41. TikTok w/ Josh Hawkins

Over the last few months, simmering behind the daily updates of COVID-19 cases, a social media app has been under scrutiny. TikTok, owned by Chinese-based company ByteDance has become massively popular with users around the world, however privacy concerns around data has seen it banned in India, and chatter suggests that the USA and Australia may follow suit. But as many of the estimated 500 million worldwide TikTok users have suggested, many of whom are teenagers, isn't it all just a bit of harmless fun? To help talk through this conundrum, I've invited Josh Hawkins - better known as Hi Josh - on to the show. Josh came to fame on YouTube throwing stuff over his shoulder, but has since branched out with videos on Facebook, Instagram, and yes, TikTok. In total, his videos have been viewed more than 350 million times, including a couple million on TikTok. Together we discussed the popularity of TikTok, the risks involved, and the way in which the platform has been defending itself among the Australian public. Find Josh Hawkins on Instagram @hijosh, Facebook @hijosh, and on YouTube at @hijosh. As you might have gathered, he's also on TikTok @hijoshtiktok. Find out more about Josh at hijosh.com. The articles referenced in this podcast are 'Is it time to delete TikTok? A guide to the rumors and the real privacy risks.' by Geoffrey A. Fowler at The Washington Post; and 'TikTok uses newspaper ads in campaign to ease privacy concerns' by Mariam Cheik-Hussein at AdNews. Thank you so much for listening! Hit 'subscribe' on Apple Podcasts, or 'follow' on Spotify to get new episodes in your feeds every Tuesday. And leaving a rating and review really does help get the word out, so feel free to do so if you enjoyed listening! I'm always keen to hear from you. Connect with the show: Instagram: @whatshallwedopod Facebook: @whatshallwedopod Twitter: @whatshallwepod Email: whatshallwedopod@gmail.com What Shall We Do About...? is hosted and produced by Sam Robinson, who is on Twitter @samsquareeyes.