn’t be happy inevitably winning it back.
Just sliding off into one of my endless tangents, it does feel like social media platforms these days keep providing users with more and more ways of quantifying interactions on their sites. WhatsApp hands out reactions to messages like emojis weren’t enough, Instagram allows users to react to Stories, YouTube’s creator programs are literally built to reward users for generating certain numbers of views, and finally, here's today’s topic of concern. TikTok is providing a new way to more easily measure a metric that the platform already provides information about beforehand.
Now, every time a user logs onto the platform, their profile page will display the number of new followers they have gained in-between visits. These will be depicted in the same space as the number of followers, albeit in a relatively smaller, red font instead. It’s an interesting way for users to map their progress across the site, with content creators being informed outright if certain content of theirs ends up doing much better for itself than expected. However, I feel like it’s honestly more geared towards feeding into unhealthy habits a bit more. I’m pretty sure I surprise no one when I mention something along the lines of how all social media platforms build their empires upon exploiting users in some way or another. TikTok needs content creators and users to create videos for the platform and to engage with ad content.
H/T: Ahmed Ghanem
Features such as this new one will only help users obsessively keep track of whether or not their content’s doing well.
Read next: New Study Shows the Engagement Improving Benefits of Native Videos on Instagram and TikTok
