There Are No Girls on the Internet - Is TikTok becoming a dystopian QVC? (w/ PrettyCritical)

Episode Date: November 15, 2023

Is it just me or are ads everywhere on TikTok right now? Welcome to TikTok Shop. Is this the new normal? TikTok creator PrettyCritical joins Bridget to discuss. Follow Pretty Critical: https://www.tiktok.com/@prettycritical?lang=en Teens are trying to cash in on the TikTok Shop gold rush between classes: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/tiktok-shop-teens-high-school-open-how-to-make-money-long-deliver-us-rcna102788 The Junk Is Winning TikTok’s experiment in shopping has quickly become another place to hawk products: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/10/tiktok-shop-cheap-products/675761/ TikTok cashing in on sale of counterfeit cosmetics and prescription skin creams: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/apr/23/tiktok-cashing-in-counterfeit-beauty-products-skin-gels  TikTok Forced to Close Shopping Feature in Its Second-Largest Market: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/05/business/tiktok-shop-indonesia-ecommerce-ban.html HERE’S HOW TO BLOCK TIK TOK SHOP: https://www.tiktok.com/@thomasgermain/video/7270529252703898922?lang=enSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Run a business and not thinking about podcasting, think again. More Americans listen to podcasts than adds supported streaming music from Spotify and Pandora. And as the number one podcaster, IHeart's twice as large as the next two combined.

Learn how podcasting can help your business. Call 844-844-I-Hart. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was harmed.

You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come in to you, he's like, you know, I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Do you feel like you are in control of your life, or do you feel like shopping is running you? There are no girls on the internet is a production of IHeart Radio and Unbossed Creative. I'm Bridget Todd, and this is there are no girls on the internet. So I love TikTok, but lately it kind of feels like the vibes are off. What I've always liked about TikTok was that it feels like watching kind of user-generated Netflix, regular people telling interesting stories or doing interesting things in ways that feel genuinely captivating. As opposed to Instagram, where eventually, for me, it kind of came to feel like, you know, good-looking people, pretty polished people selling me something.

Like those are the people that I felt like were taking up the most space on Instagram. Comparatively on TikTok, it didn't feel like I had to wade through a ton of intrusive ads to use the platform. When you did encounter an ad, it just said sponsored at the bottom. You swiped up and that was that. But lately, I feel that that has changed. Now you scroll alongside regular ads, but near those, you also get these TikToks that look kind of like normal TikToks, but they say eligible her commission on the bottom. They're not exactly ads ads, but the person in them who was talking to you like a friend does just happen to be telling you about a product that they maybe get a cut on if you pull the trigger on buying.

TikToker Grace Brousel recently called out how dystopian this all feels saying TikTok feels like Cheyenne and Ali Express had a baby. There's links everywhere. There's 100 ads. Why is there a 17-year-old girl trying to sell me 35-cent ringlights? Now, none of this is entirely new. There was always stuff to be bought and sold after folks hyped that up on TikTok. You know, there was that expression, TikTok made me buy it. But now, to me, it feels different.

So what's going on? Welcome to TikTok Shop, TikTok's affiliate creator program that was officially rolled out in September after months of testing. TikTok describes it in their September 12th, 2023 press release when it launched. Quote, TikTok Shop empowers brands and creators to connect with high highly engaged customers based on their interests, and it combines the power of community, creativity, and commerce to deliver a seamless shopping experience. So here's how it works. Creators with 5,000 followers or more can get a cut of stuff that they sell on the platform.

TikTok takes a 5% cut as well. We've talked about fast fashion like she had on the podcast before, but when you add in that same powerful TikTok algorithm and the way that it can quickly boost videos to millions of people on consumerism, well, that feels like fast fashion meeting fast selling. So what does this all mean? How do we get here? Is it here to stay? And how is it shaping the platform? To get into all of this, we're joined by the most successful TikTokers that I know, Tamika, also known as Pretty Critical on TikTok, who uses her platform to have frank and funny discussions about wellness, beauty, consumerism, all with a critical eye. Tamika, thank you so much for being here. I cannot think of a person that I would rather be getting into all of this with

than you. Thanks for being here. Yeah, thanks for having me. So your platform is at once, like, a celebration of one of my favorite hobbies, which is buying things, but also doing so in this, like, critical lens with a critical eye. How did you come to be making content like this? Well, I think it's a really natural reflection of my favorite hobbies, which are, yes, buying things, but also personal finance. I've just been really into personal finance since I was very young. It was something my mother really instilled in me. And of course, there's always been that tension between I love to shop and I have all these future financial goals. And before I ever started making TikTok content, I was watching it. So consuming this content, I really started to

see there's people making great content around beauty, around fashion, around wellness. And at the time, there's also people, sometimes the same people, that very clearly have some kind of overconsumption problem. And that social media itself just kinds of opens the door for overconsumption and normalizes it. You know, you think of like halls and all of these different ways of showing like how much you bought, not necessarily what you bought. Was it smart asking those kinds of questions? It was just like here, volume. You know, I am a creative and most of my career has spent freelancing or being self-employed. And so I didn't do any kind of saving. I wasn't saving for retirement or putting together a 401k or any of that, nor did I really know anybody who did. And it was your content that really got me thinking more seriously about it. I am embarrassed to admit that it wasn't until I started seeing your TikToks that I started thinking more about. My own personal finance journey, like you made a lot of content about 401Ks.

And like, what are we doing for retirement? We're not all, like, it's, maybe it seems funny or cute to pretend like none of us are saving, but honey, save. Like, don't you want to go shopping when you're, when you're a little older? Like, save your money. So you definitely are someone who makes these conversations sort of accessible, but also critical because, like, I don't know, I do think that TikTok is the kind of place where,

overconsumption is perhaps not as questioned as it should be. Like the halls where you have bought so many things that you could not possibly use all of those, you know, water tumblers in one lifetime. Like that's not really questioned the way that maybe it should be on platforms like TikTok. Yeah. I think part of the issue is that it's entertainment, right? No one wants to be the scold that comes in and is like, why did you buy so many Stanley cups?

And because it's entertainment, it also kind of normalizes your own shopping. You're like, well, she's doing it. I'm doing it. The people on these platforms seem like regular everyday people, just like you. It kind of obscures the fact that they have a reason to be buying these items, right? They are selling these items back to you. They're getting commission off these items. So it's definitely a platform that makes your shopping feel very normal, even when it's very out of control.

What has it been like kind of walking this balance of somebody who, you know, likes to shop for quality goods and make content about shopping and consumerism, but in a way that has that critical eye? Like, what has that been like for you? It's definitely a tough, tight rope to walk because I think that there's a certain point where you're like, am I really being honest with myself? So I like to shop. I don't want to say that shopping is part of my identity,

because that sounds so sad, but it's something I really like to do. I really enjoy doing. And I would say that beauty and fashion are parts of my identity. That being said, I have all of these financial goals that I'd like to reach. And by participating in my hobbies, I'm immediately taking away from my ability to reach those. And so making the content is hard because I think of that for other people as well. Like if I'm telling you this sweater from Ralph Lauren is amazing quality. I think it'll last you. The design is amazing.

At the end of the day, you don't need this sweater. And if people go and buy this sweater, nine times out of ten, I'm not getting a kickback out of anything I'm selling, quote unquote selling. I'm just sharing what I like. And so if I'm just sharing what I like, they're buying it when they're maybe not in a position to buy it.

I'm not making money. They're not making money. They're losing money. It's like, who really won at the end of the day? Just Ralph Lauren. And I love Roth Lauren. No, no shade to Ralph Lauren. But it's a tough weird space to be in because I do want people to make smart choices. I want to make smart choices. I've been very honest on the platform about my own struggles with overconsumption where I'm in a weird space where being personal finance obsessed. I am not in any trouble with money. I'm on track for retirement. I have my emergency savings. Like I'm right where I should be. But at the same time, shopping can feel out of control. And so I've been very honest in talks on the platform with my followers around the emotional aspect of shopping and it being about more than just what you can

afford. It's like, do you feel like you are in control of your life or do you feel like shopping is running you? Yeah, that's something I've had to really get honest with myself about that when it comes to shopping, the mix of shopping with social media consumption, they're two things, they're like, you know, two evils in my life that have now been like merged, where I feel like with social media, it really encourages me to compare my life to others. And then shopping is like, oh, you feel insecure in this way? Here's the solution by this thing. This will make you feel better. Yeah, you feel insecure, you feel sad, you feel lonely, you know, like any of these negative feelings, like shopping is there to fill the void. It's not any different than

binge eating, you know, any sort of thing that's just tamping down your emotion. And at the same time, shopping is essential in a very similar way to eating is essential, right? You're not going to stop shopping altogether. You will need new clothes at a certain point. You will need a water bottle at a certain point. You may not need 40 Stanley Tumblr's, but like you are going to have to make decisions about your shopping. So like me, have you seen these like TikTok shop videos taking over your FYP? Oh, it's been astronomical. There are so many every time I swipe through. And I almost feel like I'm not in a position to be able to critique them, even though I'm so tired of them, because I've made like two or three. I made two. I was supposed to make three.

Because how it works is that TikTok gives you a certain amount of credit to spend in the TikTok shop. So you can get free credit. I got two lip glosses and a cream blush for free. And I think I got $60 worth of credit. And then you have to make videos about whatever you bought through TikTok shop. And so I made one video, didn't do great, made another one, did do great. And I was like, I didn't even want to make the third one. Like the lip gloss I got is fine.

It's not amazing. The first one I got was like a nice color. This color doesn't look as good on me. I was like, I don't want to make this content, but you have to. And I didn't make it. So I have like a mark against my account. So I feel for the people who are making their required videos, the people that are making like video after video after video and they don't have the requirement,

they bug me. But I get them because I get them. It's, you have all these followers. You probably don't make that much money at your job because, like, who does these days? You have a platform that you can monetize. It's easy to do. TikTok is boosting some of those videos with the algorithm. Why wouldn't you do it?

This is why I love you and I love your content because I feel like I can trust you. You, like, keep it so fucking real. Like, I didn't know any of what you just said, but it makes so much sense. Is being an influencer somebody who is trying to get people to buy things at odds with being somebody who is fundamentally honest and critical? Because I see you as both. How does that work? I mean, how it works is that I don't make very much money.

You're like, I have another job. Yeah. I have a full-time job. And I've gone through some of the economics of being a, TikTok influencer before on my account where there's essentially three different ways you can make money. It's probably more income streams that are available to certain people, but these are the three ways that are available for me. One, you can do an ad with an outside company, right? So you'll create a TikTok, they'll pay you for it. I've done one ad before. You can also do affiliate links

So you show something on TikTok, you have a platform like to know it or like Shop My. I have a Shop My page personally. And so they go and they click through on the page and they can click through what you were talking about. And if they buy through your link, then you'll get a kickback from that. You'll get commission. Same with the Amazon storefront. It's the same exact idea except for the platform as Amazon. So through my Shop My page, I've made under $100.

through my Amazon storefront, I made a couple thousand because I had made a video about a walking pad. I'm the inclined walking pad. I'm possibly about to pull the trigger because of you on that walking pad, by the way. I still recommend it, especially as the weather's getting colder and you don't want to do your walks outside. But because that's a more high dollar amount item, I was able to get a bigger commission back, which is why I made a couple thousand through Amazon.

which is, that was just a short period of time. That's definitely slowed. And then the third way you make money is the creativity program. So there's the creators fund, and then there's a creativity program beta. And I think they're kind of trying to move people to the beta. But if you make a video over one minute long, then it's eligible for a kickback based on how many people view the video. So, and that is, I mean, it depends, I guess, how many views you're getting,

people that have like way, way, way high views all the time are going to make, can make so much money. But I mean, I have like 40,000 followers. I probably have like one or two viral videos a month and that comes out to a couple hundred dollars. It is much harder to be honest when there are a bunch of brands knocking down your door. I did a empties video. For those who don't know, an empties video is your skincare makeup, empties, things you finish. you go through and you talk about them, what you liked, what you didn't like. This video was all about ones that I repurchase.

So I liked them so much, I bought it again. And I said I tend to stick with my same old skincare, same old makeup. I try a couple new things, but I buy what I like. Realistically, if another brand comes knocking down my door, I say I've been using this retinaldehyde serum for three years now. And you come knocking down my door and you're like, I want you to sell this retinaldehyde serum for me. That's a tough position to be in.

Someone's offering you like a couple thousand dollars to try their retinaldehyde serum. And here's the thing. It could be a great serum. And it's not a lie. I'm not saying you're going to be tempted to lie. But you are kind of pretending that this item was so good that it broke you out of your routine, that the whole reason you tried a new item was just because. And it's like, no, this company came to me and said, try this.

And here's the thing, if a company came to me and said, try this, I would try it. If I liked it, I would talk about it. But more likely than not, you're going to see me come back to my old products. And that's the part about being an influencer where it's so tricky and so murky. It's like, okay, you like the product, but did you like it like it? Did you love it, love it? Should I really buy it? Let's take a quick break.

Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guide, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends, me and hilarious guests, from Jim Gaffigan to Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman, help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and headwriter, Streeter Seidel, help an Acapella band with their between songs banter. There's the worst singer in the group. The worst?

Yeah. Me. Is there anything to the idea that because you're from Harvard, you only got in because your parents made a huge donation. The group. The yard birds, right? That's the name. The Harvard Yard.

They're open. Do you have a name suggestion? We're open. Since you guys are middle-aged, one erection. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Huber me. I need some jokes to make me seem funny. Run a business and not thinking about podcasting, think again.

More Americans listen to podcasts than ad-supported streaming music from Spotify and Pandora. And as the number one podcaster, IHearts twice as large as the next two combined. So whatever your customers listen to, they'll hear your message. Plus, only IHeart can extend your message to audiences across broadcast radio. Think podcasting can help your business. Think IHeart. Streaming, radio, and podcasting. Let us show you at iHeartadvertising.com.

That's iHeartadvertising.com. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast's point game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without. Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game.

His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall.

And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis is our offense. And when IT's friends stopped by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that, IZAD,

you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. At our back. So I do. you like that tightrope of, like, am I watching a friend who is just genuinely giving me a tip, genuinely just giving me advice about a product they loved? Or is this like, they have a financial

incentive or a little bit of both? I think that's something that makes TikTok a little bit unique because on Instagram, it is full of like pretty people who look polished and perfect, who are obviously getting paid and they probably don't use these products. I know that when I'm scrolling Instagram. So if I get taken and I buy something, it's kind of on me. I get that. On TikTok, it feels a little bit different because the vibe, the nature of TikTok, I don't know, it just makes it a little hard to resist, I think. Like, it's like there is a vibe where it's just someone who seems like a friend chatting with me about a product they found that they really love. And it kind of mixes what I think makes TikTok good in the first place, right? Like,

this aspect of like an interesting person that I can sort of see myself in telling me something. On Instagram, it's like very aspirational, right? The person that I aspire to be on TikTok, it's like the person that I aspire to be is like polished effortlessly beautiful. On TikTok, it's the person who I actually am, right? Like lazy and easily entertained by novelty. And that is what gets me. There is something about TikTok that I think is uniquely poised to make

you want to buy shit that I don't need more than other platforms. Do you, do you, do you, do you ever find that? Oh, absolutely. I think one thing that people will sometimes say to me in my comments is it feels like we're just friends chatting on FaceTime. And I think that's kind of what you're getting at where it's so low-fi. People are just very casual. It's like you're talking to a buddy and of course, you're going to trust your buddy. Why was your buddy lie to you? Right. And I think that that piece of it not being polished is what makes it so dangerous because everyone seems just like you. But one thing that I feel like nobody really thinks about when they're watching these creators is that to be a creator in a lot of instances, you have to come in with a certain amount of money. Right.

Like you need money to buy the items that you want. were than reviewing and recommending. You need money to buy the clothes that you're showing off. And so you look at this person and you're like, oh, you're just like me. You're buying this? I could buy this. You can afford this. I can afford this.

But chances are they're not. Like, even if they are not making a bunch of money on TikTok, they are probably in a cushier financial situation than you. And that's why they're able to make such varied content. Yeah, they're not necessarily showing their, like, rich partner. And I'm thinking like, oh, we're in the same income bracket. It's like, no, you're actually not like, you are actually making a bad financial decision right now. So from my own unscientific anecdotal experiences, TikTok shop content is taking over the platform and increasing the overall amount of ad content on the platform. I'm not alone. Business Insider actually looked into it. They had one of their reporters watched 500,000, videos on TikTok. One found that about 72% were regular TikTok videos, while 30% were ads. Another found that 64% of the content was normal content and 36% was product related. So it does seem like there is more and more of this kind of content on TikTok right now. The products that I'm seeing, they range from like

fitness products, which always get me. Electric bathroom scrubbers, which like in your face TikTok algorithm, I would never buy a fucking like bathroom cleaning product. So you're off on that one. Like this chair that you can sit however you want, which like speaks to me as a queer person because the internet supposedly says that like queer people love to sit in chairs in unusual ways. We like won't sit in a chair a normal way. Two products that I have to say I did buy on TikTok shop. One was a set of watercolor paints that I am perfectly happy with. I saw it everywhere and I was like, I got to buy this.

So another purchase from TikTok that I'm a little more embarrassed about was this jar of perfumed body oil. Keep in mind, I have never worn perfume in my life. I am not a perfume person. So it's this TikTok that shows a woman who bought this body oil. She puts it on. And then she has a hidden camera that I guess is meant to show her partner his genuine reaction to her wearing this body oil. He comes, he hugs her. And he kind of, upon smelling this body oil, scoops her. her up in this warm, loving, seductive embrace. I don't even wear perfumes. I am kind of bothered by sense, but even I was like, I want to be scooped up lovingly and seductively. I got to buy this body oil. So it just goes to show that TikTok's algorithm we know is so good at getting a sense of and projecting back to you, your own triggers, your own weaknesses, your own tension spots, the things that

you maybe have a little bit of a hang up about. And then when you add in this consistent, consumerism aspect of TikTok shop, it then adds in that knowledge about us all and reflects back to you this product that purports to like fill the need that that weak spot opens. And when that happens, well, then you're like me and you're pulling the trigger on a jar of perfumed body oil when you don't even like perfumes. I do want to say that TikTok shop is available for both small businesses and also fast, big retailers as well. So you could be getting like a lovingly created small artisan piece that, or you could be getting like a piece of crap that might not even be legit. In a piece called the junk is winning for the Atlantic, Amanda Mull argues the quality of

items that are being hogged on TikTok might be a little bit questionable, plastic junk that will immediately break or even counterfeit goods. And this might actually be a feature the program itself. Moll writes, because like Amazon, TikTok shop uses a marketplace model, which aggregates listings created by more than 200,000 third-party sellers into a single shopping portal with a single checkout system. This system allows retailers to offer lots of products without taking the financial risk of buying and managing inventory up front. Amazon, Walmart, Target, among both other major retailers and upstarts, use variations of this marketplace model for a significant chunk of inventory.

Sellers buy the inventory create the listings and in many cases ship the orders themselves, assuming most of the risks and doing most of the work. The platform takes a cut of their sales in exchange for access to their audience of potential buyers.

This model has become popular because it allows wannabe retailers to spend up the online equivalent of a big box store relatively quickly and with less investment. An obvious downside of this model is that the inventory just has less hands-on management so that can be misleading

unreliable or even dangerous. Amanda Mall, Atlantic journalist, spoke to a TikTok spokesperson who said the algorithm plus human moderation is supposed to weed out bad products that do not meet their standards. However, this does not always account for problem listings, saying, quote,

sometimes problems go unnoticed until people start reporting issues, like listings that will use stock images that do not depict the product they're actually selling, or omit important details on sizing or material composition, or offer counterfeit and potentially unsafe products. Even legitimate listings from scrupulous sellers can make for a confusing or scammie-feeling shopping experience because sellers create a lot of duplicate listings for the same products.

That is especially common on TikTok where sellers rush to meet demand for a handful of products that have captivated the platform at any particular moment. So if you've ever thought that like shopping on TikTok or just like being on TikTok felt, kind of scammy. This is probably partially why. And I think that there's like just something about this that feels a little bit scummy. This journalist Amanda Mull describes being served an ad for a hairbrush where some places advertise it for $5, some people $2, some people 15, some people 10. And it makes people wonder like, is this a counterfeit hairbrush? Like, is this an ad I can really trust? Then other people go on and they're like, no, no, some people are selling scamy counterfeit

hairbrushes. I will give you the like real hairbrush at this price. And it just creates this experience where it just doesn't feel good, let alone feel like a place where you want to like add in your financial or credit card information. You know, who wants to hang out in a digital place where it feels like there's a scam behind every corner? More after a quick break. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guide, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygle and friends. Me and Hale. various guests from Jim Gaffigan to Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and headwriter, Streeter Seidel, help an

a cappella band with their between songs banter. There's the worst singer in the group? The worst? Yeah. Me. Is there anything to the idea that because you're from Harvard, uh, you only got in because your parents made a huge donation to the group. The yard birds, right?

That's the name. The Harvard Yardt Yard, but they're open. Do you have a name suggestion? We're open. Since you guys are middle-aged, one erection. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hulmer me. I need some jokes to make me seem funny.

Run a business and not thinking about podcasting, think again. More Americans listen to podcasts than ad-supported streaming music from Spotify. and Pandora. And as the number one podcaster, IHearts twice as large as the next two combined. So whatever your customers listen to, they'll hear your message. Plus, only IHeart can extend your message to audiences across broadcast radio. Think podcasting can help your business. Think IHeart. Streaming, radio, and podcasting. Call 844-4-4-I-Hart to get started. That's 844-8-4-4-I-Hart. What's up, Pam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast's Point Game is about defying the odds.

Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series

because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reed. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He run under the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball.

Like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Let's get right back into it. So also with how quickly TikTok has rolled this out, it feels like moderation is kind of becoming an issue. NBC News's Kat Tenbarge found last month that young people, like minors, are cashing in on selling stuff on this newly rolled out TikTok shop. In a statement responding to questions about the present of teens on TikTok shop, a TikTok representative said, as TikTok shop rolls out in the U.S., we continue to evolve our safeguards and are taking steps to address this issue.

TikTok asks users for their age when they sign up for an account, but there's an obvious, like, easy-to-avide loophole, which is like people can just lie about their age and pretend to be older than they are. There's also this a big issue of counterfeit products. Now, you and I both know TikTok is big on doaps. Like they love being like, oh, you want this product that's really pricey. Here's a dupe where they show a similar product for less money. But this could also include products that are illegal counterfeits. TikTok says they ban, quote, the advertising and sale of all counterfeit products. By ensuring the safety and authenticity of products sold on our platform,

we create a positive shopping experience that users can have confidence in, the policy ads. But a report by the Guardian back in April suggests that maybe the rules are not being super effectively enforced, with illicit beauty products routinely being promoted to users via their content feeds and search results. Since TikTok takes a cut, they're kind of essentially profiting off of the sale of counterfeit goods. The Guardian report reads, nine out of the first 12 results shown to people searching, quote, perfume in the TikTok shop section of the app, appeared to be counterfeit. The products included variations of Dior's savage perfume, I'm probably mispronouncing that, savage perfume, with names such as Swab or Savage,

and a copy of Victor and Rolf's Flowerbomb perfume, which looks the same at first glance, but was actually called Mark Invictor. So I don't think that, like, buying counterfeit goods is great, but, like, I'm not crying tears for Dior. They have plenty of money. But it's not just that these products can be fake and scammy and maybe illegal, they can also be harmful. TikTok bans the sale of prescription-only medicine such as acne skin creams and skin whitening creams that contain banned ingredients. But when the skin cream trettonone was taking off on TikTok, for instance, which you need a prescription to buy, you could also buy it on TikTok shop. So there is a reason why this is prescription-only. It contains products that might interact with

medications and cause fetal abnormalities if you're pregnant. So it's a reason. generally recommended to use under like medical or like doctor supervision, the Guardian spoke to Dr. Jane Ravencroft of the British Association of Dermatologists who said, the illicit sale of skin creams was a major concern and a major public health risk. She said, unfortunately, people selling these prescription products illegally are preying on people's insecurities and naivete. Social media adds fuel to the fire.

Now, I should say that TikTok eventually did add a block for search. for this product and then removed listings from third-party vendors that, you know, referred to this ingredient in their posts after this report was published. So it does seem like the rollout of this has maybe been a little bit iffy, but the question that I want to ask is, like, is it here to stay? From the research that I have seen, the answer is maybe, question mark. This kind of shopping platform functionality is much more common in places like China, where TikTok is based with brands like Timo. And I think that TikTok is kind of bedding

that it's going to take off in the United States too. So like imagine if Amazon and TikTok were to merge into one super app where you consumed content, made content, but also shopped every day. It's kind of like an everything app, the kind of thing that I think that Elon Musk is hoping to turn Twitter or X into.

But so far, I do think it might be a bit of an abrupt cultural shift to bring that kind of app to the United States. Facebook and Instagram, both tried out live shopping functionality only to later face them out. In Indonesia, one of the countries where TikTok first rolled out TikTok shop, TikTok shop has now been banned and shut down after the country banned commerce on social media platforms. According to The New York Times, the rules essentially mandate the separation of e-commerce and social media,

and they're meant to protect local merchants, prevent algorithms from dominating the market, and stop the use of personal data for business purposes. So to be clear here, I am not trying to demonize people who make content on TikTok shop to make money. Because on the one hand, like I kind of respect it. You know, making money from platforms like TikTok is difficult as a creator, especially considering what you said that like TikTok is kind of shying away from their creator platform, you know, this billion dollar pot of money that was meant to be doled out the people who make viral TikToks and such. Like I understand that people need to make money.

I've also heard reports of small businesses saying that they really find success from TikTok and it will blow up their businesses. And I think that's great. So I don't want to demonize the people who are, you know, making money, get your check. I'm with you. However, I do think that it's fair to be critical of the way that TikTok shop is being rolled out and how it's impacting the platform. You know, if we're seeing more and more ads on TikTok and it's feeling like walking around,

a scammy flea market, it is a problem. Maybe it's one of those like, don't hate the player, hate the game kind of things where it's like, yeah, don't demonize individual creators, but do ask questions about why and how one of the biggest social media platforms in the world, why their end game is ultimately to become this like massive e-commerce app, you know? And I also just think it's like tiresome that like all we can expect. from our digital experiences is being told to buy more stuff. I can understand why people feel this is like almost dystopian. You know, a teenager taking breaks in between classes to tell me a grown woman,

what kind of bathroom scrubber to buy does feel fundamentally kind of bleak. And I think especially in this moment and time that we're in right now, that feels like genuine, you know, social and political upheaval, having our largest communications platforms turning toward feeling more like digital scamy flea markets rather than places to find information, connection, and community does feel weird. Like I feel like I would rather open TikTok right now and find information about what's going on in the world, not like, hey, buy this whatever, you know, it might fall apart in three days when you open it. I get why people are expressing that it feels dystopian or weird.

And I also think it feels like a fundamental lack of imagination that we can't have better because I do fundamentally think that we can have, I mean, I think that you embody this, that like we can have consumerism, we can buy things that we like, we can save for things, we can make smart financial decisions and make intentional choices about where and how we spend our money and also be critical about consumerism, be critical about how we spend our money, where we put our money, where the platforms that we make purchases on, like their practices, I think it's possible that we can do both, like, have there be buying things that we like while also being critical of the system in which we buy them. Absolutely. I think that it's

definitely difficult to hold both of those, but it's definitely essential to as well. These platforms take up a ton of our time and our attention and now a bunch of our money. And I think it's important to be really reflective and really critical of why you're shopping, where you're shopping, who you're shopping from. And if you're shopping is putting you in a good financial position. Yeah. I mean, the over-consumerism part, I think is so important that you bring up on TikTok. things move so quickly, including trends. So one week, the trend is one thing. The next week, the trend is something else.

No one could possibly keep up with how quickly these trends come and go on TikTok. So one week, the trend might be everybody's buying this pastel mirror. The next week, it's going to be something else. It creates this digital churn and burn where you're constantly buying. The algorithm itself is inflaming that, keeping us all locked into this never-ending cycle of digital-fueled consumerism. And at the heart of it is really this empty idea that if you buy the exact right thing, buy the thing that's going to make your house look exactly a certain way, you will be happy. This need inside of you will be fulfilled. But it keeps you locked into this algorithmically generated cycle of never-ending consumerism. And that cycle just keeps you away from the fact that maybe your house is fine the way it is. Maybe you don't need to buy a million things to make your house look a certain way for you to feel fulfilled and happy. Yeah, I think once you hit the point where you're emptying out your spices into different spice jars so that they all match, like, you're too far gone. Like, you got to reel it in. And I've caught myself like, I'm like, oh, wouldn't that be nice? And it's like, no, that's honest, that's like psychotic. And like, I'm pulling, pulling myself, pulling myself back to reality. I think it's a reality check is something we could all use when it comes to social media. Definitely. The spice thing.

is a good one. I saw somebody's fridge on TikTok and I was like, I should dump all my eggs into a clear plastic thing and then write eggs and cursive. But I was like, wait, no, I would never use them. This would be like, this is a setup for me to have all my food items go to waste. I would never use that. So if you really, really are listening to this and you're like, I hate TikTok shop, what can I do? If you never want to see it again, you actually can turn it off. You can go to your profile, open the menu in the top right, hit settings and privacy and then content preferences, filter video keywords, and then add hashtag TikTok shop. And you will never see it again if you really are like over it. You're welcome. Tamika, thank you so much for like explaining

all of this to us and just helping us understand that you can enjoy shopping, enjoy being pretty, enjoy buying things while also being critical. Tell us where folks can find your content. and what you're up to. You can find me on TikTok. It is at Pretty Critical. And then I am to a lesser extent, but working on it on Instagram, which is at Pretty Critical underscore. You are one of my favorite social media follows. If you want someone who will tell you what to buy, but also like give you a sense behind the curtain of like what's going on with how we spend, how we decide what to buy, definitely follow Tamika. You are a real one. Thank you. much for being here. This was so fun. Thank you for having me. It really was.

Got a story about an interesting thing in tech or just want to say hi? You can reach us at hello at tangoody.com. You can also find transcripts for today's episode at tangoody. There are no girls on the internet was created by me, Bridget Todd. It's a production of IHeart Radio and unbossed creative. Jonathan Strickland is our executive producer. Tari Harrison is our producer and sound engineer. Michael Amato is our contributing producer. I'm your host, Bridget Todd. If you want to help us grow, write and review us on Apple Podcast. For more podcasts from IHartRadio, check out the IHartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite.

Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas.

And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was hungry. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come in to you, he's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball.

So listen to Point Game on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, it's Ashanti Plummer from Fudd around and Find out. This week, AZ Fudd and I sat down with Step and Curry. Step talks pressure, confidence, and what it really takes to stay great. There's different categories, I guess, so like conditioning, shooting drills where you try to simulate kind of games. Look at her face. We have a love-hate relationship with those because you know you're getting something out of it. You don't look forward to those days.

Listen to butt around and find out on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.