Am I Too Old, or Are TikTok and Instagram Brain-Meltingly Unwatchable?
A rant
I've been dealing with insomnia recently, and in the time I lie in bed, I have been watching TikTok and Instagram content that I otherwise would never see.
The stuff on these platforms feels like some alien language. Everything is sped up, chopped and crammed together in a way that makes me feel physically sick from information overload. Why is the background music sped up so fast? Why do creators edit their videos so sentences slam into each other? Are milliseconds really that precious? The constant jump cuts and camera angle changes make my head spin.
I also didn’t realize how many random Instagram accounts are thinly veiled funnels to OnlyFans — even ones that seem innocuous.
This hyper-condensed style has bled into pop music too. All pop songs used to run three or four minutes but now barely scrape two. I see some tracks that are only a minute and half long.
Maybe this is just how young people consume media now. I can’t help but wonder if what I’m feeling is the same feeling boomers felt.
Andy, this is hilarious. You’re not old! Since you aren’t, it’s reassuring to know you don’t like the Instagram and TikTok platforms, either. I thought my age was the problem. Eventually I realized I don’t have to like these formats. I don’t care how popular they supposedly are. They can be useful up to a point — rallying the troops, for example, on a political issue. If you’re an artist or craftsman, Instagram can be a way to show what you are selling.
Nothing can beat reading the printed word — at your own pace — if you want to study a subject or get lost in another person’s story or world. There are people who are afraid to read and concentrate and think. They are the ones who are missing out.
Sorry you’re having insomnia. Turn off the electronics. Treat yourself by reading something you would really like to read for pleasure.
Screens kill sleep patterns. Turn them off 2 hours before you want to be asleep.
You are not old. Tik-Tok and Instagram are meant to melt all brains.
Read a real book in bed, instead.