TikTok has seen even more discussion around it than usual lately. The cause of this is both bizarre and something that we couldn’t imagine happening on any other social media platform: it’s the about creators who make money by pretending to be NPCs on livestream. What was once a niche interest has now become a viral sensation. It’s left some people wringing their hands over the state of a society where someone can make money by licking the air while pretending it’s ice cream.

In my opinion, we have no choice but to respect the individuals making a living out of this. Their performances may be kind of disturbing, but they’re hardly as questionable as some stuff that other creators are putting out on the platform for free. The haters can’t deny that one thing TikTok has in spades is entertainment value. It’s just that this amusement often comes at a cringeworthy price.