I open TikTok to watch funny videos, not to buy overpriced puffy Skittles. As the internet evolves and the world becomes more connected, advertisers have wormed their way into every aspect of social media. While this comes with benefits, like having the outfit of your dreams just a few clicks away, there’s a limit to how many of the same work-appropriate pants I can tolerate seeing every time I unlock my phone.
TikTok has evolved from an app intended for sharing short songs and dances to a platform for imparting life advice, raising awareness for various causes, playing games and creating face and voice filters much like Snapchat. These were all fantastic additions, creating new opportunities for over 1 billion TikTok users to connect and share their stories. However, the new shopping update ruins the entire experience.
TikTok Shop incentivizes users with large followings to advertise as many pointless knickknacks as possible, turning my feed into a conveyor belt of products with no room for the funny videos I open the app to see. Additionally, TikTok offers various cash prizes to influencers for linking shop items. One creator was offered $200 for simply encouraging 10 customers to place an order on the app, and another was promised $20 in exchange for a link in the comment section of their 30-minute livestream.

While it’s great that social media is creating so many careers in the form of influencer marketing, giving someone free money to advertise a product they know nothing about feels icky and inauthentic. Of course, there are genuine people on these apps who only advertise items they’ve actually used and loved, but giving creators ample reason to rave about some new trending merchandise they’ve never used just to earn up to a 20% commission makes those people harder to spot.

TikTok is far from the only social media platform with a shopping interface, but I think everyone can agree that frequent advertisements are among the most irritating parts of social media. Turning an app that was originally about filming cute dances into a marketing hub emphasizes how impossible it is to have fun these days without spending money. As it is, going out for a coffee or catching a movie with some friends gets expensive, and now opening your phone feels like one in-app purchase after another.

Even worse, small businesses that may actually stand to benefit from TikTok Shop’s vast customer base are readily outcompeted by cheap knockoffs the minute their products gain some traction. Previously, small businesses were able to go viral and gain customers without the expectation of selling through TikTok Shop. For example, in 2021, Enchanted Scrunch went viral on TikTok, directing consumers to their online store. Now, small business owners are expected to comply with TikTok Shop’s 2% commission requirement as well as a mandatory 30-cent charge per transaction. For start-up businesses that could use every penny of profit they earn, this is a huge blow.

As we doom scroll late at night — that’s healthy, right? — TikTok Shop offers us happiness, excitement, confidence and the adoration of our peers in the form of a $20 hoodie, and we fall for it every time. The sight of thousands of influencers and sellers shallowly peddling shoddy products is taking over social media. We need to put a stop to it.

Spending less overall on things you don’t need is a great start to ending the pandemic of zombie-like consumerism. Every once in a while, when you find yourself truly in need of a new outfit or a fun day out, I encourage shopping locally to support those who are putting love and care into their creations. Let’s keep social media a place to connect with friends and share opinions without slapping on yet another a price tag.

TikTok, if you’re reading this, please stop promoting overconsumption and go back to your silly little dances.