Just wanted to add: aside from assumptions you seem to be making about me and my usage of TikTok, I agree with your points.

>TikTok is stepping on the exact same banana peel

I wouldn't count on TikTok being great in a few years too.

But what I've seen with many products, platforms, and ideas is that something good comes along, perishes, and then the uniquely good parts are gone for good because people didn't get what was good specifically, and so nobody took the torch to carry it forward.

When Facebook started, the novel idea was creating a social network that connected people who already had something in common: namely, going to the same school. That's why it blew up. Because it facilitated bonding within those communities.

It was exclusive by design (no .edu email = no Facebook, not same school = no seeing info), and that's what made it great for the initial wave of users that made it big.

TikTok blew up for a similar reason. It connects people who are already related in some way really well: either by a common interest, or - as in the case I am highlighting - by sharing the experiences of being adults with ADHD / ASD / OCD / BPD / depression / anxiety / burnout / trauma / abuse etc -- a demographic for which it's hard to connect (and be open!) with people in general, people who can't relate doubly so (and unless you know someone really well, it's not something that you can openly discuss in this society).

This is the idea I want to highlight. I want that on other platforms. I want someone to make it when TikTok goes down the drain. And so far, few seem to understand what it is that TikTok gave us -- so we might be left without a platform again in a few years.

Which would suck.

>Nobody's telling you that you can't like TikTok

Many people in the thread shamed me for liking TikTok. If you scroll up, I've been accused of (quote):

* being an addict to parasocial relationships with content creators (with many implying that I only consume that content)

* enabling oppression and exploitation of underprivileged content creators

* etc

So yes, people here are literally telling me that it's bad to like using TikTok, equating it to a moral transgression.

>There are healthier, less destructive ways to surround yourself with the content you love, trust me.

It's not about content. It's about people.

And what basis do you have for telling me to trust you here? Do you have credentials in mental health to back that up, or are you just being patronizing? Relatable experience? Genuinely curious.

Note that I am not telling anyone here what they should do, I only give my perspective as a user of the platform.

But if you do know of "less destructive" ways, pray, do tell, how would one go about connecting to a couple of dozen people who would be willing to openly talk (with voice! while showing their faces!) about how they experienced the symptoms of surviving narcissistic abuse, how they spotted it within themselves, and what helps them personally?

Without paying a dime, I must add?

I'll be checking this comment for responses, because either I'll learn something new (great!), or I see no response, and conclude that you learned something new (even better!).