TikTok’s strong stickiness has sparked countless discussions, with most analysts agreeing that TikTok’s greatest asset is its algorithm. But Wired believes that the biggest asset of short video applications is actually your mobile phone. From movie theaters to televisions to cell phones, the way we receive and process information has changed dramatically over the past few decades. The relationship between the mass media and us has also changed, from “parasocial” to an extension of self-thinking. Where Google Search is designed to expose you to the world, TikTok is about revealing your inner desires, and its interface is a full-screen diary of your mediumless mind. Videos on TikTok can be reposted on other platforms, but its experience is deeply integrated with mobile phones. Users can only watch one video at a time, swiping to the next video. The user’s attention is completely focused on the content on the screen in front of him. This immediacy makes the user lose the reflective processing of actively watching the video, and no longer has critical intervention and interpretation. Users are overwhelmed with endless content, where one video clip ends immediately and moves on to the next, becoming the perfect consumer, not a bystander involved in analyzing and interpreting the content. Without the phone, the unique charm and fun of TikTok would no longer exist.
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