Vol. 95, Issue 7

Pepper

Box Vol. 95 Issue 7

The Tik Tok Issue Issue What’s Inside TikTok Ban TikTok Celebrities Andrew Tate Who Built AHS? People to Cancel Attention Span Trends to Revive

The Pepperbox

May

BOX BRIEFS Tennis NorCal Team Championships: May 16-May 19th Flow AAI Fashion Show: May 20th Baseball NCS Championships: May 24-27th Track and Field CIF Championships: May 26-27th No School for Memorial Day: May 29th

EDITORIAL STAFF Madelyn Conley: Editor-in-Chief Dylan Berman: Editor-in-Chief Zoe Macknicki: Managing Editor Seneca Turecheck: Feature Editor Finn Clark: Feature Editor Ilana Maclay: News Editor Julian Wan: Online Editor Ell Franklin: Opinion Editor Morgan Ford: Sports Editor Sagen Sarchett: Sports Editor Emma Kaber: A&E Editor Astreya McKnight: Business Manager Jasmine McKnight: Business Manager Anthony Vasek: Photo Editor Ossian Briar-Bonpane: Photo Editor Alex Phelan: Art Director Toni Diaz: Copy Editor

REPORTERS

Sadie Cronin Urijah Horne Laura Laux Jaimeanne O’Donnell Raymi Sharp Alauna Thompson Dominic Previde Mariah Weekly

IN THE BOX The truth about TikTok’s algorithm. . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Montana bans TikTok. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Most likely to be TikTok famous. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Alpha males on social media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Student and teacher views about TikTok. . . . . . . 11 Conspiracy theories on social media. . . . . . . . . 12-13 Dangerous TikTok trends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 TikTok recipes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 People to cancel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 How is our attention span affected?. . . . . . . . . . . 19 TikTok trends to bring back. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Why do you repost TikToks?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Questions regarding editorial content of the Pepperbox should be directed toward its editors.

Opinions expressed in this paper are not necessarily those of Arcata High School.

The Pepperbox would like to thank Western Web, based in Samoa, for printing at-cost.

Western Web supports student journalism throughout Humboldt County and has made publications like the Pepperbox possible for decades. We appreciate their dedication to keeping print media alive.

The Northern Humboldt Union High School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, ancestry, gender, gender identity, gender expression, immigration status, religion, sexual orientation, association with a person or a group with one or more of these actual or perceived characteristics, or age in its hiring practices or its programs and activities.

Advisor Danielle Witten

Editors’ Box Dylan Berman and Madelyn Conley Co-Editors-in-Chief

F

or our May issue, in light of discussion of a nationwide ban on the app, and an almost passed ban in the state of Montana we decided to cover everyone’s favorite social media: TikTok. It’s been a hot topic in the news lately as well as the main reason students get behind on their homework. Social media and the way it impacts our lives as teenagers is a complex and layered discussion, and we’ve tried to shine a light on all sides of the subject.

This was a particularly difficult issue to finish on time because Dylan got Covid and students are starting to feel ready for summer. However we are all still deeply passionate about student journalism and are dedicated to finishing the year strong, with one final issue after this one.

We’re really proud of this issue and how creative the journalism class has been in coming up with unique articles and coverage relating to TikTok and social media.

We’re covering topics like dangerous trends, Andrew Tate, conspiracy theories, and the effects of social media on young children. We also covered lighter topics like the different sides of TikTok, TikTok trends to bring back, and who we should cancel here at AHS. We hope you enjoy. Smash the like button and give us a follow.

Go to thepepperbox.com for breaking news and more exciting content!

Interested in writing for The Pepperbox? Contact pepperbox@nohum.k12. ca.us

Follow us on Instagram! @ahspepperbox

Behind the Scenes

Quotable.

“That’s not the only person I Google, Chris Evans is pretty cute and not married.”

-Debora Jacobsen talking about the internet

“I would call all the “I totally learn betsophomores cool, ter with Eminem but that’d be a bold in my ears.” face lie.”

- Alex Kantner talking about a sophomore he thinks is cool

- Shannon Kresge interpreting teenagers listening to music in class

“I’ll stab you in the finger again.”

-Matthew Scott to Kresge when she was annoying him

“Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.”

-Jeff Mielke to kids skipping class

Tuesday, May 16th, 2023

Following

The Pepperbox | Page 5

TikTok is the new potato chip

Jaimeanne O’Donnell Reporter

A

lways watching, always seeing, always monitoring, always tracking you.

TikTok’s algorithm tracks who’s content you’re looking at, what the caption of the video is, what the soundtrack is, and what the hashtags of the video are.

Christopher Gonzalez, Arcata High’s Computer Technician, said, “People don’t understand the scope of the effect of social media on their own psyche. Likes and comments and shares…that’s straight dopamine.”

Addiction can happen with many things, TikTok being one of them.

“Have you ever just eaten one

potato chip? No, you eat one potato chip and you’re like ‘man that was delicious’ and then it goes away right away. Then you have another, and then you have another. It makes it very difficult for you to stop because your brain’s saying ‘that was so satisfying, where is it?’

And you’re just constantly searching for it. It’s the same with that TikTok algorithm,” said Jeff Mielke, a Social Science teacher at Arcata High.

A fake account made by The Pepperbox tested out the algorithm of TikTok. The targeted area of videos shown to the fake user’s For You page was desserts.

On the graph you can see that

with TikTok’s algorithm, they were able to get about 39.63% of the videos on the accounts For You page to be about dessert in thirty five minutes.

Now just imagine how high the percentage would be after an hour.

“There’s another deeper level to that with how TikTok will change their algorithm. They change their algorithm like at least once a year in terms of what will catch more eyes for content,” Gonzalez said.

With their algorithm they can hook you in with the topics you are interested in and just make you scroll on and on for hours.

Arcata High’s Librarian, Jennifer Berube said, “On one hand, I think that TikTok and social me-

dia can show us the best of human connection and, on the other hand, it can really limit human connection. By that, I mean like I can be sitting on my phone and seeing all these wonderful humans all over the world and ignoring my children five feet away.”

TikTok’s algorithm isn’t the only thing that is interesting, it’s also their terms and policies.

The terms and policies of TikTok include their copyright policy, terms of service, privacy policy, and community guidelines.

Continued on page 6...

The Pepperbox | Page 6

Following

Tuesday, May 16th, 2023

TikTok is the new potato chip Jaimeanne O’Donnell Reporter

>>> from page 5...

In TikTok’s copyright policy they state, “We do not allow any content that infringes copyright. The use of copyrighted content of others without proper authorization or legally valid reason may lead to a violation of TikTok’s policies.”

In the circumstances that any user content may violate another person’s copyright will be removed.

Other punishments include suspension or even termination of the account that breached TikTok’s rules.

TikTok makes public that the terms control the association and serve as an agreement between a

user and TikTok. Basically what they’re saying is: when you press that button, you accept all of their terms and conditions and that creates a binding contract.

The two terms that they want you to follow aren’t even that bad.

What’s really scary is their privacy policy and community guidelines.

In TikTok’s privacy policy they say they automatically collect information such as your IP address, user agent, mobile carrier, time zone settings, model of your device, app and file names and types, and keystroke patterns or rythm.

That is only a small portion of the data they collect.

TikTok has very similar user agreements to other social media apps, but the difference is: the app is based in China, which doesn’t have the same laws that the U.S. has.

This makes what they can do with the data they collect very different.

TikTok also says that they have age-restrictions so content is appropriate for the right age groups.

Yet, if you make an account and put your age as, say, thirteen you can still find videos that should really only be seen by an adult.

A trend called the Benadryl challenge first appeared in 2020 and has been getting popular again.

The challenge caused thirteenyear-old Jacob Stevens, who lived in Ohio to die.

The trend consists of taking a larger quantity of Benadryl than recommended. It can act as a deliriant in high doses, and people did it to experience the effects.

Another dangerous challenge known as the Blackout Challenge involves participants holding their breath until they pass out due to

lack of oxygen.

Twelve-year-old Archie Battersbee from the UK was in a coma for three months before dying because he attempted the blackout challenge. It has claimed over 80 people’s lives.

In TikTok’s community guidelines, they claim “youth safety is our priority” yet kids are dying from dangerous trends that they see on the social media platform.

“I think it was…like a year or two ago maybe it was earlier this year, a teen committed suicide by walking in front of a train…They found that the student’s…”For You Page” was just riddled with like you know suicide glorification posts which as a post is like wow that’s radical,” Gonzalez said.

Now that you’ve learned a plethora of information on TikTok, will you keep using it?

Tuesday, May 16th, 2023

The Pepperbox | Page 7

Following

The first state to ban TikTok Alex Phelan Art Director

M

ontana is well on its way to becoming the first state to ban TikTok. Montana’s recent SB-419 bill has been passed by the House and Senate, meaning the bill is now awaiting approval or veto from Republican Governor Greg Gianforte.

This bill would make downloading TikTok illegal for Montanans and would persecute any entity that allows for TikTok downloads within the state.

An entity that violates the law would be subjected to a $10,000 fine for a single violation, and then an additional $10K for each day the violation continued.

In a statement, TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter called

the bill an “attempt to censor American voices,” and went on to allude to the unconstitutionality of the bill.

Gov. Gianforte will most likely sign off on the bill, being that he banned TikTok from state government devices earlier this year and later advised that the Montana University system do the same.

Though the odds don’t appear to be in TikTok’s favor, Oberwetter also alluded to a potential lawsuit following the potential approval of the bill by stating “...the bill’s constitutionality will be decided by the courts.”

While the bill bans app stores from offering TikTok downloads within the state, it does not ban current users from the app.

This is part of why many people are questioning the effectiveness

of the bill.

I also feel like TikTok…is a place where queer kids can find a community and are able to fully express themselves, so to me it seems like we are taking that space away.

- Lila Toledo “That seems really crazy and a little bit totalitarian,” Sophomore Lila Toledo said after learning about Montana’s TikTok ban.

Toledo isn’t the only one questioning the rationality of the bill.

The North Coast Journal is proud to support local student journalism.

northcoastjournal.com

Some people are going so far as to say that the bill is an attack on American voices.

“I also feel like TikTok…is a place where queer kids can find a community and are able to fully express themselves, so to me it seems like we are taking that space away,” Toledo added.

With Montana being one of the many states to pass anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, it comes as no surprise that people like Toledo would think that way of the ban.

Montana’s SB-419 bill, if passed, will create a new era of how the U.S. interacts with social media and how foreign policy can be tied into that.

It’s already sparked a conversation surrounding censorship, the constitution and access to information so, what will follow?

The Pepperbox | Page 8

For You

Tuesday, May 16th, 2023

Favorite Social Media at AHS Astreya McKnight Business Manager

A

rcata High students were selected at random to take part in a poll to determine which popular social media platform is the favorite among students. Each participant was asked to choose between two social media networks. Their answers were recorded in a series rounds until a winner was declared. Their responses are credited to their names and displayed in two single elimination brackets where the winners were then held against each other to determine the overall favorite app.

This data only includes the responses of some students and obviously does not fully encompass the view of Arcata High as a whole.

Senior Keira Tatro: Snapchat over YouTube “On Snapchat you can actually talk to your friends and people more and it’s more of a social interaction, whereas YouTube is [...] more of a streaming service.”

Junior Violet Fogg: YouTube over TikTok “YouTube has more complete stories. It’s more entertaining than just short little clips.”

Junior Melanie Luh: YouTube over Snap “I’m never on Snapchat and I’m really a YouTube Shorts kind of person.”

Tuesday, May 16th, 2023

The Pepperbox | Page 9

For You

Potential TikTok stars at AHS Morgan Ford

Co-Sports Editor hat does it take to be TikTok famous? According to Arcata High School students, you need to be funny, aesthetic, and energetic.

A potential TikTok star should be able to relate to their audience, provoke emotion, and it helps if they are someone that their followers can look up to.

So who do we know that has all of these traits, and who could likely succeed at becoming TikTok famous?

According to over five people I asked, freshman Josie Cunningham could definitely become TikTok famous.

“She would definitely be famous for some random funny video, one she didn’t even mean to be that popular,” senior Taylor Appy said.

“I agree, I think I could be TikTok famous, and it makes me very happy that someone said that about me,” replied Cunningham.

Another person that a lot of people thought could be TikTok famous is Solana Mendle.

Personally, I think becoming TikTok famous is more luck than skill.

Think about it. So many of the biggest TikTok stars became famous because one of their videos randomly went viral.

Charli Damelio, Addison Rae, and so many of the biggest “influencers” posted an everyday video just for it to blow up and become their rise to fame.

W

I think that Sophomore Bella could become TikTok famous, ing, or aesthetic.

Campbell has extreme TikTok whether it be because of their No matter the reason why, famous potential. athleticism, popularity, danc- TikTok fame could be coming to She has some serious dance Arcata High. moves, great rhythm, and a cute relationship that could definitely make her famous.

Even teachers have opinions Christine McKnight, PT, CHP on students on TikTok, and Troy Ghisetti says that Sagen Sarchett could be famous.

“Look at her, she’s a whole (707) 630-5252 hoot!” he said.

There were some students fax (707) 822-2877 that a lot of different people 801 Crescent Way, Suite 4 think could be TikTok famous.

Arcata, CA 95521 For example, numerous people think that Brandon Bento-JackHandsOnPhysicalTherapy.com son could be TikTok famous.

“I feel like he would post some dancing videos and randomly get a lot of likes. People would just like it and keep rewatching them until he was famous,” said Personal health care to Sophomore Jace Wallace. be in control support informed decisions Some people have multiple personality traits that have potential for fame, such as Sophomore Sadie Melton.

“I wouldn’t be too surprised if • Non-judgmental support she popped up as a rapper one • Education day, or maybe she would be fa• Birth Control, Pregnancy mous for marrying a linebackTesting, and Prevention er.”

• STI Prevention, Testing, Senior Sydney Hasselquist and Treatment was another popular choice, and her athleticism is a factor that made her stand out amongst potential TikTok stars EASY – FREE – DROP IN at our school.

Clinic for Teens “I think Sydney [Hasselquist] Mckinleyville: Arcata: 1644 Central Ave. 770 10th St. would be famous on TikTok” 707-839-3065 707-826-8610 Junior Jafet Herrera said.

McKinleyville Community Humboldt Open Door Clinic Health Center Hasselquist could be famous for “volleyball probably, or We do visits by some other sporty stuff.” phone , video, There are many people at or in person.

Arcata High who people think

H ands -O n Physical Therapy

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The Pepperbox | Page 10

For You

Tuesday, May 16th, 2023

Why does Andrew Tate appeal to young men?

Dylan Berman

I

Co-Editor-in-Chief

n a square studio space moodily lit with pink and blue, the walls plastered with huge custom made logos, the back wall a high window looking over Miami, two men sit with headsets and microphones. They are reacting to Ben Shapiro, who disagreed with their opinion that men should sleep with at least fifty women before marriage. About ten minutes into the reaction, one of them, Myron Gains, pulls out and reads from his own published book, bluntly titled “Why Women Deserve Less.”

“Women are 1000% incentivized to not make it work with their guy. They actually benefit from breaking up with you,” Gains said.

He goes onto explain that “When a girl is comfortable, that’s when the disrespect begins. When you give a girl marriage, a ring, guess what happens: she gets super f*cking comfortable.”

This is the “Fresh and Fit Podcast”, which took off in 2021 with content they called their late night show. This consists of bringing on a wide selection of Miami women and debating/berating them about gendered issues, mostly centered around dating, gender roles in relationships, and the alleged fall of the modern woman.

Their fans comment things like “It’s sad that so many men in today’s society are so naive to women’s biological nature,” and, “just before I ended my last relationship I started watching you guys, and you gave me the tools to spot her bullsh*t and end it there after she came pathetically crawling back.”

Fresh and Fit came up along with many other “redpill” content creators in the wave of Andrew Tate’s massive success online, pushing similar messaging to their largely male audience of the prob-

lems with modern women, and how men need to behave to succeed in today’s dating scene. Tate has been featured as a guest on their podcast multiple times.

This podcast is part of a web of content creators pushing these ideas, creating a movement that seems to have exploded after being championed by Tate, before he was banned from all mainstream social media platforms.

The online nature of this movement has meant many involved are high school age or younger. A study carried out in the UK by the group Hope Not Hate found that 8 out of 10 boys aged 16-17 had consumed Tate’s content in some form.

Figures like Tate push back against feminism and progressive views of men and women, and it seems to click with an audience of young men and boys. Why is this, and what does rising misogynistic rhetoric mean for a future goal of gender equality? “[Tate] is very inspiring to me because he speaks out to young men, trying to get them on a straight course. He’s like ‘get a job, protect your family, protect your loved ones, make friends with people who can actually trust you and you can actually trust them,’” said an anonymous student and Andrew Tate fan.

He is mostly drawn to Tate’s self help and motivational messages, not his gendered commentary.

“I don’t like to focus on those things,” he said, referring to Tate’s views on gender. “I guess it would be nice,” he said, referring to a traditional relationship with the woman taking a more submissive role, “but you should always be respectful to your significant other.”

He doesn’t view Tate as misogynistic.

“Some people were grown up and raised like how it was in the

old days. People just don’t like that people don’t change for the modern standard,” he said.

Much of Tate’s content is gendered commentary, making many disparaging comments toward women. His fans will often say his extreme statements are sarcasm, and agree with his overall view of women as submissive and in need of protection by strong, providing men.

“A man is to be stoic, to care for others, protect your family, be the alpha of your pack. It’s basically be kind and respectful, but you gotta be tough,” the anonymous fan said.

In several viral video clips Tate has said things like “How are women allowed to drive? I’m not even trying to be sexist – how are they actually allowed to drive?” and, “I may be sexist, but I’m a realist! 1819 year-old women are more attractive than 25 year-olds because they’ve been through less d*ck.”

Like Tate and most of his fans, the anonymous student has a negative view of contemporary feminism. He also sees a sinister agenda from the government and the media.

“I feel like the media controls a lot of things. Someone comes up with a dumb idea and people follow that dumb idea. I think it’s really the government trying to put that in our media to distract us from other world events happening,” he said.

He thinks Tate is misunderstood and misrepresented by this same media.

“Other than things people get clips of, making it around the internet…besides that he’s a really nice guy, I just don’t think people really wanna see that side of him,” he said. “He got arrested, right?

And he was locked up for multiple months on false allegations.”

He is referring to Tate’s arrest

by the Romanian police as part of a sex trafficking investigation.

Tate and his brother were recently released from prison on house arrest. They have been charged with sex trafficking and forming a criminal organization, but have not been convicted.

For some fans, or even those neutral on Tate, the general controversy around him seems to add to the appeal.

“He’s not afraid to say what he thinks,” said a different anonymous student, who feels neutral on Tate. ”The people who agree with what he says, they follow him because he says what they think, but can’t actually say out loud.”

He doesn’t view Tate as wholly misogynistic, instead saying it’s “on and off,” with some of his statements being misogynistic but his intentions being good.

“I think overall what he stands for is good, but some of the ways he does it aren’t the best,” he explained. “I guess like, men being treated okay, I guess like equal, I don’t really know.”

For young feminists like Avery Meadows, President of the Women’s Advocacy Club, Andrew Tate is pushing blatant misogyny “I think that’s so valid,” she said, referring to Tate’s social media ban. “He says some pretty misogynistic things that we just do not need influencing people of any age, especially not young people who are very impressionable.”

She thinks Tate thrives in controversy. “People love drama. Seeing someone controversial, people just love that,” she said.

Tate’s success is an obstacle towards progress according to Meadows. “I think it means we still have a lot of work to do if people are seeing that and not just laughing in his face,” she said. “I don’t know what you can do but just laugh at him, or be like ‘ew.’”

Tuesday, May 16th, 2023

The Pepperbox | Page 11

For You

Drugs, alcohol, and TikTok Raymi Sharp

A

Reporter

ddiction is a complex phenomenon. In most cases, it can be described as a brain disorder that makes you physically and psychologically dependent on a substance or behavior. Addiction can involve substances such as drugs and alcohol, as well as behaviors such as gambling, internet use, video games, and can have a profound impact on an individuals life.

Addiction to social media refers to a compulsive behavior pattern in which an individual spends excessive amounts of time using social media platforms, to the point that it interferes with their daily life and causes negative consequences. Social media addiction is similar to other forms of addiction, such as substance abuse, in that it involves a loss of control over one’s

behavior. Individuals who are addicted to social media may experience withdrawal symptoms when they are unable to access their social media accounts, and they may continue to use social media even if it has negative consequences on their relationships, work, or mental health.

TikTok is a popular social media app that has gained a massive following among young people, particularly high school students.

Similar to how drugs and alcohol are addictive due to the way they affect the brain and body, TikTok is addictive due to its algorithmic recommendation system that provides users with a constant stream of personalized content. The app uses machine learning to analyze user behavior and preferences, and it shows content that users are more likely to engage with, such as videos that are entertaining, informative, or visually appealing.

The social aspect of TikTok, where users can create and share videos with their friends and followers, can create a sense of community and validation, also leading to increased usage and addiction. It has created a culture where students now seek validation through likes, comments, and the amount of followers they have on TikTok. Some common ways TikTok has been shown to affect high school students are…

The way students interact with each other: TikTok has made it easier for students to connect and communicate with each other. Students can share videos with their friends and even create duets with other users and stay up to date on the latest trends. This has led to a new form of socialization that is centered around TikTok. Fashion and fashion trends: TikTok has become a major platform for fashion influencers. Many high

school students are now looking to TikTok for fashion inspiration and are even buying clothes that they see on the app. This has led to a new fashion trend that is centered around TikTok culture.

Mental health: TikTok’s popularity has also had negative effects on high school students’ mental health. Students may feel pressure to create and share content that is entertaining and engaging. From another perspective, TikTok does a great job at romanticizing other people’s lives and in turn can make students feel left out.

Overall, TikTok has had a significant impact on high school culture. While the app has brought about new forms of social interaction and entertainment, it has also led to negative consequences, particularly for students’ mental health.

Experimenting with the algorithm Urijah Horne

O

Reporter

n July 21st of 2021 The Wall Street Journal released an article about a test they conducted.

They tested the TikTok algorithm by making over 100 bot accounts.

They gave these accounts a set interest like sadness and a profile with a personality. The bots would only watch videos of that interest to see how long it would take for TikTok to consistently show them videos of their interest. I found this test very intriguing, so I did it twice to see what results I would get and I recorded every time I saw a video that matched the interest I chose.

I also recorded how much time I spent scrolling through TikToks

but I did not include time spent watching TikToks that matched the interest. Finally, I wrote down how many TikToks I scrolled through and watched.

The first profile I used was SadInOhio37 who was a male born on April 26th of 1999 who was interested in sad content.. I found my first sad TikTok quickly at 9 videos and 10 seconds in. After that it took a lot longer at 71 TikToks and 1 minute and 20 seconds. But things changed once I reached 161 TikToks and 3 minutes and 50 seconds.

It started to show me sad videos a lot more frequently. 168 TikToks in was my next sad video, then 169, 171, 178, and then finally at 197 TikToks in and 4 minutes and 22 seconds it would almost give

me nothing but sad TikToks. 200, 202, 204, 207, 208, 210, 211, and at 213 TikToks in and 4 minutes and 39 seconds I ended the test for this profile. TikTok seemed to understand my interest at about 200 TikToks or 4 minutes and 25 seconds and the sad videos I was shown were mostly about suicide.

It’s extremely concerning that almost all of the TikToks I was shown were all talking about suicide. There are a lot of children on TikTok so it could be dangerous to show them extreme content like that.

The next account I used was FisForFriends28 whose pronouns are they/them and they were born on March 30th in 2003 and their interest was friendship oriented content. 31 seconds in or 20 Tik-

Toks in I found my first. Next 35 seconds or 22 Tik Toks in. TikTok started to find my interest much faster this time and at 2 minutes and 40 seconds or 101 TikToks it started to give me almost nothing but TikToks about friendship. 102, 104, 107, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, and at 117 TikToks in or 2 minutes and 58 seconds most of the content was dancing and I ended the test.

All in all, TikToks algorithm seems to be quite efficient and effective, potentially needing only 100 TikToks to find your interests. Though an issue with such an effective algorithm is if your interests change it will be incredibly difficult for TikTok to show you your interest, if it does at all. I would recommend this test.

Identifying a Co

Finn

Featur

When you see news on TikTok, there aren’t many resources to check whether or not what you are reading is well research account that posted it. If it's a major news source, you can normally assume that the story is real news; but oftentimes, pe an Arcata High School conspiracy theory, based on hearsay from unidentified sources and unfact checked information. I true?. The second article demonstrates the thorough use of the journalistic research process. Journalism is laborous! It ta er?) we went through this process. I made calls to Arcata City engineers, who forwarded me to city planners, who gave m Department of Education told me they could submit an archive request but it would take several weeks to get the plans w they had plans for the school. At the district office, they called the head engineer of our district, who was able to check his all the architects listed, to see what other things they have designed and who designed the prisons in our area. That was a

Arcata High: a prison and a cult?

(A conspiracy theory)

H

ave you ever looked around campus and wondered why we have such a strange school? In movies, all the high schools have indoor hallways, fewer windows, aren’t situated next to cemeteries and churches, and usually have a cafeteria that holds students, but that's besides the point. One theory comes to mind: our school used to be a cult. What other organization would need a compound with many rooms, a church, and a cemetery other than a cult? There’s no better way to watch all the members of your compound other than being able to stare directly at them through windowed hallways. Even in the quad, if you are looking up at the elevator room it looks like a watchtower, built to stand over the quad and look down at people passing. Looking back at old photos of the school is eerie in the way that they don’t resemble the building we now learn in at all.

Now if we are to talk about the architect of Arcata High, it is known on campus that they also designed prisons. Obviously, this is true. Just look around, no normal school architect could design such a gray building. Even Arcata High School teachers hold this interesting theory true. There are many other odd things surrounding our school’s history, the school used to be on an entirely different property. The school used to be part of “Arcata Union High School District” when it was created back in 1875. It only changed to Arcata High School in 1979, and of course prime cult time was the 1870’s to 1970’s. Our school was clearly designed to become a prison but ended up as the dwelling of a cult. Humboldt County would be the best place for a cult: large woods perfect for secret sacrifices, mythical animals (bigfoot), and not so mythical animals (banana slugs).

Images from AHS Advance archives: (from upper left) 1942, 1952, 1953, 1950, 1947, 1946, 1949, 1942, 1950, 1949, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1950, 1950, center photo: Arcata Union High School early

onspiracy Theory

n Clark

re Editor

hed. There aren’t places to look for sources, so the credibility of the majority of what you read has to be based solely on the eople see blatant fake news posted on TikTok and take it as the truth. These articles put this to the test. The first article is It's a common story you might have heard: "Our school was designed by the same architect that designed the prison." Is it akes a lot of time and effort to write the truth. Just to find the facts (who designed AHS? Is that architect a prison designmy phone number to the California Department of Education. My first two calls yielded nothing at all and the California which is time I did not have. So, I had to go down to the Northern Humboldt Union High School District office to ask if s plans and give me the names of the different architects who designed Arcata High. This, of course, led to me researching actual research done to yield actual answers, not the conspiracies people find on the internet and share on TikTok to get

y 1900s

The Truth about Arcata High's Conspiracy (The facts)

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t’s been a longstanding rumor at Arcata High that it was designed to be a prison. It just seems common knowledge at this point.

It's something every student has heard in one way or another, but is there any truth to it? Looking at the school you can certainly see why this rumor may have started, the odd gates, the cemetery nearby, and the long open hallways. Though you may be able to ascertain how our school looks like a prison, maybe the rumor was simply started as a joke around the fact that students like to refer to their schools as their prisons. I contacted the engineering department of the City of Arcata in search of an answer, to put an end to this rumor. Looking at the original plans for the school there are several different architects that worked on different parts of the building.

Matsen and Hurd designed the 100 to 200 east wing in 1948 and

the gymnasium in 1949; Falk and Booth designed the Administration building; and Ernest Fredrick Winkler designed the 300’s and 400’s in 1953, the multi purpose room, shop classes, and 100 to 200 west wing.

Researching all of these people only yields results of what other school buildings they worked on, if any.

Falk and Booth helped build many other school buildings such as parts of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and the College of Marin. Matsen and Hurd designed the Jay Willard Gymnasium for Eureka High in 1947 as well as another Gymnasium for Fortuna High. Ernest Winkler helped design an elementary school in Ukiah and one in Cloverdale. According to available records, none of these architects have been prison designers.

The Pepperbox | Page 14

For You

Tuesday, May 16th, 2023

Dangerous TikTok Trends Jasmine McKnight Business Manager

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long with a variety of fun trends, dangerous challenges also gain popularity on TikTok. From alarming trends such as the “blackout challenge” and the “Benadryl challenge,” to less frightening trends such as the “BORG” or “Beezin” trends, dangerous trends pose a significant risk to TikTok users.

The blackout challenge, or the choking game, encourages users to hold their breath until they reach a point of temporary unconsciousness and may reach a brief euphoric state or high. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned of the choking game as early as 2008, when at least 82 youth died as a result of participating in the game. Since the rise and success of social media like TikTok this challenge has had a wider platform to spread.

The Benadryl challenge encourages participants to take 12 to 14 Benadryl pills in hope of experiencing hallucinations. The National Library of Medicine reported “the case of a 14-year-old girl who reportedly ingested an unknown amount of diphenhydramine [Benadryl] while taking part in a TikTok social media challenge.”

They added that “teenagers are a particularly susceptible group and need to be informed of the risks associated with these ‘challenges.’”

Although not as outwardly dangerous, some seemingly safe trends and challenges can also be harmful.

The BORG, or blackout rage gallon, is a mixture between water, alcohol, flavoring, and liquid IV or Pedialyte, in a plastic jug. This new social media drinking trend has raised concerns of binge drinking and alcohol poisoning.

Dangerous Trends and Challenges

“I made a BORG and it tasted fucking horrible and it lowkey made my tummy hurt but I didn’t drink a lot of it so it was fine,” an anonymous said.

Another student described their more extreme experience with BORG. “My BORG was a bad experience

for me because I ended up blacking out and walking to a different house and falling asleep in that house and then someone took me back to the other house. I had no idea where I was,” an anonymous student said, “Drinking that much alcohol hurts. It made my liver hurt. Like it made the side of my

stomach hurt for a couple days.”

The “Beezin” trend where users apply Burt’s Bees lip balm to their eyelids in an attempt to heighten the sense of being drunk or high or cause a sense of enhanced alertness is also a dangerous trend that poses a risk to TikTok users.

“I did the bees. The Burts Bees. I was Beezed up. I put it on my eyelids. And I had never actually been high before and it didn’t quite feel like that when I did get high. I don’t think I used the right one. I used a pomegranate flavor. It didn’t quite work out. It just made my eyes sting,” an anonymous student said.

Even some dance trends that may not seem dangerous at all can pose a threat to unsuspecting TikTok users.

“I did the KI-KI challenge in like 2015, like ‘Ki Ki do you love me?’, where you got out of the car and did the dance while you were driving, and my sister drove away while I was trying to catch up running to the car,” junior Natalie Dreyer said.

Even the simplest dance moves could potentially injure a TikTok dancer.

“I tried to do a TikTok dance and then I did a handstand and hurt my back,” sophomore Rye Davis said.

These aren’t even all of the dangerous trends that have surfaced on TikTok. Not all trends are safe or appropriate, so people should always prioritize their safety and well-being when participating in TikTok trends and challenges. Lack of awareness and peer pressure are two common factors that can lead people, specifically teenagers, to make questionable decisions on the internet.

“Any of these trends that involve a high risk of death should be banned. People have literally died because of these,” sophomore Ciaran Chacon said.

Tuesday, May 16th, 2023

For You

The Pepperbox | Page 15

When is TikTok too much?

Ilana Maclay

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News Editor

ikTok has good aspects, however it can negatively affect teens’ mental health.

In a Local12 publication, Kathryn Robinson said that most kids are spending more than five hours a day online. “Thirty-two percent of teens surveyed said they were online for five to six hours, 17 percent reported being online for seven to eight hours and 13 percent said they were online nine or more hours a day,” the article said.

More than 60% of TikTok users are part of Gen-Z, who were born somewhere between 1990 and 2010-ish. This makes them between the ages of 13 and 32, and the human brain isn’t fully developed until age 25. An underdeveloped brain does not make them less intelligent, but it does make them more impressionable.

An article published by Outlook titled “How Much Time Is ‘Too Much Time’ On Social Media?” said, “Teenagers in the US who were on social media for more than three hours a day had a 60% high risk of developing mental health issues, and teens that spent more than six hours a day increased their risk by 78%.”

This is compared to those who don’t use those apps. Sometimes you use social media more often when you feel down, and this can lead to a endless loop, HelpGuide. org explained. You use it more when you feel a certain way. Using it more causing different negative feelings to arise along with other symptoms, and then that in turn causes you to use social media even more.

Some negative effects of social media use are a fear of missing out (FOMO), social media addiction, inadequacy about your appearance or life, depression, anxiety, cyber-

bullying, and self-absorption, according to HelpGuide.org. “7 Reasons TikTok Is Bad for Everyone,” an article by Dan Price said, “TikTok’s format of short videos has been linked to decreased attention spans when the app is used for more than 90 minutes a day.”

HelpGuide.org explains that having something so accessible all the time, your phone, makes it very easy to be on social media all the time. This constant connectivity of alerts and notifications can set off impulse control problems, disturb your concentration and focus, and disturb your sleep. Social media is literally designed to snare your attention and keep you on it.

But, a lot like any other addiction, you can start craving it and it can create psychological cravings. We all know you can receive dopamine from being on social media, and the more you get, the more you want, even if it causes problems.

Is there a specific side of TikTok that is the most unhealthy?

“10 Negative Effects of TikTok | Is TikTok Bad for You?” is an article posted by a blogger and self help coach named Delaney Smith that explains, well, the negatives of TikTok. Smith explains that there is a lot of triggering content on TikTok that showcases disordered eating.

“At times, dangerous eating habits are promoted and glamorized on this app,” she said. She also writes that it can have a very negative effect for those struggling, which seems obvious.

“People present themselves as authorities on different subjects that they may or may not be an authority about. I think that can be dangerous,” librarian Jennifer Berube said.

According to an article from the New York Post titled “How TikTok has become a dangerous breeding ground for mental disorders,”

there are often people posting videos on TikTok that help viewers self-diagnose possible mental conditions they might have. Being aware of mental health issues is a good thing, but “well-meaning influencers are inadvertently harming young, impressionable viewers, many of whom seem to be incorrectly self-diagnosing with disorders or suddenly manifesting symptoms because they are now aware of them.”

TikTok claims “posts that depict harm or cruelty to people or animals, or otherwise encourage people to harm themselves are not allowed. Any graphic or shocking videos are not welcome on the platform,” yet you can find videos that encourage people to harm themselves at any turn. An article from Mashable, “It’s almost impossible to avoid triggering content on TikTok,” suggests that, because of the algorithm, you can truly never escape videos catered to your specific triggers.

“Videos glorifying disordered eating, for example, are thriving on TikTok. The tag #flatstomach has 44.2 million views. The tags #proana and #thinsp0, short for pro-anorexia and thin inspiration, have 2.1 million views and 446,000 views, respectively.”

It also brings up the competition with mental disorders and how individuals will always strive to be the “winner.” If they aren’t the most unhealthy, they aren’t “that bad.” For example, the article said, “Many who suffer from eating disorders don’t just strive to be thin, but to be the thinnest. Those in recovery may even want to be the sickest.” The author said that just days after they had liked a video tagged with #edrecovery, their For You Page showed them a video of young woman who “achieving her flat stomach by skipping meals in favor of chewing gum and drink-

ing tea.” Needless to say, this can be extremely harmful, especially if the algorithm increases the chances of getting videos like the ones you linger on.

HelpGuide.org said reducing your time online is the first step in doing away with unhealthy social media use. Set a goal for how much you want to reduce your social media time by, and maybe use an app to track it. Turn off your phone sometimes, like when you’re “driving, in a meeting, at the gym, having dinner, spending time with offline friends, or playing with your kids,” the article said. Also, “Don’t take your phone with you to the bathroom.” Don’t bring it to bed, turn off your notifications for the social media apps on your phone, limit yourself to checking your phone once every 15 minutes, then once every 30, then once every hour. Maybe just delete the apps, even.

Then, step two is to change your focus. What are you checking social media for? It “may be quick and convenient, but there are often healthier, more effective ways to satisfy a craving.” Step three is to spend more time with real, in person people. Set time aside to interact with people without use of the internet, reach out to an old friend, join a club (we have a lot at Arcata High), and don’t be scared to meet new people!

The fourth and final step is to express gratitude. The article explains that expressing gratitude about the important things in your life can be a welcome relief to the resentment, animosity, and discontent sometimes generated by social media. It “..not only enriches your community and benefits a cause that’s important to you, but it also makes you feel happier and more grateful.” Overall, I think that’s a pretty good system to use, and I think we can do it.

The Pepperbox | Page 16

For You

The many sides to TikTok Sagen Sarchett Co-Sports Editor

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o you ever find yourself asking, “What is this?” when looking at your For You Page on TikTok? For many this is an ongoing thing.

Oftentimes we find ourselves in rabbit holes that just never stop.

There are times when I even find myself personally scrolling for hours and hours and I see some questionable things and question myself as to what side of TikTok I’m on cause it changes day by day. A few students at Arcata High had some input on what sides of TikTok they were on.

First we heard from freshman Josephine Cunningham, “A lot of like hot guys, and funny things, mostly funny things” she said, “Just a lot of weird things, kind of like me,” Cunningham said.

“I see scenes from movies and

TV shows a lot, like that other people repost”, said junior Connor Perry.

Sophomore Evelyn McCovey agrees, “I’ve been seeing a lot of short TV films, I really like them.”

Other people are on different sides of TikTok that show very different types of videos.

Sophomore Jace Wallace said, “I see a lot of hunting videos, dirtbike, quads and trucks”.

“When I see dancing videos and videos that are stupid, I report them or click the uninterested button” he also said.

That is one thing that’s nice about TikTok is when you see a video that you don’t necessarily love you can press “uninterested” and it will remove that type of content from your for you page.

That’s how the algorithm works, if you like a video or comment on it or spend more time watching certain videos rather than others then

in turn more of them will show up on your “for you” page.

The different “sides” of TikTok are endless, it can range simply from dancing videos, comedy, to cooking and what’s trending.

New cool trends on TikTok have always been the most popular things to see on the app.

What Tik Tok does is create a platform for people to be themselves and not worry about judgment and just have fun and be creative.

Seeing all sorts of people that share similar interests with you can be really fun and makes scrolling feel more interactive.

Like you find a place to fit in

Tuesday, May 16th, 2023

with what you’re seeing on your For You Page and have a sense of comfort almost.

A lot of the more popular “sides” of TikTok would be watertok, alttok, westerntok, slimetok, dancetok, and then there are other ones like short scenes from movies, cooking shows, animaltok and so many more.

The thing that’s really interesting about all these different sides are they all have their own trends and target audience.

There is truly something for everybody and the app does a good job of working the algorithm so you see mostly things that interest you.

Toni Diaz/PEPPERBOX

Charlie Mager perched on the shoulders of Jace Wallace. Wallace is on a side of TikTok focused on outddor activities like dirt biking and hunting

Tuesday, May 16th, 2023

For You

To eat or not to eat Zoe Macknicki Managing Editor

F

rom vanilla ice cream wrapped in Fruit RollUps, to the new shopping at Erewhon trend, food is a staple thing on TikTok. These food trends can be absolutely disgusting or they can be so good that you want to make them again.

Vanilla ice cream wrapped in Fruit Roll-Ups, grapes dipped in Jolly Ranchers, whipped coffee, and cloud bread are all things that have surfaced to TikTok and became a viral trend.

It is common for many people to try these things, so I’m here to try them and tell you if they are worth spending your hard earned money on.

Vanilla ice cream wrapped in Fruit Roll-Ups is an easy to make recipe. It requires Fruit Roll-Ups and vanilla ice cream.

All you have to do is unwrap the Fruit Roll-Up and put ice cream in the middle and wrap it It is a super easy and fun thing to make with your friends.

Junior Soquel MacDonald, who tried this said, “I thought the Fruit Roll-Ups with the ice cream in it were really good. It was really crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle. I really enjoyed it.”

Senior Madelyn Conley, who also tried this, said “It tastes like a Klondike bar!”

Conley also found this absolutely scrumptious. She really enjoyed the texture.

This was an easy to make treat and something to do with your friends. Another thing that we tried was grapes dipped in Jolly Ranchers.

Zoe Macknicki/PEPPERBOX

Soquel McDonald, Madelyn Conley, and Zoe Macknicki trying the grapes dipped in jolly ranchers and the ice cream wrapped Fruit Roll-Ups

Zoe Macknicki/PEPPERBOX

Ice creamed wrapped in Fruit Rol-Ups awaiting to be tasted by me and my friends.

These were also easy to make and required grapes, a bag of Jolly Ranchers, a bowl, and a microwave.

MacDonald, Conley, and I all tried this as well. MacDonald said she didn’t really like the grapes because they just tasted like grapes.

Conley said, “I didn’t really like them either, they were a little too sweet, but I like grapes and Jolly Ranchers.”

The general consensus was that

it wasn’t that great. It would get a solid 6/10, we would not really recommend.

Rolling it back to 2020 when you were stuck in your house with nothing to do. Cloud bread arose on TikTok and became a viral trend that was seen everywhere.

Now I personally never tried cloud bread but since it was so popular, I wanted to see if it was actually worth the hype.

Cloud bread needs 3 large egg whites, 2 ½ TBSP of sugar, 1 tbsp of cornstarch, and food coloring.

The directions on I am a food blog, are as follows: 1. Heat the oven to 300°F. In the bowl of a stand mixer, use the whip attachment to whip the egg whites on medium high until frothy.

2. Add the sugar slowly, 1 tablespoon at a time and whip on high until small bubbles start to form.

3. Sift in the cornstarch and continue to whip on high until the whites are whipped up into a glossy thick meringue that holds a peak, about 5-6 minutes.

4. Scoop out the meringue onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and shape into a fluffy cloud or mound.

5. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

The outside will be a light golden brown. Let cool and enjoy the fluff!

I followed all of the instructions and made a small batch of cloud bread and it may have been the most disgusting thing I have ever tasted on this entire planet.

It basically tasted like hard boiled eggs but warmed up. It was absolutely nasty. I would not recommend this.

Cloud bread gets a -5.7/10. This should never be brought back as a

The Pepperbox | Page 17

trend and I do not know what people were thinking back in 2020.

Another very popular 2020 trend was whipped coffee. Seneca Turechek believes it was one of the best things about 2020.

“Whipped coffee is the bomb. com, I could actually eat up a coffee right now.”

Turechek is a coffee fanatic, she really knows good coffee from bad.

I decided that trying whipped coffee would be a great recipe to try.

Whipped coffee needs 2 tablespoons of hot water, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of instant coffee and a cup with milk and ice.

The instructions are to add the hot water, coffee, and sugar to a bowl, then hand whisk it until it turns light and fluffy, then you serve it on top of the milk.

Whipped coffee was really easy to make. It was simple and really only took about 5 minutes.

I would give it a 9/10. It was good! The whipped coffee part was fluffy and sweet, but not too sweet.

I would definitely do this again.

Food trends will come and go and some will be absolutely atrocious and some will eat up. It will always depend.

TikTok has created so many food trends that have become core memories for most.

I recommend being on FoodTok, there is always something new and interesting to try.

The Pepperbox | Page 18

Friends

Tuesday, May 16th, 2023

Canceling Arcata High School Seneca Turechek

Co-Feature Editor his is simply for educational purposes, no hate to anyone involved, but some of you are getting canceled.

1) Kids going to SBCC First on the list, anyone going to Santa Barbara City College is canceled. For some strange reason everyone and their mother is going to Santa Barbra for college and a majority of them are going to SBCC. Why are they going? This is not important. What’s important is that they show little care for the feelings of all the kids that are attending UCSB. Senior and victim of her peers’ careless actions Gabby Davidson said, “I feel like everyone is just trying to follow me, you know. I just feel like I’m so influential and such a big part of this school and everyone’s lives that they really want to be close to me.”

T

“My justification is that I was like the first person that wanted to go to SBCC and everyone followed my trend.”

- Josie Powell So true. Davidson is in emotional distress from the pressure of needing to balance her school work and time with her fans, yet they show little care and still plan to attend school and live only miles away from

her.

Of course these actions can be accused, until they reach extremes.

“It makes me feel a little uncomfortable that my fans would go as far as to move down a college to be next to me, like the same street, same town, a little bit crazy might get a restraining order,” Davidson said.

This is when a situation becomes problematic, when a young woman must take legal actions, and I choose to support her. This is modern day feminism. What is the justification of their actions?

Senior Josie Powell, who will be attending SBCC in the fall, says “My justification is that I was like the first person that wanted to go to SBCC and everyone followed my trend.”

Now, you may be confused on who to blame, who is being truly problematic in this extremely messy situation. Moral of the story, blame the followers.

Please everyone, don’t attack Powell just because she is going to SBCC. “Josie is a trailblazer. Everyone else is a copycat. Blame Cedar,” senior Avery Meadows.

2) Jasmine and Astreya McKinght and Natalie Lehman This next section has a trigger warning for triplets. Juniors Jasmine and Astreya McKnight and Natalie Lehman have officially been canceled for acting like triplets.

To the uneducated mind, this may seem like a harmless act, just a term of endearment, but their actions have dire consequences.

What makes this so problematic is that they are not genetically related in any way, which has been confirmed by Lehman herself and yet all she has to say is, “It’s ok if we even are triplets, what’s the harm,” continuing to uphold their lies.

The harm is that approximately 0.1% of the population are triplets. People are upset because Lehman and the McKnights continue to spread misinformation and stereotypes about triplets. They are upsetting triplets everywhere.

All Lehman has to say to this, “It’s ok. You guys, persevere.”

The three of them are now facing heat from the triplets community for the ways in which they addressed the situation. My advice, give a meaningful apology, it will go a long way.

3) AHS Pepperbox We’ve been canceled. It was bound to happen at some point, however the Pepperbox is a victim of cancel culture. What did we do wrong? Educate students on school news? Providing a fun and entertaining literary passtime? Amplify student voices?

None of these seems problematic so maybe you’re all the problem?

I had the PRIVILEGE to speak to the co-editor Madelyn Conley about her feelings on the situation.

“We work very hard to provide the facts and provide people entertainment and they need to chill out and let us do our thing,” Conley said.

Well, we have freedom of the press so cry about it.

To the people trying to cancel the Pepperbox, you are contributing to the “long standing problem of student journalists’ voices being silenced,” said senior Dylan Berman.

4) Dylan Wilkerson Last but certainly not least, senior Dylan Wilkerson is canceled for having a beard. You might be wondering, what is so problematic about having a beard?

It is not only growing a beard, but also upholding toxic masculinity associated with beard culture. Controversies have risen over Wilkersons inability to empathize with the poor individuals who are unable to have a beard, even going as far as to publicly shame and ridicule hairless individuals.

Wilkerson openly admits to and takes pride in his shaming of people who can’t grow beards and diminished their struggle with a simple statement of “just grow one.”

I provided Wilkerson with the opportunity to apologize for his actions and all he had to say was, “Suck it to all the people who can only grow patchy.”

Wow. Real considerate and understanding. We as a society need to do better and support those who struggle growing a beard and leave the problematic beard culture behind.

To all who fell victim to the problematic individuals in this article, I stand with you. To everyone listed in this article, you have 24 hours to apologize.

Tuesday, May 16th, 2023

The Pepperbox | Page 19

Friends

Surfin’ on TikTok Julian Wan Online Editor

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s a student in the modern digital world, I’d say we’re pretty good at multitasking.

As I am writing this article I am currently munching on a cookie, listening to the “How to Train Your Dragon” soundtrack, and watching Instagram reels.

Subway Surfers has been taking over the internet since it became available on the App Store in 2012.

Recently, the game was awarded the most downloaded game of 2022 after surpassing 4 billion downloads.

TikTok creators took the popularity of Subway Surfers by creating “sludge content,” or videos that have more than one unrelated media to capture an audience’s attention. This content consists of combining 3 or more useless and mind-numbing videos on the same screen, creating a visually appealing video to capture the attention of our brains.

HOLD ON Awwwwww check out this cute dog and cat power duo!

Subway Surf:

Is today your lucky day?

24-Hour Mega Jackpot Event happening right now!

Aight bet imma beat my high score *subway surfer noises* Anyways…

Created for the sole purpose of gaining millions of views, “sludge content” forces us to focus less because the distractions of multiple videos on the screen makes us sit there and watch without gaining anything out of it.

The most popular media used in creating “sludge

content” includes Subway Surfers gameplay, Minecraft parkour, and oddly satisfying videos.

Consuming this media might be entertaining but is it enjoyable?

And are we wasting our time at the cost of our attention span?

Instagram ahspepperbox just shared a new post!

The Pepperbox | Page 20

Friends

Tuesday, May 16th, 2023

TikTok trends to bring back and leave Madelyn Conley Co-Editor-in-Chief

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ance challenges like the renegade, day in the life videos, get ready with me vlogs, and oversharing about mental struggles are each influential trends on TikTok that every user has seen.

Not all trends on the app are harmful and can actually have the opposite effect.

Pet videos, cooking tips, ASMR, motivational videos, and comedy all have the potential to make someone feel better after scrolling on their For You Page.

However, the trends change pretty quickly. What’s popular one day can be unpopular the next.

Especially once Musical.ly transitioned to TikTok in summer 2018, a lot of Musical.ly trends ended.

While this may be for the best for some of us who posted very embarrassing Musical.ly’s in the fifth grade, some nostalgic trends were lost.

Even the early days of TikTok are so different from what it’s like now.

“Bring back the Renegade,” senior Gabby Davidson said.

If you were a true TikToker you would know the Renegade Dance.

Multiple students agreed that the choreographed dances were really fun and engaging.

Summer 2019 was full of really entertaining videos.

“I liked when people lived in content houses. Bring them back,” senior Cleo Barnes said.

These content houses were a really big trend that started late 2019, early 2020 where upcoming TikTok stars bought huge houses in Los Angeles and lived in them together.

They made a ton of money through these collaborations.

However, there was also a lot of drama and not everyone was fans of them.

“The content creator houses were annoying,” junior Elana Griffin said.

Another trend some people are not in favor of bringing back or continuing with are the ‘What I Eat In A Day’ videos.

“Those videos are really triggering and don’t need to be shared to the whole internet,” junior Quinlyn Rush-Copple said.

These types of videos are examples of the harmful content that can be promoted on TikTok. A trend that had the opposite effect became popular late 2016.

“Bring back the mannequin challenge,” sophomore Jonah O’Brien said.

Multiple students agreed with O’brien. The old trends seemed to be more wholesome than they are now.

“I really liked those summer TikToks where people slept in inflatable pools in a pool. They were really cute and wholesome,” Davidson said.

The early TikTok days were full of VSCO girls, dances, and upcoming content creators.

Before that, Musical.ly was more focused on transition videos, lipsyncing, and challenges.

“Bring back the sick Musical.ly transitions and edits. Those were cool and people put a lot of effort into them,” Griffin said.

A trend that was less wholesome going around all social media platforms was diss tracks.

In 2017, brothers and content creators Logan and Jake Paul started fighting online.

They each made diss tracks about each other that honestly altered the course of life.

“Bring back the diss tracks that people put a lot of effort into and produced videos and everything,

like ‘The Fall of Jake Paul,’” junior Kyndle Eisner said.

Some trends are worth bringing back while others are probably best leaving behind.

It all depends on what kinds of videos you like and what your in-

terests are.

Whether you have the app or not, we have all been influenced

by TikTok trends.

I guess we’ll see what’s to come and what we’re doing now that will soon be left behind.

Madelyn Conley/PEPPERBOX

Junior Evangelina Reed filming a TikTok for senior Cedar Cline and sophomore Jonah O’brien.

Tuesday, May 16th, 2023

Friends

The Pepperbox | Page 21

Tunes from TikTok Ossian Briar-Bonpane Co-Photo Editor

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fter 20 minutes of watching TikTok, you have just consumed, on average, about 40 different videos and listened to 40 different songs or sounds.

While the focus of TikTok is on video creation, music plays a huge role in those videos and in turn, TikTok has provided a platform that has caused certain songs or artists to completely jumpstart their music career, or has revived songs released decades ago.

I have personally discovered a couple of great songs from TikTok, but I have also discovered some of the worst songs I’ve ever heard in my life, which I never want to hear again.

When a song blows up on TikTok, it often gets overplayed to the point where every bit of goodness or creativity or meaning to the song is completely lost and ruined due to its TikTok presence and what videos are then associated with it.

Arcata High School students have reported on a number of “TikTok songs” that they never want to hear again.

One student said that the worst song they’ve heard on TikTok was “AbcdeFU”, because it is “strangely immature for something trying to be a hit with teens”.

Others include “Love You So” because it’s “it’s just bad, it sucks”, “Dance Monkey” because it’s “annoying as hell and sounds awful”, “Kill Bill”, and “Unholy”.

On a more positive note, there are some songs frequently used on TikTok that are much more bearable, and some are even worthy of a daily listen. Currently my favorite “TikTok famous” song is “Sl*t Me Out” by NLE Choppa.

Songs like this have the potential to lessen anxiety and liberate any closed mind! I’m not the only one to have discovered wonderful songs from TikTok. Other students shared that the best songs they’ve found included “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over”, “Not Allowed”, “Lover’s Rock”, “Sweet Little Bumble Bee”, “Something in the Orange”, and “Achilles Come Down.”

I want to acknowledge that by referring to these as “TikTok songs”, I don’t mean they were created for TikTok. In this context I am just referring to the fact that many users have heard that song for the first time or remembered a nostalgic song following its use or popularity on TikTok. So, what distinguishes between a good “TikTok song” and a bad one? There are many factors that can change the overall feelings associated with a song, like the time period it was popular, what videos or trends it is associated with, the lyrics, and the persona of the artist.

In general, any song that would be widely regarded as a “TikTok” song is likely to be a difficult listen.

Also, everyone has a different relationship to music and different feelings towards any songs.

Personally, I’d throw up if I ever heard “SUPALONELY” again, because I associate it with whipped coffee, isolation, distance learning, 2020 depression, and the dance that went along with it.

But I’m sure there are people out there who feel nostalgic and happy thinking of those times?

There are such distinct lists of songs that are associated with different eras of TikTok, like summer of 2019, when everyone’s For You Page was constantly circling through “Prom Dress”, “Chanel”, “Chinese New Year”, “Wait a Minute!”, “Marlboro Nights”, “Cha Cha”,

and a million other songs for the scrunchie and puka shell-wearing, hydro flask bearing, fake-tanned girlies!

More recently in 2023, munch culture has taken over TikTok’s

trending songs as “DOGTOOTH” and “MUNCH (Feelin’ U)” have collectively gained a lot of videos made using them. Music plays such a big role in TikTok and influences us all.

The Pepperbox | Page 22

Friends

Tuesday, May 16th, 2023

What’s the beef with reposting?

Alauna Thompson Reporter

O

ne of the newer features on TikTok is the little yellow repost button with the two

arrows on it.

Some people use it just to repost funny videos but a good amount of people use it to repost the most depressing or aggressive TikToks they can get their paws on.

When I say aggressive I mean videos about how much of a b*tch a person is being. Personally I would never do this. (Please do not look at my reposts, there’s definitely not a bunch of stuff on there).

Lily Cunningham, a sophomore normally uses two different categories of videos to repost. “I repost funny stuff. But I also repost targeted stuff,” she said.

“Just stupid meme stuff that I find funny or relatable videos” Brandon Bento Jackson said, referring to his reports “I’ve never reposted something but just know that if I did it would probably be petty” Avery Meadows, a senior, Taylor Swift enthusiast, and full time programmer said.

Quincy Collins, a sophomore, sticks to one category of videos to repost, “relatable stuff” he said.

Targeted videos are one of those things that many students come across on their for you page but normally don’t say anything about.

I’ve definitely reposted more than a few things to start stuff, but hey it’s fun to live on the edge and take risks like that.

“It depends, one time I did, I thought maybe it would pop up on their for you page,” Collins said. It is still unknown if the video actually did.

“It’s like psychological warfare turned into a repost battle” Cunnigham said about her most recent

reposts that have been going back and forth between someone .

“I’m just trying to be on my own thing,” Bento-Jackson said, “I’m not trying to start beef or anything.”

Reposts are often meant to be seen by others, that’s the main reason that people repost. Once you repost something it doesn’t go away until you go find it and delete it.

Which for some can take time with the long number of reposts they have. There is also sometimes some confusion with people on whether or not a video is targeting them or if it’s about someone else.

“Yeah definitely, I actually know that,’’ Cunningham said about knowing if a video has been targeted at her.

“Once in a while yeah but I overthink a lot of stuff so it’s probably not about me,” Bento-Jackson said.

“Yes, yes so many” sophomore Sionna Khattab said when asked if she had thought reposts were about her.

I know that I’ve adventured through someone’s reposts, it’s just interesting to see what they are reposting.

“I think that a person’s reposts say a lot about them,’’ Cunningham said.

I fully agree with Cunningham and I’m sure many others do as well. Reposts often reflect someone’s feelings whether it’s a comedy video, a video about self healing or maybe a friendship ending.

You can tell if someone is having one of the best days of their lives or the worst. It’s basically a public like button if you don’t have your likes public.

Do what you like with it but it could potentially start something with your squad.

This is the repost button that appears on TikTok videos. TikTok reposts are often used a form of passive aggressive communication.

Tuesday, May 16th, 2023

Friends

The Pepperbox | Page 23

The slay and unslay consequences of TikTok Ell Franklin Opinion Editor

T

eenagers before would look to magazines, tv shows, and movies, to find the styles and trends that they wanted to follow.

Today teenagers have social media which acts as a type of matrix for teens looking to be cool, and finding their preferred aesthetics.

Magazines like Seventeen were influential to spreading trends, now TikTok and Instagram are pivotal in the development of teenagers.

Due to TikTok so willingly provides doors into other people’s lives, it becomes somewhat of a mold for teenagers. This isn’t neccessarily a bad thing. It can create safe spaces for people to express themselves and supply others with inspiration.

Junior Kleo Gaiera said that TikTok has been a positive influence

for her, a place where she was able to find art that she likes.

“This one lady really helped me develop my personal art style, and I’ve just been building from there,” she said. Gaiera said that she doesn’t think TikTok has negatively impacted people.

“It’s mostly just people getting inspiration from each other,” Gaiera said. She thinks that the people who are most affected by TikTok trends largely depend on how easily somebody is influenced.

She believes that TikTok can easily help people find the styles that they like. Violet Fogg, a junior, said baggy pants and layering are some fashion trends that she got from TikTok. When asked how she thinks TikTok has impacted teenagers’ originality, Fogg said, “I think it has definitely impacted teenagers, cause like you’re seeing so many

other people, you weren’t really meant to see, and there’s so much longing for people to be like another person. When people are just shown all these different people constantly, and all these different things that they aren’t meant to see, I think it definitely affects people.”

Fogg observes the way her peers are affected by TikTok. “Do you ever hear people spew like random bullsh*t and your like ‘I’ve heard that exact same thing in a TikTok’.”

Gaiera said, “teenagers have a tendency to want to fit in, and teenagers nowadays are using social media as a kind of template to fit in” for the reason TikTok may be so influential for teenagers. “But I think that the people who don’t try to fit in aren’t using it for that.”

TikTok and social media, in general, have influenced many teen-

agers vocabularies, Gaiera said,.“I usually end up using the words ironically, then they just become part of my vocabulary.”

The word Fogg said she most uses because of tik tok is “probably slay, or, no- yeah definitely slay.”

Fogg and Gaiera both mentioned some positive things to come out of TikTok. Gaiera explained that she now crochets because of TikTok. Fogg read a book called No Longer Human by Osumu Dazzi because of TikTok. She said it was “really interesting, and really tragic.”

In the age of technology, it is apparent that the world has moved beyond the era when teenagers found trends in a magazine. So it is good to know that some teenagers feel that the influence tik tok has over today’s adolescents is (mostly) positive.

However, many argue that screen time is negatively affecting development. One of the most common stereotypes about “iPad babies” is that they are easily distracted and have short attention spans.

According to healthychildren. org “...screen viewing before age 18 months has lasting negative effects on children’s language development, reading skills, and short term memory. It also contributes to problems with sleep and attention.”

While it’s true that excessive screen time can lead to problems with attention and focus, it’s important to remember that technology is just one part of a child’s environment.

Parents and caregivers can create a balanced and healthy approach to learning and play by setting limits on screen time. The

American Academy of Pediatrics recommends, “No screen time for children under 2. One hour per day for children 2 to 12. Two hours per day for teens and adults.”

Another stereotype about “iPad babies” is that they lack social skills and are less able to communicate effectively.

They are glued to their screens and have low tempers.

For example, from my personal experience, if you try and disrupt an ipad baby, you’ll get the Ipad to your head.

Their low tempers cause them to immediately act in violence.

iPad babies take over Toni Diaz

I

Copy Editor

pad babies. You know the stereotypes. Fingertips covered in Cheeto dust groping at a greasy screen, an overwhelming stench, their dirty, sticky mouths mostly lined in couch lint, oh and the maxed out volume of CoComelon.

Besides the point… how are these so-called iPad babies evolving?

Technology has had a significant impact on how children learn and grow, and nowhere is this more evident than with the so-called “iPad babies” of Gen Z. While some people might be concerned about the impact of screen time on children’s development, it’s important to recognize that these “iPad babies” are individuals with unique learning styles and preferences.

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