Sure, the argument that "other things have been heralded as the end of the world before" is certainly valid and probably true. And, yes, no matter how much we cry, TikTok is here to stay, until it is replaced by something even worse. However, we shouldn't treat this as a binary thing, like "well, if it's not the end of the world then why bother discussing it?" Sure somebody complained that radios would ruin human intelligence, but can we objectively say that radios and TikTok operate the same way, because of that? Objectively, I'd say no. It would be the same as saying that an AR-15 rifle is the same as a knife because both can be used to kill people. Surely if teenagers did not have access to rifles, only knifes, they would kill much less people in schools before they're tackled and immobilized? Crack cocaine and marijuana are both drugs, but surely most reasonable people would not say they are both just as bad? Anyway, for me, TikTok is scary. It is deeply optimized to savagely take advantage of every thing that is wrong with the human mind and use it to keep you inside the Skinner box. Literally, the only thing that it has against it right now is "huh you're not forced to use it, just uninstall it!". Yes, let's just close down every rehab center in the world; after all, you can stop using crack cocaine whenever you want, right.