how TikTok creators trick you into watching their content

[rohitduda]

we need more of these deconstructions seriously.

as someone applying psych this fall, your insight into so many of these little niche topics is so valuable. you rock preston. also goated cat edit.

[hihihi]

that's why we love you Preston. Always keeping it real.

The video of your cat DID blow my mind ❤

[jimjamesjimothy]

I felt the initial content satisfied my having clicked, now having seen a cat (which very much appeals to me) I feel my click was more than worth my time, perhaps even worth a share. Theory checks out.

[ada]

Great video and your cat is so beautiful she seriously needs her own TikTok.

[misteratoz]

Recently Preston has been preaching and I'm here for it

[pathurd]

Buddy says he values our time only a short month after the infamous yapper video

[omethingsBetterThanNothing]

came for the cat
heard some yap
stayed for cat
saw the cat
happy with the cat :)

[jacksta]

Also these videos where you are analyzing BS media trends from a psych perspective are awesome baby

[B-lj]

Psychiatrist discovers sales & copywriting

[Dragonmoon]

Kitty!!! 😺 . . . Oh, and I agree about the click bating, too.😁

[monkey_doodle]

Thank God I have horrible titles on tiktok and youtube. I'm boring. 😢 😅

[steviereads]

Hey Preston! Another great video, but please allow me to practice being critical :D Here come's the word dump:

You correctly point out that she uses a lot of common psychological “hacks” to garner attention and prolong viewing time. In so doing she has effectively demonstrated the exact thing she is advertising, which is improving engagement metrics. The metrics (other than that ridiculous 19k view count that was posted as an example) provided are immediate proof of that.

Whether you should pay her for this knowledge is a separate matter.

But saying that this isn’t a “good” video is missing the point. The value of the video to the creator is the number of eyeballs and the length of time those eyeballs stay on the video. And the value of the video to the audience is that edging dopamine drip that comes without “finding out the secret” and soon to be becoming one with he ingroup.

I understand and appreciate that as a trained psychiatrist and scholar of human behavior this is all trite and malicious. And I love me a good dunking video on con-artists and grifters, but just because you recognize nefarious, low-hanging, attention grabbing tricks doesn’t make it an unsuccessful video in the eyes of the creator or the viewers.

It’s the ticktock version of reality TV.

What I think about when I see a video like hers - in relation to your critic of it - is like a company doing stock-buybacks. A company can improve shareholder value in the short run, but they aren’t investing in RnD, and shooting themselves in the foot in the long run. It’s all a cheap trick to elicit immediate value, and I predict that if she continues like this she won’t last, but in the interim her stocks go up, and she’s a sellout.

All that being said, thanks for the great video, and looking forward to the next one!

[jacksta]

Preston I like this video and I like you

[sdfPZXC]

most people have more time than money unlike the doctor, and obviously they still give that vdo a like… i hate that too.

[Foxbeep_]

Jokes on u im still disappointed - that one surgery attending

[abd-animation-]

I hate cats
I am disappointed at the end