The Concerns Regarding Younger Generations on TikTok
Brief Project Description:
In this video, I talk about the growing and harmful concerns that TikTok has on the younger generation’s mental health and well-being. One effect that I mention is body dysmorphia. I also talk about the addictiveness of the app which causes the number of children to increase who have negatively talked about themselves and their bodies.
Transcription
Title: The Concerns Regarding Younger Generations on TikTok
Do you know that twelve and a half years old is the average age at which a child opens a social media account? Do you know of anyone who has deleted TikTok for the main purpose of how it has affected their mental health? ’m sure many of you have heard of the social media app TikTok which allows people to watch, share, and create short videos. This app has allowed humans to feel connected to their friends and family. It is very important to look at how this app has shaped our communication because seeing how addictive the app is and how easily it can influence the generations is very dangerous. Today I am here to inform you about the growing and harmful concerns about the impact that TikTok has on the young generation’s mental health and well-being. The problem is the addictiveness of the app has increased the number of children who have negatively talked about themselves and their bodies.
TikTok’s algorithm is designed to entice its users to keep scrolling through video after video after video. This is great for the platform, but not so much for the younger generation’s mental health. “A 2022 study from the Frontiers in Psychology journal found that TikTok is the most highly addictive of all social media platforms.” When children spend too much time scrolling on TikTok, it can disrupt their sleep and stress levels and it “exploits the vulnerability” of children.
TikTok sets itself apart from other platforms such as Instagram by presenting its digital interactions in a way that allows the youth to feel connected. TikTok is letting down its most vulnerable consumers who need the most protection: children. Using TikTok can cause a person to become deeply engrossed in online activity, which can lead to a decreased connection with reality as well as a warped sense of time. The algorithm recognizes vulnerability and, instead of seeing it as something it should be careful around, it sees it as a potential point of addiction – helping to maximize time on the platform for that child by serving them up content that might trigger some of the pre-existing concerns. One concern is body dysmorphia, which is a mental health condition where a person spends a lot of time worrying about flaws in their appearance.
Negative body image often arises from distorted and unrealistic perceptions of one’s own body. Short-form social media videos and images that set unattainable appearance standards may harm their perception of body image. According to, Imran Ahmed of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, which produced a report that suggested TikTok’s algorithm was pushing harmful content to some users within minutes of their signing up. He stated, “The truth is that they are being flooded with content that gives them an extremely distorted view of themselves, their bodies, their mental health, and how they compare to other people.
A New York Times article also quoted from the Center for Countering Digital Hate saying, that TikTok starts recommending content tied to eating disorders and self-harm to 13-year-olds within 30 minutes of their joining the platform, and sometimes in as little as three minutes. Imagine if you put yourself in the shoes of a 13-year-old seeing content that included “tips” on how to consume less than 300 calories per day or watching a video of a “perfect” body in beautiful clothes. This is a huge issue because it damages their mental health. The more time that children spend on TikTok the higher possibility that they will experience mental health symptoms such as anxiety and hopelessness. Children are comparing their bodies to other influencers and it is not okay.
So my question is: What do you think about the mental health issues that TikTok has created for the younger generations? Have you noticed a change in their toxic communication towards themselves or others? Today I informed you about the growing and harmful concerns about the impact that TikTok has on the young generation’s mental health and well-being. The main problem is the addictiveness of the app has caused a rise in the number of children who watch toxic content that affects their mental health. Which later causes them to use negative and harmful words towards others and themselves.
Works Cited
Maheshwari, Sapna. “TikTok Appears to Push Harmful Posts to Young Users, Researchers Say.” The New York Times, 14 December 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/14/business/tiktok-safety-teens-eating-disorders-self-harm.html. Accessed 5 November 2024.
Matta, Nadia. “TikTok Addiction: Signs, Causes, And How To Overcome It.” Addiction Center, 29 May 2024, https://www.addictioncenter.com/behavioral-addictions/social-media-addiction/tiktok-addiction/. Accessed 4 November 2024.
Rawlinson, Kevin. “How TikTok’s algorithm ‘exploits the vulnerability’ of children.” The Guardian, 4 April 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/apr/04/how-tiktoks-algorithm-exploits-the-vulnerability-of-children. Accessed 4 November 2024.