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I watch TikTok on mute, and I’m not ashamed to say it.
Yes, I actively avoid a primary feature of TikTok, but you know what, I know I’m not alone. So for everyone else like me, you should proudly unmute your dark secret and be your authentic volume-less selves.
Opening TikTok on full volume is a jarring plunge into the icy cold whims of the algorithm. One second, you’re subject to a woman crying in her car to sad lo-fi music, the next you’re watching a dog making a mess with the obnoxious chipmunk voiceover. Even TikToks without music or sound effects — like the wellness influencers listing the five toxic brands YOU MUST AVOID OR YOU’LL DIE — often seem to be yelling into the microphone as if screaming for my attention like a spoiled toddler. At least this is what my For You page is like.
The short-form video format alone is overstimulating by nature. TikToks have a millisecond to capture your attention. So every time I swipe up, I’m inundated with sensory overload turned up to 11 in a video that’s been frontloaded with action to compete with every other TikTok doing the same thing.
It turns out there’s a neurochemical reason behind my instinct to make all the noises go away. “The way your brain works, it kind of figures out where it wants to spend its resources,” said Dr. Michelle Quist Ryder, a social psychologist and CEO of the American Psychological Foundation.
“When you start introducing the brain to things that are higher stimulus, and you have to go through that kind of adjustment period where all of a sudden you have to process that, and your brain has to realize that it needs to allocate more resources in that direction, that’s part of where overstimulation comes from.”
And if you’re already depleted since you’re, say, a tech reporter who spends eight hours a day in front of a screen writing about technical artificial intelligence concepts, mentally sifting through AI hype on X, and scrutinizing the fine print of the latest Big Tech product release, you might exhaust those resources pretty quickly.
“Watching it on mute is kind of a trade-off, where you’re still engaging in the behavior that you’re associating with dopamine or serotonin but you’re reducing the amount of stimulus that you are feeding your brain, and so you’re kind of staying away from that overstimulation,” said Quist Ryder.
The irony of all of this is that when I take a break, I still find myself reaching for my phone and opening up TikTok, when the obvious solution is to avoid any more brain throttling. Why don’t I just quit TikTok?
But as Quist Ryder points out, this behavior makes sense.
“TikTok is a little bit unique in that it makes you change your attention in really quick cuts,” she said. “So you can be really excited about this video, and then 30 seconds later be scared about this video, and then 20 seconds after that, feel cuddly.”
That’s the overwhelming part. But also, Quist Ryder added, “That can get your brain used to that level of stimuli, so when you are not engaging in that level of stimuli, then you kind of miss it.”
To be clear, my home is not The Quiet Place. I live a sound-filled existence with music, podcasts, and a TV lovingly left on in the background. And when it comes to TikTok, it’s not like I never unmute. Instead, I start my browsing on mute and turn on the sound if I come across a particularly appealing TikTok. This method functions as a litmus test to gauge whether something is really worth my full attention and protects my mental resources if it’s not.
Quist Ryder compares it to the reason why we love rewatching old shows, which proved especially true during the stressful times of the pandemic.
“I can still have those emotions, but I don’t have to worry that it’s gonna be something that I can’t take, or something that I don’t want to, or even just extend those resources of processing a new thing…you can lessen the amount of of investment you have to put into it by turning off the sound,” she said.
And I’m not the only one who browses TikTok in a blissfully volume-less manner. Anecdotally, several Mashable staffers came out of the woodwork to confess their muted habits, sharing how it’s simply a good way to ease into the day or tune out unwanted noise.
There are multiple Reddit posts devoted to how to open TikTok on mute. Amongst several similar posts, one Redditor asked: “Is it common for people to watch social media videos without the volume on, or am I the only one who does this?” They received 150 upvotes and enthusiastic agreement, with one commenting with the “there are dozens of us” Arrested Development GIF.
Statistically speaking, there are more than dozens of us. A study by Verizon found that 92 percent of U.S. consumers watch videos on mobile with the sound off. Another study from ad tech firm Sharethrough said 75 percent of those surveyed “keep their phone on mute even when a video is playing.”
Granted, many people watch videos on mute out of respect for the people they live with or because they don’t want to blast the subway with the unpredictable choices of their For You page (although some lawless degenerates have no consideration for social norms). Others may also mute videos on other platforms like Instagram or Facebook, but watch TikTok with the sound on because it is an audio-focused app. But I suspect some of it has to do with keeping the auditory siege at bay for their own mental well-being.
As I learned from talking to Quist Ryder, some people are simply more sensitive to sound. See: FoodTok and Misophonia. And she says there is definitely a generational component, where younger generations are natively “more used to high stimulus things like TikTok.” But it’s worth noting that 74 percent of the 16-24 age group in the Sharethrough study said they watch videos on mute, and half of that same age group watch TV with subtitles. So this isn’t just curmudgeonly millennials or Gen Xers we’re talking about here.
Now that I’ve voiced my quiet preferences, it may be time for you to step into your silent power and mute TikTok for all the world to hear. You’re not a freak for watching TikTok on mute. Sure, you might be sensitive to noise and mentally overextended, but that’s actually pretty normal.
And if this sounds good to you, my parting words are actually a bit of advice: You can easily change your playback settings to automatically open TikTok on mute. Simply open Settings > Playback and toggle on “Open TikTok on mute.”
Now take a deep breath and enjoy the sound of silence.
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I find watching TikTok on full volume totally overstimulating and annoying. And I know I’m not the only one. Join me in the soundless revolution and free yourself from sensory overload.
