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A comment on TikTok’s Algorithm Keeps Pushing Suicide to Vulnerable Kids.

Re:TikTok’s Algorithm Keeps Pushing Suicide to Vulnerable Kids by robopsychology on Thursday April 20, 2023 @12:28PM (#35642460)
> When she opened the TikTok app on his iPad, she found a library of more than 3,000 videos her son had bookmarked, liked, saved or tagged as a favorite. She could see the terms he’d searched for: Batman, basketball, weightlifting, motivational speeches. And she could see what the algorithm had brought him: many videos about depression, hopelessness and death.

Horrific.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:TikTok’s Algorithm Keeps Pushing Suicide to Vulnerable Kids by kenjackson on Thursday April 20, 2023 @01:21PM (#35643200)
The algorithm doesn’t work only on searches. Or even mostly. It is largely based on engagement. Which videos do you actually watch and comment on.

Almost nothing I search for is on my FYP. My FYP is almost all pranks, basketball, dancing in public, and Harry Mack.

I have noticed that if I watch a video all the way through I will get more of those videos pretty quickly. If this kid watched a depression video all the way through it will throw another at him shortly. If he watches that one then it can quickly change the algorithm to begin to favor those. The algorithm has a short memory.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:TikTok’s Algorithm Keeps Pushing Suicide to Vulnerable Kids by robopsychology on Thursday April 20, 2023 @01:37PM (#35643415)
Regardless, 'Motivational speeches' shows he was trying to help himself and I find that horrific.

(didn't downvote you though, I understand your point)

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:TikTok’s Algorithm Keeps Pushing Suicide to Vulnerable Kids by kenjackson on Thursday April 20, 2023 @08:17PM (#35648291)
Yeah. I can imagine he was conflicted. The depression videos resonated with him, but he also knew he didn’t want to stay depressed.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:TikTok’s Algorithm Keeps Pushing Suicide to Vulnerable Kids by churchd on Thursday April 20, 2023 @08:09PM (#35648243)
What’s stupid is Facebook is getting very good at blocking this type of content through a mix of classifier systems, user and moderator intervention. TikTok has gotten a pass for it so far.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:TikTok’s Algorithm Keeps Pushing Suicide to Vulnerable Kids by divideby0829 on Thursday April 20, 2023 @01:35PM (#35643388)
It's definitely all the batman searches that got him tthere /s
[ Parent | on HN ]