TikTok: The Ultimate Echo Chamber of Misogyny
What is a social media echo chamber? According to the University of Texas at Austin, a social media echo chamber is a "biased, tailored media experience that eliminates opposing viewpoints and differing voices." TikTok users each curate a For You page specific to their interests and preferences. Their For You page is the first place users land when they open the app. It shows them a curated feed of videos from creators they might not follow but that TikTok's algorithm thinks they might like based on their past interactions. This is all a part of Tiktok's goal to ensure we only see media that fits our preferences. As a result, we have found ourselves in a comfortable, self-confirming feed serving as an echo chamber.
One of the most rampant issues on TikTok is misogyny. Like most social media platforms, users can make their identities anonymous. Unfortunately, most people shamelessly and actively display their blatant misogyny in the comment section. Comments such as “fatherless behavior,” “I bet it’s bubblegum pink,” and “women☕” plague every. Last. Video. This misogyny is present no matter the subject matter. Although videos of men sharing their misogynistic videos are extraordinarily common on the app, they are infinitely less common than the floods of disrespectful comments, as men know they cannot be traced and can hide behind their avatars. One can assume this is because these men understand that what they are saying is wrong and do not want their names and faces attached to their opinions on the internet.
The unchecked male chauvinism that men display in the comments section of TikTok is entirely sickening. Most of the objectifying comments are under videos of women simply existing. Some of the “women” aren’t even women—they’re underage girls. Even if a video displayed a woman drinking, partying, or participating in an activity that society deems “unladylike,” it’s still no excuse to bombard her comments section with hate. Of course, most men will never understand that. In a recent statement addressing these accusations, a TikTok spokesperson said: “Misogyny and other hateful ideologies and behaviors are not tolerated on TikTok, and we are working to review this content and take action against violations of our guidelines. We continually look to strengthen our policies and enforcement strategies, including adding more safeguards to our recommendation system.”
While misogyny may be harder to censor than physical violence or nudity, it is certainly not effectively reprimanded by TikTok. If anything, TikTok is one of the largest proponents of misogynistic content due to its lack of regulation of content. It’s setting the precedent that hate towards women and male aggression is something that is permissible and accepted. Young men are stuck in a dangerous and violent trap—because of the For You page’s algorithm, they are fed videos of hyper-masculine and toxic figures such as Andrew Tate, perpetuating disgusting, hurtful, and dangerous ideologies.
