It’s never enough: Roxane Gay on desire, addiction, and TikTok

It seems like everyone is talking about TikTok: its security risks, its seeming ubiquity among teenagers and adults alike. Writer Roxane Gay––whose father introduced her to the app––describes the problem of “pleasurably wasting hours and hours of time” on TikTok and warns about its purposeful addictive and exploitive nature. Is TikTok worth it?

Roxane Gay, "The New Pornographers," The New Pornographers, 9 July 2024

 

1. Gay details the many “TikTok rabbit holes” she’s fallen into, from watching viral dances to following influencer feeds. Consider how Gay uses TikTok, and think about how you and people you know use the app. If you use TikTok, what do you use it for? If you don’t use TikTok, what informed that decision? How might you describe your relationship to TikTok?
   
2. In this essay, Gay compares TikTok to pornography. How is TikTok like pornography, according to Gay? What do TikTok creators understand about people’s attention and curiosity? How do these creators and the algorithm itself keep users scrolling on the app? Use a short quote (or two!) from the essay to support your response.
3. In paragraph 14, Gay writes, “The internet age has afforded us a great many things, and primary among them is the ability to expose ourselves, without a filter.” What does she mean by this? Is this “ability to expose ourselves, without a filter” good or bad, according to Gay? Consider who benefits from this exposure and who might be harmed. Do you agree, disagree, or both with Gay’s argument here? Why?
4. Gay writes provocative and compelling sentences. Pick a short passage (1-3 sentences) that captured your attention. Analyze this passage in depth. Explain what you notice about her tone, language choices, and sentence structure. Do you see her blending everyday language with more “academic” or “formal” language? If so, where?

Comments

[M]

Yes, TikTok can indeed be addictive and a waste of time. However, TikTok has been an effective and beneficial way to get news across the world through all age groups creating a space of awareness about ongoing world problems.

[E]

I think TikTok is very addicting and many hours of your life are wasted instead of making memories.

[Lisa Thrasher]

I have never been a TikTok fan. I used to have the TikTok app on my phone only to get updates and recent photos of my daughter. I now have a close relationship with her and TikTok is no longer of any use to me.

[Gordon Rock]

I personally don't use Tik Tok; not for any particular reason, I just don't. I do use Instagram though, mostly for comedic animal videos. I don't see a problem with an algorithm that shows me content that is similar to what I actively watch. That saves time scrolling past videos of unboxings,creative pastry making, or other irrelevant topics. Other than being a time waster that activates our pleasure related neurotransmitters, I don't see any specific correlation to pornography. A similar comparison could be made to gambling, video games, or any other hobby. A person gan get as engrossed in any activity as they as they choose.
“The internet age has afforded us a great many things, and primary among them is the ability to expose ourselves, without a filter.” as stated above from paragraph 14, Gay is being somewhat self conflicting. For starters, we've always been able to "expose ourselves without a filter"(Roxanne Gay, the new pornographer) we just don't get punched in the face when we do it online. Anyone who creates social media content knows that filters are widely used, from selective editing to photoshop. She refutes her own argument in her opening line " The influencers, yes, with their perfect makeup and strategic camera angles and professional lighting, all to make their lives seem enviable"
In paragraph 3, Gay states Families with 10 or more children, often evangelical, who own innumerable coordinated outfits, and think quite highly of themselves even though they are never doing much of anything on camera.' She goes on to list other influencers seeming pretending to be what they're not. I sense some sour grapes here. Evangelicals have had a reputation for riding on a high horse about their beliefs long before the digital age. The line "innumerable coordinated outfits" indicates wealth, this may have triggered the authors envy. Psychologists have been saying that people who repeatedly watch videos of others having fun, making their lives seem like a paradise are at an increased risk of not just feeling down on their own lives, but of developing clinical depression. This article indicates that Gay might be one of them.

[rolanda destin]

TikTok is a useful app when you have a lot of time to waste and nothing else to do The app provides enjoyable content that can make a boring moment worth wild Some of the content can include educational facts as well.