TikTok's Accountability Culture 

I've found that almost everyone who does "call-in" videos ends up getting cannibalized by their own audience when they make a mistake. Because they've trained / groomed their audience in how to attack other creators when THEY made mistakes.

2:25 I downloaded TikTok and relapsed on my eating disorder within a week. I had been in recovery for years. Deleted that shit

This is so true. When I “blew up” on TikTok and had 40,000 followers, I began sexualizing myself or doing skits that I did not find funny. It’s fun when you’re doing what you want, but it’s so hard to avoid the temptation. Ended up deleting it 😂😂

me listening to this to go to sleep feels disrespectful yet right…..

Also I hate that "call in" was supposed to be an alternative to "calling out," but there's now no real difference in practice other than that "calling in" uses more social justice-y language.

I had to delete the app because I had nothing on my fyp that I would like to look at. The moment algorythm recognized anything about me if tried to feed me ragebait. No scrolling, blocking, reporting etc worked.

I know it was the like “preface” to the main point of this video but I would listen to a deep dive on the tiktok algorithm and how it’s poison all day

I love how you made the point that these people who are calling out other creators think they’re morally superior. It’s so bizarre to me (an introverted millennial) how people show their face to millions of strangers online to boldly state opinions that they clearly did not fact check themselves on. I admit I sometimes find these videos amusing because I love drama but I stopped watching them because my for you page started bombarding me with “call out” videos and it was exhausting.

I think it's important that accountability culture is something that can only really happen in communities. I think a lot of influencers who make call out posts sort of offer the idea to their audience that they can repair a relationship with another influencer that they never actually had. In order to hold someone accountable you have to be able to talk to them directly. There have to be different people who can step up into different roles in the repair process and offer different kinds of support. There needs to be a clear idea of what it means to keep that person in community and on a path toward not doing harm anymore.

I’ve been learning so much from these video essays you’ve made lately. Thank you. The parasocial relationship video has genuinely helped me evaluate some parts of my life and I’ve noticed a positive difference in my mindset!! Please continue making these if you like doing them- they’re so educational!

This is actually something I’ve been thinking about a lot recently. I will never understand the mentality that if someone doesn’t speak out against every major world event it means they don’t care. Most people delete news apps and block posts about things like war and terrorism because it’s too depressing, yet they expect random tiktokers to make speeches about them just to prove they think war is bad?

I agree for the most part. The only thing I slightly disagree with is the reason behind people interacting with accountability culture. Firstly, accountability culture and cancel culture are the social media versions of social behavior known as ostracism, something that has been around since the dawn of humanity. I think explaining this context is important so people don’t end up saying things like “kids these days” and blaming current generations for these cultural trends. Secondly, TikTok is unique in that it makes people feel empowered. Many of us have grown frustrated at the world, many economic, social, relationship, and personal issues we struggle with. In addition, with wages that feel frozen in time, every lasting inflation, wars, and threats to western democracies, many will inevitably crave anything, even if it’s on social media, that will make them feel empowered. Therefore, in a world where it feels like we have very little individual power, it can be addictive to become part of something larger than you, something which feels like you are holding people who are “perceived” to be in power accountable. Whether or not this is productive, nearly everyone can agree it is engaging, which is when that sense of scapegoating comes in.

As someone who has never been on TikTok, I just learned so much about this world so many people I love inhabit. Thank you for making this video.

It’s like that black mirror episode of the people on bikes and the guy with the piece of glass who becomes an influencer for having a breakdown about society.

Thank you for putting into words what I felt but didn’t know how to express. Judging yourself by the supposed standard of accountability culture is exhausting.

Yeah. I hate how influencers always either avoid the blame or blatantly state that it’s not their fault when the facts say otherwise.

Thank you, Caroline. I stopped using TikTok a few years ago for much of the reasons you mentioned here. I felt pretty alone in this perspective. It seemed no one else saw this.

oh man, this is an amazing video. you are so considerate in your language, and i love love love the eloquent way you articulate thoughts on this issue. you made so many good points here but especially at 19:02 - this is a really thoughtfully articulated statement. a close friend of mine (who has maybe 20 followers - mostly her friends) posted a video about nerds gummy clusters a few weeks ago. the video gained a strange amount of traction and her comment section was inundated with complete strangers just shitting on her, calling her horrible names and basically saying, “there are people dying and this is what you’re posting about?” and it felt just like that. she just ended up taking it down because she was so sad, but i think it really shifted my perspective on tiktok in general. people are hurting deeply right now and responding with kindness seems to be the last thought, so i really appreciate your kindness and thoughtfulness in this video. thank you so much for sharing

I appreciate the distinction between cancel culture and accountability culture. And also the moral high ground of the audience collectively pressuring someone into a certain behavior.

You hit the nail right on the head when you said that people start to question their own judgement. Sometimes, when I see some sort of post calling some action out, I look at the comments to see if people agree with me first. Then I questioned myself. Why should I care if other people agree with my judgment? If it's really important to me, I might say something, but I find myself just scrolling passed a lot of this stuff now a days. I swear this kind of content has really eroded my faith in human kindness. I mean, no matter what your opinions and values are, in most cases, people deserve to have a little bit of patience and understanding.

everytime i hear “my name is caroline and i make internet content” i know im in for a great take

i think one of the best things i ever did was leave tiktok and twitter. i still use tumblr (it’s not dead, i know, what???) and the drop of the algorithm is incredible. i can fully spend an hour on there and never come across drama, because it’s something that is usually confined to inner circles. the algorithm of twitter and tiktok though? outrage sells.

I don't use TikTok, I'm not on FB, IG, Twitter etc. and yet it amazes me some of the comments I see on RU-vid videos. Channels who make completely neutral, niche content are bombarded with comments demanding they speak out on some such cause or world event or political happenings. That's not what their channel is for, it's their content and they don't owe anyone anything. The entitlement of people who (unless you pay for Premium) watch hours and hours of content for free who make demands of creators is absolutely unhinged behavior.

dude i try to stick to who i like online and avoid everything else! my mental health cannot deal with these crazies no mo

When Caroline said ‘you’ve got this’ at the end it made me feel a motivation I didn’t know I had in me. Thank you for everything you do, Caroline.

Top tip: delete your tiktok for just a day, if deleting it altogether feels too much. I started doing that last September, and I would periodically re-download it for a couple days, then delete again. I went from going a few days without it to a week, fortnight, month and now six weeks at a time. Tiktok does have value but if you struggle to moderate your usage then this could be a useful method ❤

I’ve definitely been disillusioned with social media since I quit Twitter (back when it was still called that lol) about 2 years ago. The lack of kindness, nuance and boundaries really put me off and I decided my internet usage would be joyful and I wouldn’t argue for anyone online if I disagree with someone. I make a point to comment only my thoughts under a video essay or to share a positive thought. And I made a point to filter my content to what makes me feel informed or happy and now my algorithm feeds me cat videos, video essays, drag queens, music, and crafts and I love it!

good for you on not being on social media- ive sworn off tiktok, twitter, im almost completely off instagram (youtube and tumblr remain my time-consuming vices) and i love being out of the loop so much. what are people talking about? dont know. dont care. theres some cool shit on tiktok! my life is not any worse for not seeing it! (also i have an idea about how this affects the way people view accountability in interpersonal relationships- i pissed off my roommates a while ago and have been trying ever since to make up for it, but whenever i did something even slightly impolite OR SOMEONE ELSE DID SOMETHING YES I GOT BLAMED FOR EVERYTHING suddenly none of that mattered and i would make a half assed apology for something that i really shouldnt apologize for and get told that i wasnt taking enough accountability and should try harder to be better. luckily most of them have moved out and i am probably moving out in like a month)

A host on a podcast I listen to a while ago wisely said “not everything needs to be a take” and I stopped using TikTok shortly after that

Keep making video essays fr. I occasionally saw you in shorts but didn't really get attached to the content. I'm in the video essay side of RU-vid, and I'm looking forward to your essays being a part of my day while I do dishes or whatever. They're genuinely thought provoking and sometimes subversive and it's great!

I've been waiting for sooo long to hear about accountability culture. It's so straight forward and up to the actual meaning of it. I think if accountability culture becomes more popular it can definitely change the world with more kindness then hate. Cancel culture really became toxic real fast and just ended up as an excuse to exaggerate and negatively make a situation worst then better. It turn into a thing to fear and not respect, unlike accountability culture which actually brings justice and accountability and also leads the person who has done something wrong to learned from thier mistakes.

The ED thing is true for Instagram reels as well. At the height of mine almost every video was “what I eat in a day” or healthy food replacement or any diet culture videos. It was really bad

Woah I just had a conversation about Brittney Broski catching stray bullets on the Tana and Cody Ko (man who allegedly slept with underaged Tana) situation. What you described in this video is exactly what’s been happening! Adam McIntyre video about her is flooded with anti Brittney comments that are almost as passionate as the ones they’re throwing at Cody Ko. It’s so weeeeird

I wish this would go viral! i agree wholeheartedly with you. i've ranted about this topic to many of my friends and family, but you actually explained it so much more well thought out. thank you for sharing this

caroline not fueling my crippling diabolical parasocial relationship by not giving me a special greeting for this not being my first time here :C 😢🥺

I am impressed by the speed at which I got to this one lol

Just the entire preface … wow. That already provoked so many thoughts. I h8 so many exposure algorithms. I never had tiktok & I reset my ig so I can disconnect from friends. But the 4 u pages keep updating 2 things I don’t want. I only reliably like Twitter bc I can focus on who Im interested in & I have no expectations 4 myself. Being connected 2 friends was also more detrimental 2 my health than it was beneficial. I never felt more lonely & following toxic thought patterns than watching ppl who refused 2 connect with each other.

wow I am loving your longer content so much your wording is incredibly clear and helpful

I do want to say, I am really really enjoying your video essays! They’re informative, digestible, your humour is still present even though it’s a serious topic, and you bring up questions that make us think about the topic at hand and evaluate how we’re moving in the world with this new information. I actually had to log off of tiktok because of how aggressive the fyp was and how long it was keeping me tied to my phone, and the overall (for me) negative vibes and content I was seeing. I have people in my life that I care vey much about that are absolutely in the 1.5hr+ of tiktok a day category and I honestly can’t even fathom losing that much time turning your brain to mush with that ironclad fyp algorithm locking you in. I purposely only stick to the social media I like and enjoy and want look at content that I want a career in (mostly artists, musicians and photographers on instagram and twitter) friends & family and that’s it. The call out/call in culture has really gotten so out of hand these days. No celebrity or public figure no matter how involved or not they are with world issues can skate by without being called out for not saying anything, or not saying or doing enough. They can’t impress the demanders no matter what they do or don’t do anymore even if they’ve never talked about the issue or similar issues on hand. The way that people think that public figures/celebrities/people with any sort of platform owe us anything at all is crazy and the moral police need to be stopped, they did not sign up for this.

Never stop making these discussion type videos! This is my favorite thing you do.

I LOVE that you've been doing these vids! I love the comedy ASMR but these are soooo good to have as background noise like a podcast, get's my brain thinking while I relax!!

You have such nuanced, compassionate, eloquent takes!

This video is excellent and has explained a lot of the culture on tiktok that I havent understood before, this video will help me to be able to talk about this phenomenon with more clarity, thank you!

love your content and your nuanced and insightful takes!!! thanks for taking the time to focus on making wholly original commentary content!!!

Insightful as always, Caroline! I find myself nodding my head along with you in these long form topic videos. You touched on it a lot in this video, but I'm curious your take on mass manipulation/social engineering that social media has created in our society as a whole. You mentioned feeling less confident in your own judgement of others and seeking out validation for your dislikes. There are so many repercussions like this I feel we need to talk about more! I think a lot of peoples critical thinking is being replaced with hive mentality, even in myself sometimes, and it's scary when you realize this is all our younger generations know nowadays.

I appreciate your perspective and the way you articulate it

My issue with internet callouts, even somewhat justified ones, is that, if they go viral, they always always always always ALWAYS turn into a dogpile. ALWAYS. I have yet to see an exception. Like, there's a point where they either get it or they don't - being the 500th person to leave a mean comment on a video or a tweet isn't going to move the needle on that one. The real "what did you expect? it's the internet" should be directed at the people who make callouts and then act all shocked when it gets out of hand - like, has it ever gone any other way? I understand sometimes public callouts are necessary - like if a person is doing real, tangible harm, and attempts to handle the matter privately haven't worked, sometimes the only way is to get eyes on the situation. But most of the time, I would think it isn't worth the cost. A single video calling an influencer out on something bad they did is probably perfectly fair, but it never stays a single video. It always gets out of hand, and most of the people involved don't even really care about the original offense in the first place.

another thoughtful and insightful deep dive🎉 I appreciate how you don't use clips from content creators as examples; it reaffirms how this is not a salacious undertaking on your part. you are a compelling speaker and easy to listen to while I work out or work

I think I said this before on one of your other video essays but I really appreciate how well-spoken you are and how extensively researched and thought-out your content (I honestly hate that word but I don't know how else to describe it lol) is. You put into words what I feel but struggle to articulate, so thank you.

Great video essay Caroline. You put thoughts into words so well and speak so eloquently

I really appreciate the time you put into this video!

I really appreciate this. It’s hard to give up the easy life of online users and instead really analyze the intersectionalities of being a human in front of others.

This is such a refreshing and eye opening take on this topic! You put into words what I haven’t been able to. I love your content!!!

These videos are so interesting to me, thank you for making them

I appreciate you even more now Caroline!! 👏🏼 So glad to hear you’re no longer on Tik Tok. 🎉Me either. 😊 I’m only on RU-vid so I’m really enjoying your content here. Thank you.

I started following you on TT because of your funny unaccompanied minor content. Who knew you would become the person I learn from (family vloggers, paranormal relationships, and more). Thank you!

Great video, keep making stuff like this please!! Very well spoken, and a great influence on my brain

This is my first time I am checking out your channel and you've said A LOT about how I felt when I was on tiktok.

i’m in love with your long form content, keep going bc you’re doing amazing !

I'm 50 seconds in and I'd just like to say how incredibly smooth the introduction of this video is, I'm absolutely enamored

This is an excellent video, thank you shining a spotlight on this.

This kind of reminds me of the Mama Max situation. I wasn't like... around for the fallout but I watched the videos of the people affected - minus Corpse because I couldn't find anything from him on the harassment and threats he got after MM named him directly - and it was honestly really alarming. And it was bizarre because I only found out about what he was doing behind the scenes because I really enjoyed one of the videos I came across. I thought it was well written and beautifully edited. And then. The algorithm handed me the people he attempted to destroy. I was floored. I felt the same when I started seeing mad red flags in illuminaughtii's videos and unfollowed after her "explanation" when she started airing out details about a friends mental health and apparently literally showed a final letter they'd written. The whole Legal Eagle thing was immediately weird to a lot of people but finding out just how deplorable she actually was to the people she was actually in contact with was harrowing considering how she discussed scam artists on her channel. I personally prefer actual news take downs to social media exposes - unless it is letting everyone know about predatory or violent people in a community - but even within those niches the creators themselves could be perpetuating the same behavior they publicly decry. Performance can be quite lucrative.

Thanks for making this video. You made some excellent points.

This was such an awesome and well thought out video. So cool to see the person behind the skits.

It's kinda funny that I found you through tiktok skits and now I'm seeing this video. The only content I tend to see on tiktok is stream clips and skits so I had no idea about any of this stuff. I definitely have seen some of what is talked about here in the RU-vid space but I've never really thought about it that much other than once or twice with a handful of creators.

Love these, keep em coming!

This is such a thoughtful and well articulated take. Thank you for putting it out there!

This video is so good. I think about this all the time, asking people to comment on super serious stuff they know nothing about leads to the rapid spread of disinformation.

this is a great video and verbalised a lot of my thoughts on this whole culture on the internet!!

I find great interest in your Video-Essay videos. Thank you for sharing

I hit 70K on tiktok, quit my job, and started being a full time creator. And let me tell you, I didn't realize how TOXIC TikTok was until I started building community outside of the platform. TikTok has a lot of great people, and its not all bad, but the intro you made was so on point. People engage with you as if you are something to poke at. I don't regret building myself up on the platform. It's really great if you have a plan, like you said, but you need an exit strategy. As a creative, a lot of my latter experiences after becoming "successful" just felt like I was constantly preyed on by the platform or the users. It totally tainted my view of the platform. Every time I post now, I feel like a zoo animal. I'm currently on a "break" from TikTok, and I genuinely don't know if I'll come back to it at a creator. Even the content is hard to consume because I know what it takes to make it 3x a day and it ALL just feels off. It's like twitter, except visual. And I dont have a twitter because of its toxicity. And tbh, I have a lot of supportive and loving people, but it still feels strange being on the platform.

Call out and call in is genuinely just trying to justify bullying.

This is important to talk about, thank you

I see what you mean. Just because people have a platform where they can point out the wrongdoings of others, it doesn't mean you're necessarily a better person, or have superior morals. People agree with things on Tik Tok without even questioning it.

I really love and respect your content !

As someone who never used and never will use TikTok (I can't make videos because I hate my voice and face), this is certainly fascinating to learn about from my highly outside perspective.

You put my disillusionment and frustration with social justice tiktok into words so articulately!!

More of these if you want/ have energy I do like your takes but I enjoy what ever

The little thing about your name at the beginning had me actually laughing out loud.

i appreciate a lot of your points about the tiktok algorithm and how people's experiences are so vastly different due to the fyp. it's always good to remember the baseline that we're working with, and to check our assumptions about our favorite creators. i also like how you pointed out the difference between holding people accountable for what they *have* done that was bad, vs. what they *have not* done that they should have. but after watching this video, i'm left wondering what the role of community is here. i mean, the algorithm encourages every creator to be the one standout individual who accumulates more attention, engagement, and social capital than their "competitors," but can we go beyond this mindset? not every creator needs to give their opinion on every topic, and indeed sometimes it might be unreasonable to "hold creator x accountable" for their lack of comment on a specific topic, but we all do play a role in our communities. especially for creators who build a brand and make money off a specific value or niche, i think it is reasonable in some circumstances to expect some kind of perspective from them regarding an important issue in that niche. and maybe that perspective is simply, "i don't actually know enough about this, do you have any book/website/documentary recommendations?" or "i don't feel comfortable sharing my opinion online because of genuine safety concerns" or "here's another creator who has been helpful in changing my views" or "i'm doing work regarding this topic in real life and don't want to also talk about it online" or whatever else. we can acknowledge the complexity of the human experience and recognize that these creators are living their own lives, while also seeing ourselves as all part of a community with the goal of sharing knowledge and supporting those who need support.

All I can say is thank you.

I admire and respect you

New video let’s gooooo

12:58 that explains why apologies are so popular

so true!! ❤

I’m not on TT at all, but I am a fan of Lindsay Ellis and watching her be absolutely broken down in the name of accountability was heartbreaking.

5 minutes ago? i am here.

Caroline, I want you to know that I’m only following you because of this tik-tok call out video, and if you don’t post a new one in 7 days time, I and everyone else who supports you, will leave you forever. Good luck out there! (Jk I love all of your videos, but I had to make this joke 😭)

I'm not a fan of cancel culture, BUT...I believe The Vegan Teacher needs to be canceled. That's all.

Love your videos btw.

This is good but I would appreciate examples because I'm not sure I know exactly what you're talking about. Are there people who have entere channels for telling other people they should apologize?

The whiteboard doing work 😂 you should write it off as a business expense at this point

hi caroline thx for the video

I saw this at 1 minute, but decided not to cause a car crash You're welcome, world ❤

Omg so informative

Yeah it's part of why I don't want to fall into the trap of becoming a content creator who ALWAYS has somebody else's content in my background while I sit and yap about it. What goes around comes around and I wont like it WHEN that happens to me so i don't really want to make any content like that about anyone else. It's tempting as a way to share my opinion but I decided taking somebody's video and making my video about that is...kinda shitty esp since they can no longer delete any content that now lives forever on my content unless I violated policy and it gets deleted or unless I choose to remove it. Most things people do aren't worth manufacturing that kind of scenario in the first place IMO so I just dont.

you have the mind of a mastermind

This is so true all of it

Cancel culture & accountability culture is probably occupied by the same ppl. It’s an audience that just wants 2 critique without repercussions or constructive actions. Hello !! This is a chronically online problem. This is a personality problem. This is a problem with ppl who feel entitled 2 their parasocial relationships. I personally appreciate being on Twitter, never saying anything, & watching big names flub their words or have a controversial/wrong opinion or just b imperfect bc it normalises being human 4 me. I respect the intelligence & morality of ppl & I can still think they’re wrong. Inversely, I can just accept that some ppl r vile & do not deserve my thought.

Unrelated to the video but have you ever had your thyroid checked? I’m a health sciences student and I can’t help but notice your thyroid looks potentially enlarged. I don’t want to worry you since it could just be your anatomy, but I felt I had to tell you since it’s worth looking into!