Beyond the Ban: Unraveling the Implications of TikTok’s Exit from Nepal
I hate being at the epicenter of these things. It makes people go crazy. But this one might have a bright side, unlike the recent 6.0 earthquake and past quakes. The nationwide banning of this platform, i.e., pulling the plug at the ISP level, brings to light even more social ills than the platform contributes to!
Sounds nuts? I think so, but let’s look at what happened: overnight, millions of people were cut off from their main source of news, entertainment, and escape from poverty if we want to get right down to it.
The Government of Nepal (GoN), in a well-meaning way for sure (they want to cut the head off social disharmony online), has sparked more disdain and outrage than anticipated and more ill-will towards a government that should be commended for their liberal views on the topic. Some would say oppressive and communistic, but I would say common sense, as someone on the ground here. However, my reasons for applause are different. I see the move as saving babies.
I’ve watched (sadly) parents spoon-feeding babies on laps, kids holding iPads, and endlessly scrolling through Toks while mommy hand-feeds them like baby birds. My 6-year-old niece taught me, at age 69, how to create a TikTok and start my presence there.
Once a user and creator on TicTok, I got to see the insanity that scrolls by 24x7: a man masturbating in a subway with a beer in one hand and the other, well, use your imagination, no, let me tell you, jerking off under a cartoon-star sticker. Then there is the ASMR guy in-jesting what looks like jello into all orifices of his body, with the audio gain set to 1000. Things you don’t want to see or hear first thing in the morning over coffee… or do you?
Some might rebuke: You may be just a sick puppy, and the Algo knows it. Yes, but these Toks hit me right out of the chute. A new user gets hit with that; some may be hooked forever. Why? Because there is something for everyone there. And we are all sick pups, let’s face it. Some like slap-stick, some like outrage, some like porn and near porn, some are more into pet tricks and cute bunnies, but some are not. It’s the internet.
However, HOWEVER, why are little kids there? Growing up, the most controversial media we had was MAD Magazine. (Sad to learn that Al Jaffre passed this year). You could find porn, but it was Mid-evil or Renaissance porn from the local library. Now, kids of all ages see body parts wiggling in all ways all day. (In addition to body parts flying apart from two wars.) I’m not a prude by any means, but I don’t want my little nieces and nephews scrolling through that all day, and I don’t want my teenage ones creating such content and not being properly compensated nor appreciated nor guided in any way for their efforts.
It’s a lose-lose platform for all involved but the puppet masters behind the pursestrings and their buddies. In short, the techBros win again with these platforms, and while the blow from Nepal will mean little to TikTok Coporate’s bottom line, there is a gathering storm.
The Gathering Storm
There have been rumblings just in the past week or so of mid-November 2023. Forty US State attorneys filed a federal lawsuit against Meta and it’s Algorithms for corrupting teen minds. President Biden signed a 20,000-word presidential order laying out funds and research on the impact of AI on, among other things, the health and well-being of Americans. The rumblings that died down or rolled over us when ChatGPT was first released to the public a year ago still tremble beneath our feet. There may also be talk of pulling the plug on that soon in Nepal—or at least banning students from using it to pass exams.
The Knock Ons
What are the knock-on effects of such a ban in Nepal? It's too soon to tell, but we can theorize. One way it could go is there is no effect. People get mad here at the government all the time, just as they do anywhere else. Is this the most important issue for Nepal at the moment? Hell no, Inflation is just like everywhere else. Jobs, the economy, and even potholes rate far higher on the totem pole of politics than on social media, in most minds, and the dangers of AI, please, what about the danger of another earthquake?
Another possible knock-on: the younger generation gets another hit of what living within a democracy but not having a voice is all about. To them, this is an affront, not a gesture of goodwill and hope for their future. Even the reason GoN gave for the ban — to keep “social harmony” — would make sense to few on the ground here in the capital, let alone in the villages that dot the countryside. To kids? No, no sense at all.
Another? I am just spitballing here, but again, back to absolutely nothing! Take India, for example; there were millions, maybe a billion users, and TikTok was banned. Did you hear? I never did. Despite the move, all I see are flocks of Hindi Toks and lots of Pro-Modi propaganda, along with all the rest, all monetized and churning capital for the Silicon Casino. So yes, the most likely knock-on effect is a no-knock noise here.
On Surviving Epicenters…
On the Richter scale of Social Media news, this ban in Nepal did make WAPO's front page along with all the others, NYT, BBC, etc. But it was a 4.5 at best on my scale of judgment. How about yours? TikTok was almost banned in the USA under the 45th President. Could it be banned under the 47th, and what impact would that have on citizens of the states? According to the latest statistics from WAPO, 30+ percent of Americans get news from this platform, up 33 percent from last year alone. What would that do to the “social harmony” in America? What would it do for the kids?
In Earthquake Country, we have a term for a bag of things packed ready for when the shit hits the fan. It’s called a Go-Bag. To parents of youngsters on the platform now, I have to ask you what’s in your Go-Bag for the event your teen or young child hits the proverbial fan on that platform. And why do you, as a parent, need this type of toolkit when raising children? We have to ask ourselves. Parents did not ask for this for their kids, so why are Mr. techBros shoveling all this on us when they make all the bucks?
To survive an earthquake, you have to ask all the questions you may have during the initial shockwave before the wave hits. Shove that in your Go-Bag! — Herojig, the Cartoon Character, 2017.
That’s it for this week. I’ve been off writing here for a bit, as it’s the national holiday season in Nepal, and no one gets much done, and that’s so relaxing. But like many folks here, I am also hungry, and I dream of a pizza I can share with the street folks I see every Sat… waiting for a slice from me!
For my past writings on techBros and other topics, such as a deep dive into being a YouTuber, see here and consider a paid subscription to me here. Or, for fun, watch a video on my experiment that is now running.
