Disney's new TikTok-style videos could be whole new hellscape

CES is where tech brands have a chance to show off their visions for the future. From beautiful TVs to creative laptops, we've seen plenty of exciting hardware already this year. But perhaps the most alarming announcement isn't related to hardware at all.

Disney has taken to CES to announce that it is planning to incorporate TikTok-style vertical videos into its Disney+ app. Which, in a world where doomscrolling is already too easy, sounds like nothing but bad news to me.

In an attempt to turn Disney+ into "a must-visit daily destination," Disney announced its plan to "explore [vertical video's] use in a variety of ways across categories, and content types, for a personalized and dynamic feed. That will include expanding across news and entertainment."

In terms of what the vertical video content will look like, Disney says "everything's on the table," and that it could encompass "short-form programming, repurposed social clips, refashioned scenes from longer-form episodic or feature titles or a combination."

According to Deadline, Disney announced a slew of advertising-based developments, including a new “brand impact” metric and a video generation tool for advertisers.

Aside from the question of whether we really need another daily destination to watch short mobile videos, what concerns me is the blurring of TV and social media. With so many streaming services out there, the TV viewing experience is already a fragmented one – but for my money, turning individual streamers into 'do everything' platforms threatens to erode the very idea of television as an art form.

Right now, 'watching Disney' suggests engaging with the brand's artistic output, whether it's a Pixar film or a TV series. If the same phrase can apply to watching "repurposed social clips", then it starts to look like social media's assault on TV is complete.

"These vertical shorts and tiktokfication of all media is just ridiculous. Great for those when short span of memory. Horrible for us who wants good quality stuff," one Redditor comments on the news. Another adds, "That's really not what I'm looking for in a TV/Movie streaming service."

But some suggest the format could have its uses. Another Redditor suggests, "It could be good if they show clips or trailers to allow people to discover new shows."

And it seems Disney has somewhat anticipated the response. In an interview with Deadline, Erin Teague, EVP of Product Management for Disney Entertainment and ESPN, said, "We’re obviously thinking about integrating vertical video in ways that are native to core user behaviours. So, it won’t be a kind of a disjointed, random experience.”