TikTok and Instagram are Gen. Z’s soapbox. This is no secret, given how popular both platforms are with our generation.

Instagram stories are one of the best means of getting the word out about local events. Additionally, TikTok can be a great way to promote community events and encourage people to look out for more events in the future.

Marketing departments of companies as well as for individual people has clearly stepped up its game in the modern age and that is no secret. However, some organizations should be exempt from this new means of promotion.

In late 2017, Wendy’s made waves when they took to Twitter and replied to McDonald’s in a snarky way. In their reply, they noted a common fault of the McDonalds’ menu: the consistently broken ice cream machine.

This roast began a wave of social media brands that tried to emulate what Wendy’s was doing with their Twitter page, where massive corporations try desperately to seem human and relatable.

Paid ad slots all over Instagram and TikTok are infested with brands trying their hand at long-dead trends, embarrassing themselves for the hope of a few lucrative engagements.

It is killing the human expression of social media to make more money.

Sadly, Point Park has fallen down this marketing hole as well.

This past Thursday, the University Advising Center debuted their brand new TikTok account.

In it, chair Gargaro frantically runs around Point Park’s advising center in a “speed tour.”

“Speed tours” were a trend over the summer where young real estate agents would dash around properties in an attempt to sell them to viewers. They were first made popular by a Maryland agent named Trent Miller, who would run through entire houses in two minutes.

Maybe the irritating aspect of the Advising Center’s TikTok was that, from the very beginning, the “speed tour” trend was meant to sell a product. Maybe it was the fact that the Advising Center was months behind on the trend. Regardless, seeing the video on TikTok’s “For You” page was extremely annoying.

Point Park has means of reaching students outside of social media. PointSync and Pointweb both run slide ads that showcase various events and organizations on campus. Part of the purpose of the SAIL office is to regulate on-campus advertising.

Why, then, do students’ Instagram and TikTok pages need to be flooded with university-affiliated content?

Communications is a massive program here, and many students hold degrees with a focus in social media marketing. Still, there is a time and place for the accounts, and they absolutely must have some clear purpose.

Barring obvious bias, The Globe’s Instagram is an excellent example of what the ideal university-run social media account should look like.

On it, weekly pitch meeting times and locations are announced. Every new weekly issue is advertised as soon as it hits the racks.

Occasionally, and when needed, brief news stories can even be run on the account. The sign-pulling incident at Brussalis’s inauguration is a great example.

If your account has no clear purpose, it should not exist. Let’s keep advertising organically and on-campus.