I downloaded TikTok, curious about anything that draws the ire of narcissitic authoritarians. What I found browsing the public feed (I did not make an account) was random Americans, playful and goofing off, in 30 second increments. It was like everyone in the country was getting silly at a party with their friends and I was being teleported between them.

There’s no doubt that it was a horrible attention sink that had to come off my phone immediately, but I have to admit, there was something beautiful about it.