Tik-Tok: Freedom or Free-dumb?

Ever since social media has entered our lives, communication has evolved drastically. We have slowly lost that special human touch; blessings and wishes have transformed into likes, shares and subscribes; reaching out to people and making virtual friends has become our reality; and social media validation for understanding self worth is what we all hope for.

With the recent research conducted by several scholars and organizations, it has been known to one and all as to how social media is causing mental health issues, increasing cybercrime and becoming a space of opinions, often leading to physical or mental harm. But, in spite of all these problems, social media becomes an important space for people to exhibit their creativity, express their opinions feely and stay updated about all the happenings around the world.

Today, we are exploring new platforms to showcase our creativity. For a long time, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter were platforms wherein people kept themselves busy. But lately, TikTok is an app that is being used by several people around the world. Built by China, wherein users lip-sync songs or dialogues, make videos and upload them on the app and on other platforms. People who use TikTok are known as TikTokers and have attained a lot of fame by using this platform and expressing themselves out to a huge base.

TikTok is loved by people in India. From housewives/househusbands, police personals, children, youth, teenagers to all people irrespective of caste, class, gender etc., all use TikTok in India. With several million followers, some of them have attained celebrity status and have become social media sensations and influencers.

Social media trends and social media influencers are terms that are used in every household these days. No matter what is trending on social media, there is always a TikTok video that is trending and grabbing people’s attention.

Faizal Siddiqui, a TikToker who, along with his brother is known for making viral TikTok videos. Recently, uploaded a video on his page wherein he was seen drinking a glass of water and sarcastically saying that someone left you, for whom you had left me –“Kya Hua? Usne Tumhe Chod Diya? Jiske liye tumne mujhe choda.”. After this dialogue, he was seen throwing the glass filled with liquid (he claimed it was water) on a girl standing opposite to him. When the water was thrown on the girl, she had make-up on her face, which showcased burns like an acid victim.

This video got viral and faced a lot of criticism due to the content of the video. The video was extremely problematic in several cases and in a way which portrayed the event of an acid attack on a person, due to rejection. Not trying to target, bash or blame any gender, but the video simply was about a boy who was drinking something and threw the liquid on a girl because she had rejected him previously. There has been a lot of chaos due to all of this, and there have been claims by people that – the video is showing the issue of consent, promoting Acid Attack and exhibiting the act of revenge and none of these claims in any way try to attack any gender because such thing is incorrect on a basic human level.

Faizal Siddiqui has been accused of disrespecting women, promoting crime, and communicating incorrect messages to people. He has been imposed with FIRs, his video has been taken down,  he has faced immense criticisms across social media platforms, social media communities, social media influencers, and people at large. TikTok India has been asked to look into the matter after several commissions and groups signed petitions and letters to get into the roots of the matter.

In his defense, Faizal Siddiqui said that the video was not promoting Acid attack, because when the video started, he was drinking water, and the liquid that he was drinking, was not acid. He further said that the girl with the makeup was a makeup artist and was promoting her work, and both of them in no way were promoting an incorrect message.

While understanding such a platform, there are several things that enter the picture. Firstly, social media is such a space where people feel free to express themselves and showcase their creativity.
Secondly, many times, problematic subjects have been dealt with in a manner which educates people.
 Thirdly, as it is a free space, regulation is difficult, because whether social media is a private platform or a public platform is a matter of debate between people. After all, this, even if a person has the freedom to post whatever s/he wishes, yet the content, method used and the messaging factor needs to be understood and presented in a more acceptable manner. This becomes an important aspect because social media thrives on followers and likes. And if the content, the method, or the messaging is problematic, there is a high chance of a back clash.

In the field of Art especially, it becomes very difficult to understand and draw the line between what is correct and what is incorrect and most importantly what is humane and inhumane.  If regulations are applied then it hampers the freedom of speech. If not, then there is a possibility that it can harm certain members of society. Tik Tok Videos are at times too quick to grasp and the meaning can be misinterpreted. At other times, the person who is creating this content is responsible for making sure that the larger part of the society or the larger picture is in some manner appropriate or correct. Something similar in the case of Faizal Siddique happened.

Prior to this too, there have been several videos which has incorrect messages or interpreted in different ways. But after this video, there was another video which saw two men with unbuttoned shirts coming in the frame, and another girl adjusting her clothes. Several people have rebuked such videos calling them visuals of rape and questioning the content of the video. After all these videos, there is a strong consensus among people to ban the app.

Apart from putting light on what went wrong and what went right, there needs to be light on the fact that content is the king these days and these social media influencers need to be cautious when it comes to expressing themselves. All these spaces are social spaces, with diverse viewers. Thus, though keeping all happy and satisfied is impossible, but yet, being careful and having a strong justification is always a safer option.

- Vijayasree V