These men made me quit TikTok
Recently, I went on a TikTok binge. These binges are different each time, but they always result in me deleting the app for weeks/months at a time. The feeling I’m left with after these TikTok binges is the same feeling I have after demolishing a McDonald’s burger and fries. A void tinged with guilt about how I should have spent my time.
In the beginning, TikTok would show nothing but comedic videos. Then it became a bit more sinister. It started with Andrew Tate, Gary Vee and those of similar ilk peddling their nonsense work-24/7-hustle culture. No matter how much I swiped or asked TikTok not to recommend these videos, it would still recommend them. Eventually, TikTok learned not to push these videos, but something worse would always come.
Take the thinly veiled gloating videos as an example.
There is the ‘day in the life’ trend where a person goes through what it’s like to work at one of the FAANG companies. Then there is the world of people pretending to be rich. There are literally teenagers sitting on some yacht, claiming it’s not their grandparents, followed by people pretending to be flying on a private jet.
Next came the videos from 20-something-year-old “bro podcasters” who talk about anything from being a failure if you don’t own a Lambo to getting married because women are only out to get half your assets.
News flash, bruh.
No woman wants to marry you so she can own half your minimum wage job or the revenue from the podcast with three listeners. It wasn’t long before I deleted TikTok, never to be installed again. Only so long can a man watch bad dancing interspersed with even worse self-help advice.
Apparently, if you’re married, worked a job and just got on with things, you’re a loser. You are not a complex human with perspectives and experiences, just a loser because you’re not Steve Jobs. Don’t you know that you need to be an entrepreneur, real-estate-mogul-tech-worker who gets up at 5 AM and goes to bed at 4.59 AM.
As soon as you mute one of these fellas, another one comes along, ruining the internet for us old folks. Some toilets don’t work, no matter how much you flush.
Luckily, I’m over 30 years on this planet, and I’ve seen these people come and go. These narcissistic self-help know-it-alls gurus present life as perfect if you do certain things(especially if you buy their drop-shipping course).
However, life is not a straight road determined by someone else’s rules and regulations. Life is a winding path of figuring it out for yourself. It’s uncomfortable, sometimes downright hard, but at the same time, it’s beautiful.
Don’t compare yourself to these people. Please don’t bother with their advice.