Comment by rvz | Hacker News Reader

Comment by rvz | Hacker News Reader

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Let the children be free to download this app and let them play in it. They are going to realise soon how much of an addictive nightmare this app is and it just takes a slip up or a scandal from ByteDance to anger the majority users on the platform.

The news about it being the most downloaded app is great news if you are an investor in ByteDance; I don't know what you get out of it if you're a mere user. As always you're basically the product (again), providing them with shareholder value by being addicted and posting continuously to other addicted users. Making your data and their algorithm more valuable.

Since we're comparing these platforms to being like drugs, and given you are saying that TikTok is proven to be even more potent, the description of such a drug sounds more like heroine, than crack. Addictive and dangerous. That isn't going to end well.

>They are going to realise soon how much of an addictive nightmare this app is and it just takes a slip up or a scandal from ByteDance to anger the majority users on the platform.

Have you seen this previously anywhere? Sounds like a pipe dream to me. Did, for example, Facebook's scandals kill Facebook? The spywares that Lenovo bundled even make a dent in Lenovo's brand? Reddit's constant push of dark pattern shrink their userbase?

> Have you seen this previously anywhere? Sounds like a pipe dream to me.

That's because it has already happened. They already were sued for screwing with their users privacy. [0] [1] Facebook's brand has been damaged because of this, as for Reddit they hasn't even started yet. Even with the 'dark patterns' you speak of.

The worst part is TikTok has already started these violations for everyone to see and the fact they are still getting sued over this, probably means they will continue to do it anyway.

I don't blame them, both Reddit and ByteDance (TikTok) need to IPO.

[0] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-56815480

[1] https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/25/22301704/tiktok-92-millio...

I realize that I need to elaborate my point. I agree that angry users can happen, and lawsuits can happen. There will be news articles that detail the problem. But the pipe dream part is that any of this has significant effect on the platform itself. As long as they offer something that people think they want, as long as people have their peers on it, the platform itself will thrive.

Facebook and Reddit survived tons of controversies already. Is the brand damaged? Maybe. But can you measurably show the impact of it?

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