Yes, Tik Tok is harmless, unless you’re a moron. The thing is, there are too many morons out there. Too many. The narratives of 18-hours’ work a day, sick parents etc are often full of holes and will not stand up to the slightest scrutiny, but folks who seem to disappointed that Santa Claus is not real would desperately try to write themselves into the soap opera script and even end up fighting over these pretty girls who seem like they’re made in heaven compared to the nasty real girls back home. It’s just that the girls who are seemingly made in heaven aren’t real. Just ask any honest Chinese, man or woman, if you know any.
As LaoWhy (Matt Tye) put it, there’s a whole brigade of White Knights out there. As someone who has seen rural China off-stage and unscripted, I can tell you that the girls there don’t look anything like those featured on Tik Tok. These spotless, well-dressed and pretty girls are all sophisticated social media buffs from the city, period. This phenomenon looks similar to the “love letters” that Thai girls wrote to their Farang boyfriends, except that the reach and impact are multiplied manifold by the miracle of modern technology.
Of course, the ultimate of these charmers is monetisation (donations/sales) and just like many WeChat scams out there, they manage to swindle millions of dollars from moronic White Knights all over the world. The older fogies often criticise youngsters for spending too much time in the virtual world and being out of touch with reality. Interestingly, it’s the older fogies who fall for such scams.
If morons can be manipulated to sympathise with virtual characters adopting an exotic alien culture, they can likewise be manipulated to sympathise with an “unconventional” political ideology. This is where Tik Tok can be harnessed (with pretty ladies) to promote the Chinese government’s agenda and expunge all others.