__________ is/are overrated.

[JayhawkCO]

Fireworks.

That's an interesting one.  I don't know.  They seem appropriately rated to me.

I mean, how many times does one need to see the same thing they've seen 30+ times before? Yay. Colors in the sky or big noise. Super exciting. I get why kids like them. I don't understand the appeal to adults.

My interest in fireworks was pretty much killed by year after year of people setting off their fireworks until 2 or 3 in the morning, on years when the calendar was like this year's with July 5 as a working day.

My ranting stems from a similar situation the other night, but really, setting off a firework as an adult is the equivalent getting tickled pink after using a jack-in-the-box.

[Rothman]

Stilton cheese

[JayhawkCO]

Stilton cheese

Stilton is fine. Great with port. Average on its own.

[Rothman]

Stilton cheese

Stilton is fine. Great with port. Average on its own.

It tastes like a farm smells.

[hbelkins]

TikTok.

What function, exactly, does TikTok perform that cannot be found on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube?

[Rothman]

TikTok.

What function, exactly, does TikTok perform that cannot be found on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube?

I find Facebook Reels ineffective and YouTube doesn't have the same "channel surfing" ability that TikTok does.  TikTok is just short bits of entertainment.  Don't like what you see in the first five seconds?  Swipe up.

That said, I've never been on Instagram.

[thspfc]

TikTok is just short bits of entertainment.  Don't like what you see in the first five seconds?  Swipe up.

And swipe up again . . . and again . . . and again . . . until you realize you've wasted the last 2 hours of your life doing absolutely nothing except destroying your own attention span and ability to focus.

I wonder why so many people are diagnosing themselves with ADHD nowadays . . .

I've been on this forum long enough to know that the response to this is going to be "well my attention span is just fine!"  Don't even bother. Studies, surveys, and clear resulting effects of decreased attention span since short-form video has taken over show that this absolutely is a real thing regardless of what your personal experience reflects.

Though it should be mentioned that TikTok is not the only guilty party, it's just the worst of several.

[hotdogPi]

Better than swiping on a different app for a different reason...

[roadman65]

TikTok is just short bits of entertainment.  Don't like what you see in the first five seconds?  Swipe up.

And swipe up again . . . and again . . . and again . . . until you realize you've wasted the last 2 hours of your life doing absolutely nothing except destroying your own attention span and ability to focus.

I wonder why so many people are diagnosing themselves with ADHD nowadays . . .

I've been on this forum long enough to know that the response to this is going to be "well my attention span is just fine!"  Don't even bother. Studies, surveys, and clear resulting effects of decreased attention span since short-form video has taken over show that this absolutely is a real thing regardless of what your personal experience reflects.

Though it should be mentioned that TikTok is not the only guilty party, it's just the worst of several.

The GPS too.  As road signs are in a normal cone of a drivers vision, the average driver seems to not see them nor does it attract their attention either especially if a first timer on the road.  With the latter said, if you're on a strange road normal reaction would be to be paying attention to detail to surroundings which means guide signs would be captured by your focus first.

Yet as a former toll collector I can't tell you how many people are unaware that they are on a toll road despite all FL Route shields display the word TOLL on them especially at entrance ramps to the toll roads.  Why? Because the technology we have creates a short attention span these days and that's why the high dependency on it, thus causing more attention problems.

[jeffandnicole]

TikTok is just short bits of entertainment.  Don't like what you see in the first five seconds?  Swipe up.

And swipe up again . . . and aga

I stopped reading.  What did you say? 

I remember reading a story that talked about 1 minute commercials being the norm, before they became 30 second commercials, because of minimizing attention span.  Today you see more 15 second commercials, or even shorter. 

So that diminishing span has always been decreasing.  We can just do it faster now.

[Rothman]

TikTok is just short bits of entertainment.  Don't like what you see in the first five seconds?  Swipe up.

And swipe up again . . . and again . . . and again . . . until you realize you've wasted the last 2 hours of your life doing absolutely nothing except destroying your own attention span and ability to focus.

I wonder why so many people are diagnosing themselves with ADHD nowadays . . .

I've been on this forum long enough to know that the response to this is going to be "well my attention span is just fine!"  Don't even bother. Studies, surveys, and clear resulting effects of decreased attention span since short-form video has taken over show that this absolutely is a real thing regardless of what your personal experience reflects.

Though it should be mentioned that TikTok is not the only guilty party, it's just the worst of several.

If you're sitting in front of a TV just channel surfing with a remote, it's the same thing, so attention span deficits have been around for a good long while.

[Scott5114]

I wonder why so many people are diagnosing themselves with ADHD nowadays . . .

I've been on this forum long enough to know that the response to this is going to be "well my attention span is just fine!"  Don't even bother. Studies, surveys, and clear resulting effects of decreased attention span since short-form video has taken over show that this absolutely is a real thing regardless of what your personal experience reflects.

You've got it backward–people have the attention span problems first, then gravitate toward TikTok because it complements the way their mind works.

When I had an ADHD friend comment that I probably had it too based on some of my personality traits, my research into it was basically a recurring series of "Oh, that explains why when I was 8 I had problem doing X, Y, and Z". It wasn't something Borne From Modern Societal Ills, it was something that was always a part of me. It simply didn't become apparent until the pandemic gifted me a large amount of unstructured free time. (And, of course my parents didn't notice anything amiss, because they do the same damn stuff I do, and have convinced themselves it's normal. I would guess that if they sought a diagnosis, they could probably get one. Which makes sense–ADHD is genetic. I have an aunt with it too, who was diagnosed in her late 60s.)

(That said, I personally don't do TikTok because my brain is corrupted in such a way that I struggle to pay attention to any sort of video content at all.)

[Max Rockatansky]

I wonder why so many people are diagnosing themselves with ADHD nowadays . . .

I've been on this forum long enough to know that the response to this is going to be "well my attention span is just fine!"  Don't even bother. Studies, surveys, and clear resulting effects of decreased attention span since short-form video has taken over show that this absolutely is a real thing regardless of what your personal experience reflects.

You've got it backward–people have the attention span problems first, then gravitate toward TikTok because it complements the way their mind works.

When I had an ADHD friend comment that I probably had it too based on some of my personality traits, my research into it was basically a recurring series of "Oh, that explains why when I was 8 I had problem doing X, Y, and Z". It wasn't something Borne From Modern Societal Ills, it was something that was always a part of me. It simply didn't become apparent until the pandemic gifted me a large amount of unstructured free time. (And, of course my parents didn't notice anything amiss, because they do the same damn stuff I do, and have convinced themselves it's normal. I would guess that if they sought a diagnosis, they could probably get one. Which makes sense–ADHD is genetic. I have an aunt with it too, who was diagnosed in her late 60s.)

(That said, I personally don't do TikTok because my brain is corrupted in such a way that I struggle to pay attention to any sort of video content at all.)

I was medically diagnosed with ADHD back during the 1980s when I was a kid well before social media anything existed.  I don't really understand the purpose of things like TikTok and I don't have an account.  I tend to not really engage in much social media as I don't even have stuff like Twitter and barely have a basic understanding of things like Instagram. 

For what it's worth, I definitely do have ADHD and so did my dad.  My attention span most of the time is going multiple places.  At work fortunately splitting my focus constantly onto several things is a virtue.  This isn't so much at home when I annoy my wife by not paying attention solely to her. 

To that end, I've never considered myself "damaged"  mentality and feel comfortable using my ADHD diagnosis as a crutch.  I haven't taken medication for ADHD symptoms since the 6th grade since they used to just make me feel terrible.

The notion that services like TiKTok is causing a spike in ADHD cases is laughable.  My niece has been on TikTok all week at my house, she doesn't display any symptoms of ADHD and can easily focus.  The reason she used TikTok is because she's bored and legitimately has nothing to better to do with her summer.  We'll see how that changes when she gets older, soon she will be up for a driver's license and possibly a part time job.

[kkt]

Yet as a former toll collector I can't tell you how many people are unaware that they are on a toll road despite all FL Route shields display the word TOLL on them especially at entrance ramps to the toll roads.  Why? Because the technology we have creates a short attention span these days and that's why the high dependency on it, thus causing more attention problems.

It's notoriously difficult to get people to pay attention to unpleasant facts:  you have to pay a toll... speed limits are reduced here... Challenger has never taken off in weather this cold before... you've been spending more than you make every month...

[bugo]

TikTok.

What function, exactly, does TikTok perform that cannot be found on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube?

Spying on the behalf of Beijing.

[bugo]

I wonder why so many people are diagnosing themselves with ADHD nowadays . . .

Apparently, it's the "cool" thing for teenagers to diagnose themselves with mental illnesses that they likely do not have. They spread disinformation about the disorders they claim to have, and it harms everybody with a real diagnosis. Trust me, there's nothing cool about mental illness.

[thspfc]

I wonder why so many people are diagnosing themselves with ADHD nowadays . . .

I've been on this forum long enough to know that the response to this is going to be "well my attention span is just fine!"  Don't even bother. Studies, surveys, and clear resulting effects of decreased attention span since short-form video has taken over show that this absolutely is a real thing regardless of what your personal experience reflects.

You've got it backward–people have the attention span problems first, then gravitate toward TikTok because it complements the way their mind works.

I'm sure that's true for many people, but it's quite obvious that an overall decrease in attention spans has occurred since the explosion of short form video. Suggesting that the attention spans of people who don't naturally have ADHD or anything of the sort have suffered from short form video.

When I had an ADHD friend comment that I probably had it too based on some of my personality traits, my research into it was basically a recurring series of "Oh, that explains why when I was 8 I had problem doing X, Y, and Z". It wasn't something Borne From Modern Societal Ills, it was something that was always a part of me. It simply didn't become apparent until the pandemic gifted me a large amount of unstructured free time. (And, of course my parents didn't notice anything amiss, because they do the same damn stuff I do, and have convinced themselves it's normal. I would guess that if they sought a diagnosis, they could probably get one. Which makes sense–ADHD is genetic. I have an aunt with it too, who was diagnosed in her late 60s.)

" Me, me, me, me, me."  When do we learn here?

I don't care. You are one person. Your single story is not evidence - if it was, I could refute it by saying that I personally have noticed my attention span decreasing since I started getting sucked into YouTube Shorts.

[Max Rockatansky]

I'm suddenly getting flashbacks to the 1980s when all the adults told me Nintendo and MTV was rotting my brain.  The more things change in the world the more they stay the same I suppose.

But that's why I created this thread, add TikTok to the brain rot list:

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=30880.msg2700292#msg2700292

[thspfc]

I've been on this forum long enough to know that the response to this is going to be "well my attention span is just fine!"  Don't even bother. Studies, surveys, and clear resulting effects of decreased attention span since short-form video has taken over show that this absolutely is a real thing regardless of what your personal experience reflects.

The notion that services like TiKTok is causing a spike in ADHD cases is laughable.  My niece has been on TikTok all week at my house, she doesn't display any symptoms of ADHD and can easily focus.  The reason she used TikTok is because she's bored and legitimately has nothing to better to do with her summer.  We'll see how that changes when she gets older, soon she will be up for a driver's license and possibly a part time job.

ROFL. Should I have changed "my attention span"  to "my niece's attention span" ? What are we not understanding here?

Again:

Your single story is not evidence - if it was, I could refute it by saying that I personally have noticed my attention span decreasing since I started getting sucked into YouTube Shorts.

[Rothman]

TikTok.

What function, exactly, does TikTok perform that cannot be found on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube?

Spying on the behalf of Beijing.

Heh.  What amazing information they're collecting:

"They really like cute puppies."

[Rothman]

TikTok.

What function, exactly, does TikTok perform that cannot be found on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube?

Spying on the behalf of Beijing.

Heh.  What amazing information they're collecting:

"They really like cute puppies."

In fact, the information gathered by China from TikTok is...overrated.

[Max Rockatansky]

TikTok.

What function, exactly, does TikTok perform that cannot be found on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube?

Spying on the behalf of Beijing.

Heh.  What amazing information they're collecting:

"They really like cute puppies."

You're the one that's missing that I'm comparing your griping about TikTok to my grandparents doing much of the same regarding video games and TV.  But hey, I guess that I missed that you are a social science expert and not a new age Boomer right?  Then again, whining about what kids like in modern times and thinking it's the worst is overrated.

[Rothman]

TikTok.

What function, exactly, does TikTok perform that cannot be found on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube?

Spying on the behalf of Beijing.

Heh.  What amazing information they're collecting:

"They really like cute puppies."

You're the one that's missing that I'm comparing your griping about TikTok to my grandparents doing much of the same regarding video games and TV.  But hey, I guess that I missed that you are a social science expert and not a new age Boomer right?  Then again, whining about what kids like in modern times and thinking it's the worst is overrated.

What are you talking about?

[Max Rockatansky]

Short version of the story is that I'm just wondering why the person I was actually replying suddenly deemed himself qualified to determine that ADHD is on the rise in children because of TikTok.

[thspfc]

TikTok.

What function, exactly, does TikTok perform that cannot be found on Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube?

Spying on the behalf of Beijing.

Heh.  What amazing information they're collecting:

"They really like cute puppies."

You're the one that's missing that I'm comparing your griping about TikTok to my grandparents doing much of the same regarding video games and TV.  But hey, I guess that I missed that you are a social science expert and not a new age Boomer right?  Then again, whining about what kids like in modern times and thinking it's the worst is overrated.

I believe I have voiced my appreciation for changing and improving technology and entertainment several times on this forum? It's pretty much just TikTok and other short form platforms that I take issue with.

Short version of the story is that I'm just wondering why the person I was actually replying suddenly deemed himself qualified to determine that ADHD is on the rise in children because of TikTok.

I'm not qualified and I never said I was. There are tons of studies and surveys that have been done that support my claim.

In fact I could turn your snark back on you:

Short version of the story is that I'm just wondering why the person I was actually replying suddenly deemed himself qualified to determine that TikTok is absolutely not the cause of rising ADHD and it's "laughable"  to suggest that it is because his niece's attention span has not suffered.