From the Editor: Why #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt is a massive gaslighting scheme
Read this before that dawg in you makes you buy something you might regret
Just because a product has gone viral doesn't mean you need it. (Nyamat Singh)
Remember the pink stuff that was supposed to make your kitchen spotlessly clean?
Is a 30-second video really enough for you to hit the checkout button? Sometimes, yes.
When there’s #CleanTok, #BookTok, #BeautyTok, #TravelTok, #HairTok to convince you, all your mind wants to do is buy things not worth the viral hype just for the plot.
From beauty, skin care, clothes, and electronics to Stanley cups, Labubus, and even #BookTok fiction, TikTok Shop has got everything. In fact, half the products you use today may or may not have gained popularity just because of the platform.
Guess who just found out the sudden Crocs and Jibbitz craze was a result of TikTok advertising? Not me, I’ll tell you that. In my defense, they ARE breathable and look cute. #imavictim.
But #ViralOnTikTok does not just concern tangible products. Sometimes, the platform can make you think a certain way or believe something — even when you don’t want to — just because the algorithm keeps running similar content on your feed.
No, TikTok, you’re not going to make me think that Taylor Swift’s new album is good — even if the songs keep playing on my feed over and over again. Seriously, stop, it’s not fun anymore.
I also don’t need a tray for a Stanley cup I don’t have or four different shades of the same crewneck. I don’t need to get “ready for fall” or buy some ugly shoes just because they’re 10-per-cent off with the code “TIKT0K10.”
However, TikTok advertising becomes a problem when it expands beyond the platform — heavy emphasis on beyond.
You can enjoy fall without pumpkin spice-flavoured drinks and lippies. It’s OK if your closet’s not full of rich, earthy tones to “blend in” or if you can’t switch out your whole wardrobe. Trust me, you don’t need that overpriced hair-wax stick or to put your hair in a slick back for that matter.
Your coffee will also taste the same with or without a milk frother and your hair will look just fine without buying the overpriced Dyson Airwrap (also, for heaven’s sake, just get the Shark one).
And this one might be controversial, but your skin will be fine even if you don’t sleep on a silk pillowcase.
For the #AstroTok believers, that video that just “found you” because there were no hashtags and it’s somehow also 11:11 pm when you saw it? Yeah no, keep scrolling. It’s a trap, babe.
#TravelTok girlies — I’m disappointed I even have to say this, but please don’t book a trip just because someone on TikTok did it. Paris, Japan, and Greece can all wait.
Let’s not get into how damaging it can be for a 12-year-old to ask their parents for a nose job just because everyone on TikTok is getting one. They’ve already made it to Sephora, guys. Let’s really think about this (like come on, save those Rhode peptide treatments for the rest of us).
#ViralOnTikTok is not the answer to your problems. Trust me. Go read a book — and not one you found on #BookTok.
