Negative Impact of TikTok on Teens Essay Example

TikTok, a social media platform could potentially harm your daily life. Although we enjoy watching TikTok, we could be doing something else in our lives. On average, there are approximately 50 million users each day in the United States, meaning that’s 20% of the population in the United States (https://backlinko.com). TikTok ultimately wastes our time, meaning it’s harmful for our time and mental health. 

TikTok is a platform where we can easily get invested in watching videos from 30 minutes to an hour each day. The big problem with TikTok is that it does neither of these things—there is no way to gain any valuable information or communicate effectively with anyone on the app. All you do is watch other people’s ridiculous videos and feed them likes. It’s nothing but a catalyst for the paralyzing and unconscious wasting of time (https://dgnomega.org). Whenever we watch TikTok for hours, we unconsciously watch these videos, and mostly we don’t remember most of these videos we watch. We spend a lot of time on TikTok just to get some laughs from ridiculous videos we don’t even remember. TikTok is a waste of time. Students make those silly videos during my class and it impacts their grade because they aren’t working,” said Patrick Greene, technology teacher (https://lhslance.org).Teenagers would rather watch TikTok than to do school work. Most people do not utilize their time correctly, resulting in failure in work or assignments from school. Although TikTok is a good source for laughs and entertainment, it rarely does any good for the time we have wasted watching TikTok. 

The algorithm on TikTok can have a huge impact on teenagers' mental health. There is content that involves dancing, but there is some other content that can deeply influence a teenagers’ emotions and actions. Some experts believe that TikTok’s algorithm can promote content related to depression, anxiety and eating disorders, according to CBS News (https://www.deseret.com). According to the TikTok algorithm, their videos are mostly made up of depression related content. This can deeply influence a teenagers’ mind as it can affect their health psychologically. The cyberbullying, social exclusion and drama that can occur on these networks have been associated with higher rates of mental health issues in teenagers (https://www.latimes.com). The toxic community of TikTok can easily change teenagers’ emotions. Teenagers can have mental issues such as depression, anxiety, and insecurities due to the harmful actions of the community. The toxic part of TikTok can leave negative comments on a TikToker’s video, as it can lead to mental issues in teens, as well as the algorithm of TikTok. 

Despite all the harmful effects, from different perspectives, Tiktok can be very beneficial. TikTok has been a method by which businesses and influencers promote their brand. The video-sharing service has helped this cause by launching Tiktok Ads that allow for businesses to run ads as videos. (https://socioblend.com). Posting ads on TikTok can be very beneficial for an entrepreneur, as you could grow your business by attracting people’s attention from TikTok. Ads can easily attract people’s attention, meaning your business could skyrocket in the matter of minutes or days. Whether you’re watching or making your own videos on TikTok, one thing’s for sure: it’s just plain fun! That’s why a lot of people are on Tiktok—because it’s super entertaining! (https://www.lionheartv.net). TikTok can also be a good way to introduce your talent to some audiences. People that have the same interests as you can stumble upon your video, and can give feedback about your talent. Apps like TikTok can give the attention people desire whether it’s for businesses or if it’s from an audience. 

Ultimately, TikTok can be super harmful for teenagers and adolescents, as it can affect their mental health. The app also leads to poor decisions given the attention spans among humans. Using apps like TikTok less frequently can boost mental health, and it can also boost our performance in doing things. Although there are some benefits on TikTok, there is more harm on TikTok.