From cringy viral dances or popular memes, TikTok has completely changed the game when it comes to social media and online entertainment. Created in 2018 by ByteDance, TikTok is now facing a potential ban in the United States and is already banned in several other countries. The reason for this ban is due to the potential threat that the Chinese government is using the worldwide app to gain data and information about its users. While many people see the app for its political issues, I believe it should be removed for other reasons. Unlike my electronic-addicted and TikTok-dancing peers, TikTok should be banned for its detrimental effects on mental health and its foolish trends.
One big issue I have always had with social media, and one that I believe is expedited on TikTok specifically, is the harmful comments and bullying found on these apps. Ideally, social media is supposed to be a safe space to show off creativity, talent and bring awareness to issues, not for comment and criticism. On TikTok, people are just rude and hurtful. I don’t understand how hard it is just to keep scrolling and just not leave a negative comment. TikTok will now show more videos like the ones you leave comments on, so if you don’t want to see it, keep scrolling and stop trolling others’ videos.
Another thing that bothers me about TikTok is how much viewing videos of other people’s lives affects our mental health. Watching videos of people showing off extravagant clothing and jewelry affects the perception of ourselves and how we view our own lives. If someone watches a video of an attractive, seemingly perfect couple on TikTok, it makes viewers confused as to why they aren’t receiving the same kind of affection. Just seeing videos and witnessing others’ successes tends to make us feel worse about ourselves, even though we may feel happy for them.
My biggest complaint about TikTok is the moronic trends that people come up with that are either harmful or illegal. Prominent during last year and still semi-continuing now is the trend of students destroying their school’s bathrooms and campus. In what world should it be a trend to deface public property to not only make someone else clean it up and pay for the missing items, but also disturb the daily lives of other students on campus? Similarly, there are trends that can inflict bodily harm on people if they participate. An example of this is the challenge of people taking deodorant bottles and a lighter to make a DIY flamethrower. There are cases of people dying from this challenge and/or burning their entire house down. While this is only one example, there are an infinite number of stupid and harmful challenges created throughout the entirety of TikTok’s existence.
Though there are many negative things about TikTok, there are also quite a lot of good things that have changed the lives of people in a positive way. While scrolling through TikTok, you may find a small business showing off their products to entice viewers to buy them and for some small businesses, TikTok is the reason for their blastoff in sales and business. Additionally, TikTok is (sometimes) a great source of information and news. There are many cases where I have been confused about a topic and instead of reading an entire news article about the subject, I look it up on TikTok and watch a one minute video that dispels my confusion a lot easier. Finally, there are those who find friends and life companions through TikTok. People can connect over certain topics and ideas which can lead to a healthy relationship amongst viewers. While these are a couple of examples of positive effects from TikTok, this doesn’t negate the overall negative effect of the app.
Even though TikTok users are to blame for these negative effects in people’s daily lives, I don’t believe we can completely blame this app. At the end of the day, it is just human nature and a part of life. People are hurtful, rude and easily influenced, just because it’s on an app doesn’t mean this is going to change.
Instead of scrolling all day, whether it’s on TikTok or some other app, take some time to go outside and either spend time with friends or just even recharging your battery. This could be by meditating, going on a walk or hike with some lovely scenery, making a piece of art or reading a book on a blanket in the park. In ten years, you won’t wish you scrolled through TikTok more. You may however, miss the time wasted that could have been spent with friends, family or keeping your mental health in check.
