My Summer Lair Chapter #202: Is It Called TikTok Because It’s A Ticking Time Bomb?
Growing up it was the responsibility of parents to have The Talk with their kids. The Talk of course was the sex talk…where do babies come from. It was awkward for most parents and gross for all kids and it became a rite of passage. The Talk (always in air quotes) has slightly shifted now because the times have shifted.
Now The Talk parents have with their children is how to navigate your public identity online especially on social media platforms like TikTok.
For TikTok, Boom director Shalini Kantayya offers a helpful primer because a discussion on the platform can escalate into confusion. Her documentary dissects the popular platform across several tenets: global political challenges, security issues, the algorithm…that damn algorithm and of course cultural interests. Especially through the lens of digital natives who may not possess enough healthy skepticism when engaging TikTok.
TikTok has been around since September 2016 but launched in the US in 2017; it is a short video hosting service created by a Chinese tech company ByteDance. On the surface that sounds…straightforward. I mean most of us use YouTube, right? Unfortunately like most tech it’s not that straightforward.
Hopefully this TikTok documentary will…go…viral.
Programming Note: As always with PBS check your local schedule for dates and times for Independent Lens screenings; however, TikTok, Boom is streaming on PBS.com.
Shalini Kantayya @ W • T • F
Host Sammy Younan
Recorded: Saturday April 30, 2022 at 1:00pm
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