Come on, that's sorta like saying "Google's only interesting technology is its search algorithm" (I'm being a little loose here, but going back 20 years I'd say that's true). When it's the defining feature of your product, it's the only thing that matters and why it's the leader. Unless somebody can mimic TikTok's success, dismissing them seems arrogant.

> which I doubt is that different or innovative compared to Netflix or Youtube

Speaking from personal experience, Youtube has a horrible recommendation system, and Netflix is somewhere between okay and good.