TikTok is a popular social media platform that has given rise to many viral trends, challenges, and influencers.
But it has also had a negative impact on the quality and diversity of comedy, especially in 2023. Here are some of the reasons why TikTok has ruined comedy this year.
- TikTok rewards quantity over quality. The algorithm of TikTok favors videos that are short, catchy, and repetitive. This means that comedians who want to gain followers and views have to churn out content that is often formulaic, superficial, and unoriginal. Many comedians rely on the same jokes, tropes, and formats that have been proven to work on the platform, rather than experimenting with new ideas, styles, and perspectives. This leads to a homogenization and stagnation of comedy on TikTok, where everything starts to look and sound the same.
- TikTok encourages plagiarism and appropriation. Because of the competitive and fast-paced nature of TikTok, many comedians resort to stealing or copying jokes, sketches, and concepts from other sources, without giving proper credit or acknowledgment. Some comedians also appropriate the culture, identity, and experiences of marginalized groups, such as people of color, LGBTQ+ people, and disabled people, for the sake of humor, without understanding or respecting their context and history. This results in a loss of originality and authenticity, as well as a perpetuation of stereotypes and prejudices in comedy.
- TikTok promotes problematic and offensive humor. TikTok has a large and diverse audience, which means that comedians have to appeal to a wide range of tastes and preferences. However, some comedians choose to cater to the lowest common denominator, by using humor that is crude, vulgar, and insensitive. They make jokes about topics that are controversial, sensitive, or taboo, such as politics, religion, race, gender, sexuality, and violence, without considering the potential harm or backlash they may cause. They also use humor as a way to deflect, dismiss, or justify their own flaws, mistakes, or scandals, rather than taking responsibility or accountability for their actions. This creates a culture of comedy that is disrespectful, irresponsible, and harmful.
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TikTok is not inherently bad for comedy, and there are still many talented and creative comedians who use the platform to showcase their skills and express their views.
However, TikTok also has a lot of drawbacks and challenges that comedians have to overcome, if they want to produce comedy that is not only entertaining, but also meaningful, original, and ethical. TikTok may have made comedy more accessible and popular in 2023, but it has also made comedy worse in many ways.
