As TikTok Recommendations Spiral Out of Control, Should We Bring Gatekeeping Back?

Originally published in Popsugar UK: https://www.popsugar.co.uk/mon...

Take a simple scroll through TikTok, Instagram or any social media site platform and you'll find a recommendation somewhere. Whether it's the best makeup products, travel destinations to add to your list or some kitchen decor inspiration — recommendations are everywhere.

It might sound like a dream world, everyone sharing the things and experiences they love so that others can love and eventually share them too. Plus nothing feels better than being thanked and praised for your recommendations (that sense of pride is priceless), but the benefits of being "the one in the know" are starting to wear off, and the downsides are showing.

TikTok-recommended restaurants now have hour-long queues, when they used to be a walk-in venue — take The Breakfast Club or Selfridges' San Alto Rooftop for example. Holiday destinations like Portugal and Croatia are filled to the brim with "influencer" tourists flocking to these "secret gems" after seeing aesthetically-pleasing videos online (and then blocking your view doing mini photo shoots for their socials).

Products sell out within seconds after being plugged online, too. Good luck trying to buy a pair of Adidas Sambas, that Zara leather jacket you saw Molly-Mae Hague wearing or the infamous Tower 28 SOS Skin Spray. Bookstores like Waterstones are taking BookTok in their stride, creating sections in stores solely for books popular on TikTok to save you scouring the shelves.

Recommendations are such a huge part of our culture, so much so that gatekeeping — basically refusing to share where you bought something, where you stayed on holiday, or how you got your hair like that — is looked down upon. But as the consequences of our recommendations get out of hand, could it be time to bring gatekeeping back?

@JadeAlyceBod, a fragrance creator on TikTok tells her followers to keep their signature scent to themselves, "because at the end of the day, who wants to smell like everybody?" And in response to people being called "clones" for wearing viral fashion pieces, @KBrennyy says the solution could be gatekeeping, writing in a video: "If you don't want everyone looking like clones, stop telling people where you buy every single item in your life."

Then, over on the Unpopular Opinion Reddit thread, one wrote: "Doesn't matter if it's a beautiful waterfall or a small coffee shop. What makes it nice is that it isn't crowded or widely known. I'm sick of seeing comments saying to not gatekeep things. I think everyone should do it more."

More recently, Londoners have been love-bombing Angus Steakhouse in Oxford Circus, leaving false positive reviews for the chain restaurant as a way to trick Google's recommendations list and deter tourists from visiting their real favourite spots and keeping their hidden gems hidden. One user jokingly praised its steak sandwich for luring them out of a hunger strike: "I was on hunger strike once. Survived for 56 days, it was the steak sandwich that broke my resistance. I am now a nutritionist and I always recommend the carnivore diet, centred around this hallowed Steakhouse," they wrote.

The boom of writers turning to Substack for their writing, recommendations and thoughts seems to follow this trend. Yes, writers are still giving those recommendations, thoughts and guides to trends, but to an audience that's invested enough to sign up and follow them — sometimes also behind a paywall.

However, Daisy Buchanan, author, podcaster and writer of the Creative Confidence Clinic on Substack says that forming a community has helped her to filter who her recommendations reach, rather than turning to gatekeeping. She tells PS UK: "If I'm honest, 'gatekeeping' doesn't come naturally to me, because I'm so passionate and enthusiastic about the things I love, especially when it comes to books. I want to tell everyone!

"Recommendations aren't my core content, but I think of them as a valuable bonus I can offer to anyone who subscribes and wants to become a full part of the community," she adds. "Paywalling or gatekeeping the content means people can't engage with it casually. But then, I don't recommend anything casually. I love the fact that my subscribers are just as passionate and enthusiastic as I am. My recommendations are for people who really want to be there with me."

Similarly, Anna Newton who runs Substack The Wardrobe Edit shares that the support from those who are genuinely interested in her style recommendations is what counts and keeps her from gatekeeping. She tells us: "It's less about gatekeeping content and more about being able to support the work of creators whose content I enjoy consuming. It feels like a big group chat and that feeling of community is so strong, I get excited to share something when I really think I've found a gem, in a way that I don't for other platforms."

Packed, spoiled beaches, out of stock notifications and the likelihood of someone having the same jacket as you are fair reasons to turn to gatekeeping, but it's not all doom and gloom — and perhaps sharing with smaller communities like Newton and Buchanan is a good mid-point. You might have to queue a little bit longer, but at least the local small business you told all your friends about is making more money. And if your usual beach location is pricey this time around, perhaps it's time to explore and find a new hidden gem, the world is your oyster! I'll admit though, there is nothing more jarring than waiting for a pair trainers to come back in stock. Perhaps gatekeeping is back-ish.