Grappling with the Gray #41: Has the clock run out?

Grappling with the Gray

A recent article on Substack by Gurwinder outlines in horrifying detail how TikTok is intentionally designed in a way that promotes addiction, encourages irresponsible and antisocial behavior, erodes fundamental human values, accelerates mental impairment, and contributes to mass psychological illness.
The China-based platform is now the most downloaded app on the web. At the same time, the Chinese Communist Party has banned its own children from access to it. Even the “spinach” version, which is primarily educational content, is only available to kids for 40 minutes a day, between 6 am and 10 pm.
Evidence suggests that the Chinese government sees TikTok as a tool that will lead the United States to committing societal, intellectual, and cultural suicide, and there’s good reason to believe they might be right.
If so, what is the ethical response individually and collectively? Can and should the government impose electronic warning labels, as it did on cigarettes? Should it ban the platform outright, or does the government restricting our freedoms provide the CCP with a different kind of victory?
As individuals, should we boycott the platform, or can we rely on our self-discipline to choose beneficial content to manipulate the algorithm in our favor? Should creators attempt to produce beneficial content, or is contributing to the platform in any manner contributing to the problem?
Meet this week’s panelists:
Diane Helbig is Chief Improvement Catalyzer at Helbig Enterprises, providing guidance and training to business owners and leaders around the world.
Dr. Robyn Odegaard is a Concierge High Performance Psychologist who works with people who have to keep it together because the stakes are too high for them to fall apart, and host of the Quick Hits Podcast. See less
Peter Winick works with individuals and organizations to build and grow revenue streams through their thought leadership platforms and is host of the Leveraging Thought Leadership podcast.