19: Horror, Chaotic Tarot and CultTok Updates
*Night School is best viewed on the Substack website*
Welcome to the 19th Issue of Night School! This one is coming later than usual as my schedule has been busy this week.
Last Friday I got to join in on the first live-streamed conversation with some members from the TikTok Researcher group. It is available to watch here.
As I am writing this, the TikTok algorithm appears to be broken! It is only showing content with over 1 million likes. An interesting development in addition to their personalized ads policy. I am worried about how it will impact the way creators are able to reach audiences, and the biases in the algorithm that will impact how content is filtered.
Onto the content!
Updates on The Garden
As promised, I have been following the continuous drama surrounding The Garden. If you don’t know what I am talking about, please read the deep dive I posted last week.
Emily Louise has made a fantastic video covering The Garden situation as was discussed last week in addition to the events that came after.
Members of The Garden have been connected to QAnon. Not surprised by this one. Milo @dirtyhumantwunk has some good content discussing this.
Stylish
This is a really good example of when a kid gets their hands on a mobile device:
Extreme CleanTok
Once again I watched in shock as way too many chemicals were mixed together, I couldn’t find the original video so I’ve included this user’s reaction:
A New Form of Horror?
@lordvirr has been posting videos to do with a strange occurrence involving snow figures painted red to audio titled “scary.” At first when scrolling through the feed, I genuinely thought something serious was happening to this individual. Upon looking through their profile I now believe it is a long-form horror story. Their use of hashtags and audio were initial giveaways. In addition to the posts, there is no real audience interaction apart from giving slightly vague responses to comments. From being on TikTok for a while, I’ve noticed that when there are real events happening in people’s lives they tend to do more casual response videos and address viewer questions clearly and immediately.
Chaotic Tarot
To my delight, @sonyabladetarot appeared on my feed with chaotic videos explaining specific tarot cards:
And another one because I love her sense of humor:
A Concerning Trend
Young girls/teens have been posting videos showing off outfits and makeup to the song Lolita by Lana Del Rey. This is a trend that is very concerning to me as the videos put the girls at risk. The TikTok platform has such a range of audiences and creators, including sexual predators. Romanticizing Nabokov’s Lolita is nothing new, unfortunately. This TikTok trend feels like an extension of the of Lolita related aesthetics that were popular on Tumblr. I won’t include any of the specific videos within this newsletter, but here is a brief summary a user uploaded with their reaction to it:
“Scene” Is Back
Late 00’s “Scene” aesthetics are being romanticized on TikTok. This made me feel uncomfortable so I had to share it.
“I love my Hairdresser, John”
I want to know what they talk about.
The Return of Unhinged Garfield Content
Also see Week 2
Amber is the color of his energy
See you next week for the 20th Issue!