30 Dec Teens on the Mental Health Impacts of TikTok, Good and Bad

(nordskovmedia.dk / public domain)

First Person, Various Authors

Editor’s note: A lot of adults think TikTok is bad for the youth. Several attorneys general even sued the social media giant in October, accusing it of being addictive and bad for kids’ mental health. But do the youth agree?

We asked local teens: If you use TikTok, do you think it has had a negative, positive or no impact on your mental health? Please explain why, and tell us about how you use TikTok and how often. If you feel it has negatively affected your mental health, have you changed how you use it or stopped using it as a result? This is part two in a roundup of their responses, which have been edited for length and clarity.

Read Part One:

Is TikTok Bad for Mental Health? These Teens Say It Depends How You Use It

I believe the material you’re shown makes a big impact on your mental health. Whether it’s very hard material or lighthearted material, it’ll matter since it’s in your algorithm. The things you like and see previously stays on your For You Page. I do believe TikTok can be useful; you gain information like news and what not. It might not be as credible, but it’s easy to fact-check your sources.

>>>Social Media’s Influence on the News:

Don’t Believe Everything You Read on the Internet<<<

A saying I hear often is, “Anything in big amounts is bad.” I’d apply that to social media. Any excessive amount of social media is bad for your physical and mental health. Overall, social media can be a good tool for everyone, but you should moderate the use of social media. Too much of anything is bad.

— Jasmine Sanchez, 17

>>>Read: Social Media Spreads Fake News, but Ethnic Media Can Fight It<<<

TikTok has a very positive impact in my life. I watch TikTok while working out, learning, showering and eating. It helps me lock in and get motivation to keep going. I know it sounds addictive, but it’s a good addiction because when I don’t have TikTok, I’m usually just relaxing. TikTok helps me stop relaxing and start working/moving. I love TikTok!

— Zachariah Bryant, 18

I think TikTok really isn’t all that addicting. TikTok is more or less something that you can go to or vent to when you’re trying to get thoughts off your mind or just to pass time and get rid of boredom. Many times, I have gone onto TikTok just to laugh and see content creators I follow and online friends and gamer buddies. TikTok allows everyone around the world to all come as one.

I believe if you guys really do say it’s addicting it’s because people all around the world are all doing something they love. The content creators who are all doing and teaching all they have learned throughout their culinary school, for example, inspire younger generations to create the works of art they have perfected. People nowadays want to become or have a certain profession because of the inspiration they got from a TikTok video.

I believe if you say it’s addicting to people, it would be because we are very into what they’re making, cooking and showing us because at some point in our life we wanted to be in their shoes, doing all these amazing things they have created such as food, car manufacturers, art, etc.

There is so much you can see and explore without needing to move your feet, and like I said above, TikTok isn’t addicting, yet it’s amusing to see things from a different perspective. It’s like getting resourceful information online without having to do the extra steps — they have it all.

— Bryan Guzman, 18

>>>Teen Talk:

My Generation Is Addicted to Social Media<<<

It had a negative impact on my mental health. I used TikTok just to watch funny videos and soccer training, but then, I would see videos that would be disturbing or depressing. It made me stop using TikTok for good as a result because I didn’t want to keep seeing those things.

— Leilani Gonzalez, 16

I stopped using it, but I believe it is harmful towards children and their growth. When I had TikTok downloaded, I’d continue to scroll for hours on end. It felt like an endless addiction that I hadn’t seemed to let go. I believed the app was doing more good than harm when I’d come across videos created by doctors. It turns out the majority of creators in power on that app became exposed, with gruesome predatory actions hiding in their closets. Endless content on beauty standards, insecurities, challenges that include excessive amounts of Benadryl, new forms of drugs, and predators seeking possible victims. That is TikTok. Not the ”body positivity,” what to do and not to do in dangerous situations, or how to spot signs of a variety of mental disorders.

The content of my For You Page, gently forced eating disorders upon me. I began to analyze bodies that weren’t my own; every curve that wasn’t symmetrical to the ones I was born with disgusted me. [It wasn’t] until my peers were concerned and my ribcage became exposed under my flesh that I finally realized that TikTok was doing more harm than good. It poisoned my mind, which hurt the people around me, all because it caused me to hurt myself. If this app was able to poison my mind with thoughts and feelings that impacted me in a negative light, it pains me to know that children jump at the opportunity to scroll as I once did.

— Princess Ramirez, 16

>>>Teen Talk:

Why I Deleted TikTok From My Phone and My Life<<<

I think it has a negative impact on people’s mental health. TikTok has negatively impacted my personal mental health since I waste time on TikTok, so I lose time scrolling. Some of the media on TikTok can lead people to think less of one’s self. For example, people compare themselves to celebrities and lose confidence. TikTok also has a shop, which can make you browse for hours, and you’ll buy unnecessary things. TikTok also steals some data, which I don’t like. Some people think that the owners of TikTok are trying to get data from people in the U.S., but I’m not sure how likely this is.

— Elmer Barrios, 16

>>>Read: Social Media Changed How I Saw My Future<<<

Having TikTok on my phone and using it very frequently, I feel, has had both a negative and positive impact on my mental health. The reason for this conflicting answer is because I practically grew up on this form of social media, and it definitely has affected the way I turned out in life. You never really know what to expect from the app, unfortunately, since users are posting every second.

Content featured on the app can evoke many different emotions. For example, there are many videos pushing a depressing agenda and just promoting depression, making it seem as if it were a good thing and that it’s “cool” to go through so many traumatic events in life. Many times, these videos go viral, causing more people to see these type of videos and think it’s almost like a trend to have “the most trauma.”

These types of videos used to influence the way I feel about myself, and they sometimes still do, causing my mental health to be affected because I compare and overthink many things. I use TikTok at least once a day, whenever I’m able to, since it’s an easy to access app that can cure boredom. I feel since it has had both a negative and positive impact on my mental health. I try my best to reduce too much use of it. I also click “not interested” on any videos that can make me feel negatively. Although I don’t think I’ll stop using it anytime soon due to it becoming a daily part of my routine, I think eventually I will learn to not use it as much as I currently do.

— Vanesa Rodriguez, 16