Awakening through TikTok

Apr 1 , 2023
By Kidist Yidnekachew

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A couple of weeks back, US lawmakers accused TikTok's CEO of the short videos damaging children's mental health, reflecting concerns about its power over citizens.

However, it appears to me that the dance trend platform has evolved into a much better application that continues to make an enormous impact. When typing the name of a country some platforms may show a beautiful landscape, but TikTok reveals the good, the bad, and the ugly of its current situation.

Many content creators have found it a platform to showcase creativity and monetize as a career path. It has become a voice for the voiceless and exposed secrets and deceits only a few knew about.

TikTok has opened my eyes and ears.

I wonder where the intellectual content has been while I spent a ridiculous amount of time looking at people’s posts and admiring their outfits in the past.

Looking into stereotypes, governments, and minority groups and their struggles never came to me. I obeyed what I was told often as if it was the divine word and it was okay to live in my own bubble, inattentive to the world. As far as I was concerned, it was not worth keeping up with social media.

All that changed when I started using TikTok.

At first, I was into popular trends and dance moves. But my interests gradually upscaled to issues concerning spirituality, self-healing and politics.

I learned things that I would not have known in school or that mainstream media would never share. I was made aware of history, religion, child trafficking, secret societies, and parenting from short one-minute videos. Information sources were controlled by certain groups or individuals portraying people as tyrants when in reality, they are actually the opposite.

I found new recipes, workouts and craft ideas. It was exhilarating to realise that food can be used to heal the body. Indeed, like everything good, some myths or even dangerous health tips could creep in but doing research saves the day. Of course, one must know where to look and carefully assess the information, as it may be misleading.

I realised how marketing scams deceive the population and that not everything that says organic is actually true. I used to take medicine just because it was prescribed to me without reading the leaflet that came with it. I believed there was a pill for every ailment. Now I try to know about the ingredients a specific medicine is made of or its chemistry.

I would not boldly assume to be woke or know everything, as I still have a long way to go and do my own research. But that is the beauty of the platform. It makes one dig deeper into the information obtained and, in the process, discover it was the tip of the iceberg.

I owe my awareness and interest in important societal facts and issues to TikTok. It has been my awakening, my epiphany and I cannot imagine going back to the other platforms if it ceases to exist.

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PUBLISHED ON Apr 01,2023 [ VOL 23 , NO 1196]

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