TikTok Rewards Creators For Annoying You
Why TikTok’s “Top 10” Videos Always End Early
Tell me whether this has happened to you. You're on TikTok. You scroll to a video. It says it's going to give you something like the Top 10 music videos of the 1990s or the Top 10 New York Times cooking recipes of 2026. You settle in. You like the topic, but as you near the end of the video, you realize you're still only at number 6. How could the video wrap up in time and show you all of the Top 10? Your inclination is proven right. At number 5 or number 4, the video cuts off, and it just goes back to the beginning.
What the hell is going on here?
It would be one thing if this happened one time, but if you've experienced this once, you've probably experienced it a dozen times. Have you ever wondered why creators on TikTok do this?
For the record, I'm not here to tell you that they should be doing this, I'm here to tell you why they do it so you can recognize it and scroll on. Personally, I hate it. It's annoying, it's frustrating. It's dishonest. Here's why creators are doing this.
TikTok's algorithm rewards all engagement - not just positive engagement.
Ending a video abruptly at number 4 or number 3 naturally triggers frustration, which, paradoxically, increases engagement. People comment, "Where's the rest of the video?" They click through to the creator's profile and go try and find the end of the video. They head to the comments section to see if other people are experiencing the same thing that they just did. These are all signals to TikTok that this video causes viewers to take actions.
TikTok’s algorithm rewards replays and watch time.
A lot of people actually end up re-watching these videos. They haven't caught on to the trick yet. They swipe up and down because they think they missed something. These creators are annoying us by design.
The fake promise.
AKA the lie. A lot of these creators take the time out of their day to tell you to follow them for part two of the video, which you probably won't be surprised to learn never actually comes. The follow is the goal for the creator, not satisfying your curiosity.
It's all pretty annoying, isn't it? More than that, it's pretty dark. TikTok is rewarding creators for exploiting the human need for closure, and once that’s brought to your attention, it doesn't sit well. Users often don't even notice or realize that these tricks are being played on them.
The next time you see the promise of a top ten list on TikTok, think of this post and scroll on past.
The fish that recognizes the bait doesn't bite.
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