I very rarely email the quirky or viral videos that pop up all over the internet. But then again, my iPhone is not an extension of my arm. I am likely the only person at dinner whose phone is in my bag the whole time. I text only when necessary, and I have a festering hatred for group texts — especially when each texter responds during all hours, time zone be damned. I tweet but I’m not clever enough to engage in the clap-back threads so popular on Black Twitter. Clearly, I’m not someone for whom social media is central to my daily life.
But even mostly disinterested and disconnected me is frequently drawn to TikTok, the cultural phenomenon which now boasts one billion users. How did this social media platform rise above the others and move users from casual exploration to obsession and now, experts fear, addiction?
TikTok users are drawn to the videos — some just seconds long — which offer a wide range of everything from viral dance challenges to serious commentary and everything in between. What always gets my attention? The user-created life hacks: shortcuts or tricks that are clever solutions to problems large and small. There is something for everybody on TikTok, and a lot of it. Makes sense that most users find it hard to pull away. Of course, other social media platforms work hard to capture and hold users’ attention.
But TikTok’s built in algorithm is purported to be much more sophisticated than its competitors. Its proprietary design precisely curates customized user content based on what it knows about how long and what individual users watch. Hours can pass as they are mesmerized by the never-ending scroll of videos.
Parents and psychologists have been raising the alarm about violent and dark content being pushed nearly nonstop to young people who are ill equipped to handle it. This targeted marketing leading them to scroll incessantly is especially harmful to younger users whose brains are still developing. As of last year, an estimated 25 percent of TikTok users are 10-19 years of age.
There is already evidence that another social media platform is damaging to young users. Whistleblower Frances Haugen of Facebook (now known as Meta) said as much when she told Congress last year about the company’s internal research, revealing 32 percent of teen girls said they felt bad about their bodies and using Meta’s Instagram made them feel worse. TikTok is now under investigation by nine Attorneys General, including Massachusetts’ Maura Healey. Healey announced the investigation to determine if the social media platform is improperly marketed to children and teens, saying, “We cannot allow social media to further harm their physical health and mental well-being.” TikTok has reiterated its safety protocols and rejected the suggestion that their design or operation leads to addictive behavior.
Not so fast, TikTok. I am a near social media Luddite, and I’ve never even subscribed to the app, but a click on life-hack videos gone viral instantly links me to another similar video and pretty soon I’m sucked in. If I can succumb to cyberspace’s Pied Piper, anybody, especially young people vulnerable to mental health issues, can fall under TikTok’s hypnotic power.
Maybe TikTok will eventually be sanctioned for marketing to young people — something President Joe Biden called for in his State of the Union address. But until then, we need to recognize that, in the digital age, what looks like an innocuous distraction simply isn’t.
