"How do I find friends?" is the most common question German influencers get asked on social media. Loneliness has become a pressing issue in Germany, with far-reaching consequences.
Young people who suffer from loneliness are more susceptible to authoritarian thinking, according to Claudia Neu. The sociologist has studied what happens when loneliness causes young people to stray down a path of political extremism.
I’m wondering whether Tiktok - or (most) other social media platforms - is a good way to discuss lonliness as the article mentions. The algorithms will likely exploit that rather then helping you to find a solution.
That’s a general question: “Do you leave a popular but problematic platform, reducing the size of your audience and maybe also the ‘counterweight’ to problematic content? Or do you stay and contribute to the popularity of the platform with your content?”
This is a good question, and hard to answer. It depends certainly on many individual factors, e.g., whether you use it professionally or private, how often you use it, and things like that. I personally have reduced the size of my audience (I don’t use Facebook nor Tiktok, in part also because I think no one needs 10,000 likes for a post, that has no value for me), but that aligns also with my private and professional life. Others may have a different view, though. It’s hard to generalize as it depends on many individual things imho, and likely no answer is completely right or wrong.
I’m wondering whether Tiktok - or (most) other social media platforms - is a good way to discuss lonliness as the article mentions. The algorithms will likely exploit that rather then helping you to find a solution.
That’s a general question: “Do you leave a popular but problematic platform, reducing the size of your audience and maybe also the ‘counterweight’ to problematic content? Or do you stay and contribute to the popularity of the platform with your content?”
This is a good question, and hard to answer. It depends certainly on many individual factors, e.g., whether you use it professionally or private, how often you use it, and things like that. I personally have reduced the size of my audience (I don’t use Facebook nor Tiktok, in part also because I think no one needs 10,000 likes for a post, that has no value for me), but that aligns also with my private and professional life. Others may have a different view, though. It’s hard to generalize as it depends on many individual things imho, and likely no answer is completely right or wrong.