What a banger. Love the writing style, milk 10000 cows… do not, I repeat DO NOT… Mind exploding.
Eases in to a serious topic. Also super insightful with regards to the food industry, didn’t know that a) cola is designed to not taste like one specific flavor and b) to avoid one getting tired of it.
I'm not signed up on TikTok, though from time to time I lurk - I have a private collection of links to a variety of funny and engaging users I can check on. This is speculation, but one thing I don't see often listed (not just Trung's list from The Hustle, but by academics trying to explain the virality) is the importance of the creator toolset/environment. Tiktok's filters, music, CapCut, and whatnot are likely a big factor in its success. By comparison, Youtube Shorts are downright impoverished. This situation reminds me of Ballmer chanting Developers, Developers, Developers ...
Absolutely. Great point that TT creator tools (within app and CapCut) are huge part of the story. Eugene Wei does mention the importance of these tools and how they lower barrier to entry to create engaging content in his essays. TT had the advantage here from starting with clean slate instead of bolting on like these other services have (take YouTube Shorts, it's challenged for short-form video creator tools because it has way larger share of creators -- and viewers -- not existing in that single-video format, relative to TikTok).
Haidt for sure makes suave presentations, but is it good science? I think of Haidt as one might of Howard Gardner and his Multiple Intelligences theory (somewhat now in disrepute) or as Amy Cuddy's Power Posing theory (great Ted Talk btw) which is really dodgy. I don't doubt that Haidt, Gardner, and Cuddy are sincere; science asks for more than sincerity.
Having said that, my decision with my child and smartphone is based on my own usage. I don't need studies to tell me that smartphones fracture attention, change moods and keep my distracted. It's a powerful technology that needs to be wielded with more thought. Hence, all these parental controls that Apple knew it had to roll out etc.
Anyone who doubts the toxicity of smartphones should try to go a day without one. I now do this every Sunday and I’m strongly considering ditching smartphones all together. It’s fascinating to go for a walk or to a cafe on a Sunday and watch what people are doing. 90%+ are going to be staring down at their phones… toxic waste.
What a banger. Love the writing style, milk 10000 cows… do not, I repeat DO NOT… Mind exploding.
Eases in to a serious topic. Also super insightful with regards to the food industry, didn’t know that a) cola is designed to not taste like one specific flavor and b) to avoid one getting tired of it.
Thanks man.
Thanks for the read, Dennis! Yes, that Coca-Cola thing blew me away when I first learned of it and makes so much sense.
Glad you called out the "DO NOT" joke hahaha
Excellent article
Thanks for the read, Loic!
Lots of great insights in this post!
Appreciate the read and note, Patrick 🙏
I'm not signed up on TikTok, though from time to time I lurk - I have a private collection of links to a variety of funny and engaging users I can check on. This is speculation, but one thing I don't see often listed (not just Trung's list from The Hustle, but by academics trying to explain the virality) is the importance of the creator toolset/environment. Tiktok's filters, music, CapCut, and whatnot are likely a big factor in its success. By comparison, Youtube Shorts are downright impoverished. This situation reminds me of Ballmer chanting Developers, Developers, Developers ...
Absolutely. Great point that TT creator tools (within app and CapCut) are huge part of the story. Eugene Wei does mention the importance of these tools and how they lower barrier to entry to create engaging content in his essays. TT had the advantage here from starting with clean slate instead of bolting on like these other services have (take YouTube Shorts, it's challenged for short-form video creator tools because it has way larger share of creators -- and viewers -- not existing in that single-video format, relative to TikTok).
One thing you might check out is this podcast: Taylor Lorenz interviewing danah boyd (who never CapiTaliZes her NaMe). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS1wax3KjnA Taylor quit WaPo before it was trendy to do so. She did a previous video on the same theme in choppy Gish Gallop style (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNxV4UMRYQA).
Haidt for sure makes suave presentations, but is it good science? I think of Haidt as one might of Howard Gardner and his Multiple Intelligences theory (somewhat now in disrepute) or as Amy Cuddy's Power Posing theory (great Ted Talk btw) which is really dodgy. I don't doubt that Haidt, Gardner, and Cuddy are sincere; science asks for more than sincerity.
Appreciate the shares Ted. Been following back and forth on this since book came out. I think Tyler Cowen's rebuttals are very strong: https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2024/04/my-contentious-conversation-with-jonathan-haidt.html
Having said that, my decision with my child and smartphone is based on my own usage. I don't need studies to tell me that smartphones fracture attention, change moods and keep my distracted. It's a powerful technology that needs to be wielded with more thought. Hence, all these parental controls that Apple knew it had to roll out etc.
Ah, great post, thank you for your service Trung :)
Thanks for the read Van Anh Dam.
Anyone who doubts the toxicity of smartphones should try to go a day without one. I now do this every Sunday and I’m strongly considering ditching smartphones all together. It’s fascinating to go for a walk or to a cafe on a Sunday and watch what people are doing. 90%+ are going to be staring down at their phones… toxic waste.
Appreciate the read TRW. The best balance I've found my friend George's Kale/Cocaine Phone idea! Still get benefits of smartphone without downside. https://www.readtrung.com/p/the-tale-of-two-phones
Always learn a lot from these posts, thx for sharing
Appreciate the read, Tobias!
Thanks for the read, Emma!