For Hellenic Polytheist resources and information:
Please pay attention to where you are getting your information from and what the motives are for those giving it to you, and why. Also, please pay attention to how accessible it is for the platform to give information.
- This platform makes it very easy to access information in posts via links.
- The people posting won't get much out of sharing information so the ones who share information tend to just do it because they want to, and their information is easy to analyze and determine if it's useful.
- The Format via Reblogs also makes it easy for others to challenge the information on posts who get popular. The button that lets you see the discussion and reblog history also makes it easy to see what previous people have said in case there have been challenges, which is good for those doing their research. You don't want one person to be the only one with that source, and if their information is not very concrete you want others to challenge that.
Setbacks: people who have reading disabilities like dyslexia or are visually impaired might have problems with long posts so getting information via a visual format might be better which is why Tiktok is popular.
Tiktok: is great for entertainment and inspiration but as a tool for information it can be a headache.
- getting links from videos is hard because the poster has to post their sources on the video itself, on the information about the video section or put the sources on a pinned comment which is very limited, so most people have a "trust me bro" attitude when giving information and not adding sources. This also makes it hard to determine which information is good and which isn't.
- challenging misinformation is difficult: You can't always count on stitched videos to challenge misinformation because someone's stitch feature might be disabled and the ones calling out the post might refuse to use OP's name so even when people try to do call out posts for misinformation it'll have a "he said, she said, but I won't say who," game of telephone vibe about it.
- People get paid via engagement so the information will often be hyperbolic and scary. Scare tactics trigger people's survival instincts which will make them more likely to engage in someone sounding the alarm and triggering your fight/flight instincts. Your fear makes them money so the information will be very volatile.
- Short Format for engagement: Even when there is an option for 10 min. videos, a lot of people will still choose to use short videos so you are forced to click on their other videos if you want the rest of the information. This will cause more engagement and thus more money for them. This is also a nightmare when the algorithm suggests part one of a video posted 3 years ago and you have to go looking for part 2, and the person didn't bother to make a playlist.
Video and Audio alternatives: YouTube and podcasts: YouTube videos can be very long in order to fit as much information as possible and often have links and resources added to the information about the video section and there are some podcasts that I've been told are very resourceful (I haven't listened to podcasts myself so please feel free to add suggestions if you have any!)
I'm not trying to discourage people who use Tiktok as a resource, there are some good videos out there, but because of the nature of the app, accessing that information without having people prey on your emotions is hard because you being upset makes them money and that's what bothers me the most about the app.
All I ask is for you to keep these in mind when you do open Tiktok for information. Tiktok is great for funny memes and cool videos but when you bump into a video warning you that "Hera hates devotees who," or "Artemis gets mad when devotees," or "so and so has declared war on Apollo," or "so and so is planning to curse the moon," please remember that it is an app design to rage-farm your attention and turn it into money so posters will say ANYTHING to get views and as people continue to get laid off, the videos will get even more desperate and the rage bait will be even more intense.
The gods are a lot more forgiving and accommodating than people on Tik Tok make them seem.