I think infinite scroll is one of the biggest reasons why people can’t stop watching short videos. When there is no pause, time passes very fast without us noticing. This is already hard for adults to control, and it is even harder for teenagers. I remember during one of our family dinners, I saw my 13-year-old cousin watching short videos on the sofa for the whole afternoon. This is really scary. Even when I used to be addicted to games, I never played for that long without stopping. I think people must quickly find ways to stop this kind of design from hurting teenagers.

I think combining both one-way and two-way connection types is a very good design. One-way follow means you support the creator, which helps high-quality content makers to get more exposure and possibly earn more. At the same time, when people follow each other back, it becomes a two-way connection, which keeps the social part of the app. Just like a chat app, two-way connection makes sure we don’t get disturbed by too many strangers. TikTok uses this kind of mixed design, and I think it is very useful and thoughtful.

I think this one reminds me that data or technology can hurt people not only through bad system design, but also through how people use platforms. In real life, we know we should respect others, but on social media, people often forget this. They just argue to protect their opinion, even if their words really hurt others. For example, on Chinese platforms, I saw many NBA fanslike LeBron or Kobe fans argue about “who is better.” But these debates often become personal attacks, even cursing each other’s family. I think this is a kind of online data violence too, because people ignore the emotional impact of their words.

I think when doing data collection or research, it's quite hard to consider everyone's feelings or get full data. Because of that, I think researchers very easily cause bias, since people usually believe what they already think is right. For example, in the Marvel movie Shang-Chi, the writers thought they were showing respect to Chinese culture. But many Chinese audience felt it had a lot of stereotypes. This shows different people can see the same "data" in very different ways. I think research is also like if you only use one point of view, the result may not be correct for other people.

I used to think buying followers is only for making an account look popular. But after seeing how some drama marketing accounts use bots on Douyin, I realized it's more serious. By buying followers, these accounts can instantly attract public attention, even if it's just for a few minutes. This fake popularity will push the post into more people's feeds no matter if you have strong judgment or not, you will be drawn in. I think this is very unfair and unethical, because we are being manipulated without knowing it.

I once watched short clips of a trending Chinese TV drama on Douyin (Chinese TikTok). Some of the plot was very controversial because it violated real-life values. However, in the comment section, I saw so many people supporting the wrong ideas in the show. I was very angry and even joined the debate with those "supporters" under the video. Later, I found out many of those comments were actually generated by bots created by the drama’s marketing team, just to attract attention and create fake popularity. At that moment, I felt really used, because I gave them free engagement just by arguing with fake people. This reminds me of the donkey protest example — like the donkey doesn't know what message it carries, the bot also has no awareness. The real people behind it stay hidden while others get emotionally involved.

I understand the meaning of “a person is a person through other people,” but honestly it makes me feel uncomfortable. I don’t think we are just defined by others or our relationships. Everyone has their own self. We are not just part of a group. Instead, we are also individuals with personal values and freedom. I think many people lose chances to show or improve themselves because of this kind of idea. It shouldn't be a limit to individual development. For example, my friend’s sister studied abroad and respected other people’s culture so much that she always tried to fit in and not “bother” others. But in the end, she gave up many of her own habits and opinions. I feel she lost part of herself just to become acceptable to others.

As a Chinese student, we have been learning these two values since we were young, and also knew a lot about how different emperors used them in their own dynasties. Confucianism was more often preferred by kings. But I think these two ideas are actually complementary — we not only need the order and responsibility from Confucianism, but also should learn the natural balance and freedom from Taoism