TikTok can affect mental health

Lykajsiab Jalao, Staff Writer

During 2020, TikTok has been taking over the world while Coronavirus has been around. It gave people viral trends to do while being in quarantine. A lot of people say that quarantine has helped them grow as a person, but what about other people out there who differ. 

According to TikTok is helping Gen Z with mental health, “Research shows that more frequent use of TikTok and other social media can lead to negative effects. The cyberbullying, social exclusion and drama that can occur on these networks have been associated with higher rates of mental health issues in adolescents.” This shows that TikTok can affect users not only in a good way but in a bad way. People can get drained and tired from making TikTok videos and getting hate from it. Some people would perfect themselves from each video by listening to the hate comments, and changing themselves to fit in. TikTok can make others feel bad about themselves because of the way others look. It can also take time away from people.

 According to So Listen: Why I deleted TikTok, the article says that, “It’s a great way to pass the time, but it can be a huge time-waster as well. Users may feel down for letting themselves get sucked into the app and waste so much valuable time watching hours upon hours of short videos.” This shows that TikTok can waste a lot of family time and social time for the users. This would also make a lot of students quiet at school and not participate in school activities.

TikTok can be a good space around also

Although there might be cons to TikTok, there are also pro’s to TikTok. It can be a safe place for some people. Tik tok can also be fun to go on. Trying new trends and adding that one music you found on TikTok on your playlist. It can also take away time from waiting in a lobby or waiting for food at a restaurant. TikTok can really pass time for little things. The for you page is really for what you personally like and would want to see more of. TikTok has great new features like the “not interested button”. It can help people get the stuff they don’t want to see anymore off of their for you page. 

Why is this important?

This topic is important because it can really hurt people out there using this app. Whether it’s body shaming, bullying, or hate comments, it can hurt a lot of people’s feelings. TikTok can make others using the app question their worth. This can really bring down other people who just want to fit in and not be the odd one out.