This is a valid point. I am not the poster you are responding to but the top level poster. I too don’t follow people I know and perhaps that’s the difference from the social platforms. In that regard it is more like YouTube, but unlike YouTube, the algorithm isn’t radicalizing me other than making me want to learn guitar again.

So what is it about YouTube that makes people more likely to become radical incels willing to shoot up a school, and TikTok makes people more like to learn a new dance routine and leave with a smile?

I am not linked in the sense of my having provided only minimal information. I do follow people, of course; however, the fun part of TikTok is the random awesome people that pop up.

You can be a nobody in the middle of nowhere with no followers and if you have a cool concept it will spread out.

Interactions, Q&A, and inspiration for hobbies doesn't take "knowing" the creator.