Yes, this is a larger societal problem. People seem to be happy to allow other people to effectively raise their children, while "traditional" parenting is just dissipating. Giving a child a smartphone / tablet as a pacifier is something I observe more and more. I can hardly eat out anywhere now without their being a child loudly watching something on a phone or tablet, or demanding access to one.So this seems less a tiktok specific issue and an issue of parenting. Basically the parents that choose not to be involved in moderating and managing the kids social platforms are now turning to the government to do their job for them.
Again, I'm not for or against tiktok. I'm on the outside looking in, and wondering what's people's opinions.
I don't see too much difference in this over other social platforms and to blame one saying how evil it is, because a Chinese company owns it but giving other platforms a pass (or at least a blind eye) seems hypercritical.
I do agree that it's not just TikTok. However, I would say that TikTok has positioned itself in a way that it is far more appealing to younger children.
Lastly, at no point did I say my views were based or influenced by it being Chinese. Even if it was US-based, the comments I've said here would be exactly the same.