The TikTok Autism and incidents

[Bosko]

I’m not an avid TikTok user, I don’t even have an account. But a few months ago I remember there was a massive wave of people claiming to have mental illnesses, disorders, and disabilities. It became so widespread that teenage girls started developing “tics” because of usage of the platform. I was one of the people trying to combat the wave and get people to call them out. But in hindsight I wonder if some of these people were crying out for help.

 

[BrokenBoy]

Nah, they had it coming. Autism is horrible.

 

[Luca]

Well, I have a lot to say about this one because I have seen some of the ways it affects people I care about.
I hate TikTok. I have never and will never use it because it destroys young people's mental health, along with Instagram and Facebook. There is a lot of toxicity and bullying and offensive crap on there.
I've never wanted to use it, but I have younger friends who use it (who have experienced some really hurtful things on there, especially my friends who are ethnic minorities or members of the LGBTQ+ community), and most of the videos they show me make me go "Huh? What???" at best, and offend me at worst. I have seen some YouTube videos making commentary on TikTok videos, and the commentary ranges from lightheartedly mocking how silly the more harmless content is to explanations on why some of the less funny videos are not okay.

In case anyone who's out of the loop wants to "learn" about Tiktok the way I did:

Spoiler: Funny videos but watch at your own risk

I can't link the videos here because they have swears in them, and I understand that not everyone would agree with his stance against some of the offensive political content on Tiktok, but there is a comedian from Canada named Kurtis Conner who makes hilarious commentary videos on YouTube about the weird and funny and confusing side of TikTok. But he also does a good job of educating people about how it can be disturbing and used to do harm.

I'm also significantly older than the target user base, I think. Even if I didn't hate it I think teens would probably think it was weird and dorky if I used it. I have posted a lot on here about not understanding referential humor and pop culture stuff from younger Gen Z people.
I'm not saying anything bad about Gen Z or teenagers, there's just a disconnect in sense of humor and some areas of interest for me (and other millenials and older adults) for the most part.

But it also aggravates me when people fake disabilities for attention, because then people are less likely to believe me (and other people with disabilities) when we disclose that we have them, or worse, stereotype us based on a false example.
Like a good example of this is the people who say things like "I'm so OCD" when they don't really have OCD, which then perpetuates harmful stereotypes and misconceptions about OCD. OCD is not just about cleanliness and organization, but is also a chronic anxiety disorder that can cause intrusive thoughts that result in panic attacks, compulsive self-injury behaviors, and phobias.

The last thing I'll mention about hating Tiktok is that there is a subset of Tiktok users who make content that people find hilarious, that I find really horrible and disturbing... abusing, humiliating, and intentionally aggravating and harassing dogs because people somehow think it's cute and funny (?)
There is a lot of stupid and downright abusive stuff on social media accounts that people make for their pets. Some of you have probably seen some of them and know what I'm talking about.

Sorry I went a bit off the rails there, my point is, I think TikTok is pretty awful, and I have seen a lot of the videos of people faking disabilities (from friends, and from commentary videos on YouTube) and I think it's really gross. We're living in a society where people question the validity of everyone's disability/diagnosis anyway and this probably has something to do with it. It's also due to ableism, in a lot of cases.
For me personally, I have a disease that sometimes affects mobility, and since I have a less severe type that doesn't affect standing or walking as much (there are 4 types, of differing severity) people often assume that I'm lying.
The world has gotten to the point where I've had other people with service dogs ask or imply that I have a fake service dog. For no reason at all, other than the fact that I have an "invisible" disability. My dog's behavior is exemplary service dog behavior. She has never done anything to indicate that she wouldn't be a service dog. And she has gone through several rigorous professional training programs.
This is called "gatekeeping" which is prevalent in a lot of disability/disorder and minority communities and is something I've been intending to make a separate thread about for a long time. And this ties back into the original discussion because there is A TON of gatekeeping on Tiktok and Instagram as well (especially targeting girls with autism and particularly those who mask well, "less oppressed" people in the LGBTQ+ community, and people with service dogs who have invisible disabilities.)
But yeah, not good any way you look at it... I'll get off my soapbox now.

 

[Bosko]

Well, I have a lot to say about this one because I have seen some of the ways it affects people I care about.
I hate TikTok. I have never and will never use it because it destroys young people's mental health, along with Instagram and Facebook. There is a lot of toxicity and bullying and offensive crap on there.
I've never wanted to use it, but I have younger friends who use it (who have experienced some really hurtful things on there, especially my friends who are ethnic minorities or members of the LGBTQ+ community), and most of the videos they show me make me go "Huh? What???" at best, and offend me at worst. I have seen some YouTube videos making commentary on TikTok videos, and the commentary ranges from lightheartedly mocking how silly the more harmless content is to explanations on why some of the less funny videos are not okay.

In case anyone who's out of the loop wants to "learn" about Tiktok the way I did:

Spoiler: Funny videos but watch at your own risk

I can't link the videos here because they have swears in them, and I understand that not everyone would agree with his stance against some of the offensive political content on Tiktok, but there is a comedian from Canada named Kurtis Conner who makes hilarious commentary videos on YouTube about the weird and funny and confusing side of TikTok. But he also does a good job of educating people about how it can be disturbing and used to do harm.

I'm also significantly older than the target user base, I think. Even if I didn't hate it I think teens would probably think it was weird and dorky if I used it. I have posted a lot on here about not understanding referential humor and pop culture stuff from younger Gen Z people.
I'm not saying anything bad about Gen Z or teenagers, there's just a disconnect in sense of humor and some areas of interest for me (and other millenials and older adults) for the most part.

But it also aggravates me when people fake disabilities for attention, because then people are less likely to believe me (and other people with disabilities) when we disclose that we have them, or worse, stereotype us based on a false example.
Like a good example of this is the people who say things like "I'm so OCD" when they don't really have OCD, which then perpetuates harmful stereotypes and misconceptions about OCD. OCD is not just about cleanliness and organization, but is also a chronic anxiety disorder that can cause intrusive thoughts that result in panic attacks, compulsive self-injury behaviors, and phobias.

The last thing I'll mention about hating Tiktok is that there is a subset of Tiktok users who make content that people find hilarious, that I find really horrible and disturbing... abusing, humiliating, and intentionally aggravating and harassing dogs because people somehow think it's cute and funny (?)
There is a lot of stupid and downright abusive stuff on social media accounts that people make for their pets. Some of you have probably seen some of them and know what I'm talking about.

Sorry I went a bit off the rails there, my point is, I think TikTok is pretty awful, and I have seen a lot of the videos of people faking disabilities (from friends, and from commentary videos on YouTube) and I think it's really gross. We're living in a society where people question the validity of everyone's disability/diagnosis anyway and this probably has something to do with it. It's also due to ableism, in a lot of cases.
For me personally, I have a disease that sometimes affects mobility, and since I have a less severe type that doesn't affect standing or walking as much (there are 4 types, of differing severity) people often assume that I'm lying.
The world has gotten to the point where I've had other people with service dogs ask or imply that I have a fake service dog. For no reason at all, other than the fact that I have an "invisible" disability. My dog's behavior is exemplary service dog behavior. She has never done anything to indicate that she wouldn't be a service dog. And she has gone through several rigorous professional training programs.
This is called "gatekeeping" which is prevalent in a lot of disability/disorder and minority communities and is something I've been intending to make a separate thread about for a long time. And this ties back into the original discussion because there is A TON of gatekeeping on Tiktok and Instagram as well (especially targeting girls with autism and particularly those who mask well, "less oppressed" people in the LGBTQ+ community, and people with service dogs who have invisible disabilities.)
But yeah, not good any way you look at it... I'll get off my soapbox now.

I find it rather jarring that you mention the LGBT community because the people who were faking tried to make a connection to Autism and being a homosexual. Like being a “neuroqueer” and saying their Autism made them gay. I don’t know how to explain it but that’s what I have to say

 

[Bosko]

Nah, they had it coming. Autism is horrible.

Oh no, these were just random girls who didn’t take part but saw it. It’s a mess

 

[Luca]

I find it rather jarring that you mention the LGBT community because the people who were faking tried to make a connection to Autism and being a homosexual. Like being a “neuroqueer” and saying their Autism made them gay. I don’t know how to explain it but that’s what I have to say

I’ve actually heard about that too. People are trying to say that being LGBTQ+ has a direct correlation with being autistic but I don’t think there’s enough evidence to say that it’s true.

I think it may be true that (some) autistic people may have more “fluid” and nonconforming identities though, generally speaking, not just in terms of sexuality or gender.

 

[Slime_Punk]

The only difference between Youtube and Tiktok is that Youtube actually has educational content, lectures, and extremely valuable information. Tiktok is a great example of what happens when you take all of those redeeming qualities away; you're just left with an empty shell (not unlike primetime television) almost completely devoid of actual meaning for the sake of meme content and shortened enough to be digestible by a toddler.

I don't believe these tics are 'going viral' so to speak, but I wouldn't doubt that shoveling down loads of shortened videos with zero educational value eventually leads you to do some strange things. For example, when Vine was 'a thing', my wife would show me a barrage of dumb videos that she was watching and afterward I couldn't focus on anything for about 30 minutes, almost like it had short-circuited my brain. I don't know if it has to do with ASD or not, but I'm not equipped to change my train of thought every 5 seconds and move onto the next 'content stream' rapidly. If that's what you're training your brain to respond to, eventually something strange is bound to happen.

Give me hours-long lectures, full stand-up comedy specials or some kind of educational value or give me death

 

[Aneka]

TikTok is twitter's lovechild.

I believe that autistic people tend to be more nonconforming than a lot of people- which probably can have an effect on gender, too.
I have noticed that many autistics are deep thinkers with a rebel streak, questioning society's standards.

 

[BrokenBoy]

full stand-up comedy specials

This is just as bad as TikTok.

 

[GrownupGirl]

Social media is about as antisocial as you can get.

 

[tkcartoonist]

TikTok is basically Vine if Vine sent your data directly to the PRC. TikTok sucks.

 

[androidysphoria]

I find it rather jarring that you mention the LGBT community because the people who were faking tried to make a connection to Autism and being a homosexual. Like being a “neuroqueer” and saying their Autism made them gay. I don’t know how to explain it but that’s what I have to say

wow, i’ve never heard that. strange claim. on one hand, it would be easier in my opinion to accept your (already existing) gayness if you’re already living in the fringes of society, but on the other hand, i think it’s really weird to say your autism "made" you gay. nothing makes you gay except having attraction to the same gender. but that’s so obvious that i wonder if there’s something else going on in these claims.

 

[Bosko]

wow, i’ve never heard that. strange claim. on one hand, it would be easier in my opinion to accept your (already existing) gayness if you’re already living in the fringes of society, but on the other hand, i think it’s really weird to say your autism "made" you gay. nothing makes you gay except having attraction to the same gender. but that’s so obvious that i wonder if there’s something else going on in these claims.

Of course, the most probable cause is they are desperately seeking attention

 

[Magna]

The only Tik Tok vids I've seen are the ones rebroadcast on Youtube. I remember the wave of teen girls with Tourettes. I also remember numerous people who have diagnosed Tourettes who commented that at least some of the better known girls were fakers and that their "tics" were not genuine. If it's true that they were faking...how horrible and despicable is that?

 

[mysterionz]

especially the ones that claim autism and self diagnose with no real thought put in it (or even diagnosing themselves with serious conditions like bipolar, psychosis, or schizophrenia!)

An episode from the tv show “South Park” titled “Le Petit Tourette” had a very similar plot line to this series of events where Cartman decides to fake having Tourette’s so he can say whatever he wants with no consequences whatsoever.. way before TikTok became a thing.

 

[Magna]

I also recall a Tic Tok vid I saw, a compilation of autism related shorts. A young girl said something like she was self-diagnosed and then named her "autistic" traits. There were a few "traits" she had that she attributed to being autistic and essentially said something to the effect of: I say I'm autistic so the traits I have are autistic traits because I said so.

 

[Angular Chap]

I was going to compare these people to welfare fraudsters, but I think they are actually worse.

Not only do they do it for the attention, a lot of them monetise their content as well, doing it for the fame AND money.

They also put the wrong ideas into peoples heads, making it harder for people who genuinely have these conditions in the long run.

 

[Princess Viola]

I think the worst aspect of TikTokers who 'self-diagnose' (I'm putting it in quotes because what they're doing is not self-diagnosis) themselves as autistic just because they think it's 'quirky' or whatever is people who then use the existence of these TikTok users in order to blanketly dismiss all self-diagnosed autistics as just being dumb teenagers who watched one TikTok video full of misinformation and then declared themselves autistic because they think it's trendy and quirky to have autism.

 

[Human Avatar]

Autism a few years ago =ridiculed , put in mental hospitals , looked down upon as stupid , considered social outcasts.

Now autism = fashionable, popular , and a chance for one to monetize on tic toc.

Strange days indeed…..