>They aren't even picking which videos to watch, just letting the algorithm do it.

As a teenager, I used to torrent content I liked and scoff at my parents generation for letting tv feed then slop :)

It's hard to understand why TikTok is addictive from the outside, precisely because if you look at the app over someone's shoulder you'll see their tailored content, not yours.

Give the algorithm a couple weeks and it WILL find the weird thing that gets you to check. Maybe you find someone restoring books relaxing, or like toy commercials from where you were a kid, or are attentive on news of potential pandemics out of fear. It will learn.