one of my first posts on here was about why i left tiktok, and i wanted to speak on an interesting issue ive noticed on the platform. in recent days, the platform has had an odd issue with users being entitled to enter and dictate the spaces of other people; if not with passive aggressive comments ("oh..." "oh that's not.....") then more often with direct statements. in additionally, many of the platform's users feel entitled towards access to others spaces, as they will complain about users having blocked them. im gonna tackle both of these things separately, because theyre both decent sized chunks of the discussion and i dont want them getting jumbled up.

for starters, people on tiktok feel like they're granted some form of say over the day-to-day lives of literal strangers. in my personal experience, i recieved a negative comment about how i keep a pride flag in my front window because "natural light is good," to which i responded by explaining that i keep the flag in my window because i myself am queer and want to show people my house is a safe space for the community without risking the flag being stolen or damaged. the person then doubled down and insisted i move it outside (even though i had just explained why it was inside) because "natural light is a must, at least for [them]," as if it was their room and flag. ive also recieved negative comments on my hair, and when i responded playfully by saying "it's like that because it's dyed" i was told that i should change MY hair on MY head if i dont want people to be rude about it. im not obligated to change aspects of my life to please others, and youre not obligated to like it- but youre not entitled be an ass about it if you dont.

second, theres the point about people feeling a sense of entitlement towards others' spaces. i find it ironic how whenever you express issues with bullying on tiktok, people will belittle you and say "just block them..." because whenever you block someone on the platform, they throw a tantrum over it. i have seen people lead a smear campaign against an influencer because she blocked some people who were watching her content... she's not obligated to let them watch. people are allowed to block others for whatever reason they see fit, from something major like "you post unedited footage or vultures eating roadkill" to minute things that dont matter, like "you dont like the color orange." whats crazy to me is that around september, when tiktok started trying to sweep bot/spam acccounts and accidentally banned people for switching between their own pages, people were genuinely upset because they wouldnt be able to switch to throwaway accounts to continue stalking people. that isnt normal or healthy, stalking is creepy behavior. ive seen many a post where someone will call this out and people will defend stalking their exes/ex friends in the comments, but the way people will hate any form of criticism towards this is so bizzare. i made a post saying that tiktok does have the option to allow users to block by IP address or SIM, but wont due to the fact that the platform basically runs on the hate and harassment that feature would prevent, and a commenter accused me of saying "tiktok should let users have access to everyone's IP address and SIM!!!" to make my point seem bad. ive had the misfortune of interacting with some of the people that defend stalking, and the experience was rather upsetting. these people seem to think that their actions are either justified somehow or not even bad because "their page is public!!" if someone asks you not to go into their house, but the door isnt locked, entering their house is still a dick move. speaking from experience, i've had an ex friend of mine stalk my page: it wasnt fun, it wasnt cool, it was unsettling. if you're stalking someone online knowing theyll fell like this whenever they learn what youre doing, then youre a genuinely creepy person

all in all, tiktok users have been weirdly entitled towards others' spaces, whether it be access to them or authority over them. if you dont like what someone posts, leave. if they dont want you there, leave. the internet being a place for everyone does not mean everyone's page has to be for everyone, and that's something many have forgotten.