At this point, a significant proportion of the mainstream internet is regurgitated TikToks.

It’s not like this hasn’t happened with other popular social media, because the likes of Twitter/X and Reddit are definitely load-bearing pillars of the screenshot economy too. We simply like to see what people are saying on the platforms even if we don’t go on said platforms, and if we don’t want to see it, we will probably end up seeing it against our will. Such is the way that scrolling functions.

However, what takes TikTok to another level is the degree to which TikTokers make sure that their own personal stamp is on their content. More than ever, they show that the funny online tidbits we like to consume are a showcase of personality, as well as throwaway entertainment. I mean, quite often, we are literally reading a punchline that has been placed directly over someone’s face. Their likeness is immortalized with whatever thought they had that went viral.

While that can be something that an individual lives to regret, at least they can be safe in the knowledge that their desire to amuse an anonymous audience with their musings was successfully fulfilled. They also help us all to understand that there are a million different kinds of lives to lead, but at the same time, everybody is more similar than we realize. As well as this, we have a great appreciation for anybody who is willing to pump out dumb to content to distract us from the inevitable. That is nothing less than a public service.