Elon Musk questions if TikTok is 'destroying civilisation'

Elon Musk took to Twitter to contemplate if TikTok is "destroying civilization" or perhaps whether it is social media at large.

As an avid tweeter, the multi-billionaire posed the question to his 98.9m Twitter followers, about the role of social media, (particularly TikTok) within society.

"Is TikTok destroying civilization? Some people think so," the Tesla and Space X boss wrote which received over 417,000 likes.

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Guess we won't be seeing the 50-year-old joining in with any dance crazes on the video-sharing platform anytime soon...

In a follow-up tweet, Musk added: "Or perhaps social media in general."

Though Musk has spoken of TikTok's positives when he recently met with Twitter employees virtually after he launched his $44bn (£35.8bn) takeover bid of the social media platform back in April.

He described how TikTok has "honed the algorithm to be as engaging as possible," and explained how he wants Twitter have similar engagement "in a different way," Insiderreported.

"It does a great job of making sure you're not bored," Musk said.

"I mean, it does just feel like ADD. But like, next level," where he compared using the app Attention Deficit Disorder, a condition where people struggle to focus.

"I do find some of their videos offensive, I think, but they're not boring," he added.

TikTok wasn't the only social media platform mentioned by Musk, as he also referred to WeChat, a popular app in China for social media, and mobile payments.

"There’s no WeChat equivalent outside of China,” Musk said, as per The Verge, "You basically live on WeChat in China. If we can recreate that with Twitter, we’ll be a great success.”

In the same meeting, Musk laid out his free speech plan for Twitter where he told staff people should be allowed to "say pretty outrageous things within the law" but that this kind of speech shouldn't be promoted in order for users to be "comfortable on Twitter," CNNreported.

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