How Spending Too Much Time On TikTok Affects Your Mental Health
We can say TikTok has officially taken over the world from finding the most fun dances and easy hacks on making our daily tasks easier to product reviews that simplify shopping. If you have been curious about any product, just look for its reviews on TikTok, and you can quickly join the "TikTok Made Me Buy It" crew (via BuzzFeed). Yes, TikTok does make our lives convenient because some great content creators educate, entertain, and motivate us. Still, the amount of time we spend mindlessly scrolling on the videos can affect our mental health.
Bullying is prevalent on TikTok because it is extremely easy to comment on a video, and one troll can send multiple hurtful messages within an hour (via Psychology Today). The security and anonymity behind the screen bring out the worst in people because it validates them while hurting the other end. Mayo Clinic has reported that spending too much time on social media can affect your sleep and have unrealistic views of other people's lives. It leads to feeling worse about their own, leading to depression and anxiety.
TikTok makes resources available for teens and young adults struggling with self-esteem, body image, and mental health concerns. Still, it is uncertain if people will benefit from the resources or even use them. The app in itself isn't bad, but what we have made of it may not be good.
Too much TikTok reduces your attention span over time and lowers your self-esteem
The Technical University of Denmark found that getting too much information in a short time (which is the case in TikTok) narrows our attention span. Those who use TikTok for over 90 minutes can significantly limit their ability to focus and pay attention over time (via The Science Times). A study "Accelerating dynamics of collective attention," published on Nature Communications, showed that in 2013 a hashtag stayed on top for 17.5 hours. In 2016, it had gone down to an average of 11.9 hours. It's definitely becoming harder and harder for us to focus on one thing for too long.
The most viral videos feature traditionally attractive people who form an enormous following based on their looks. It can negatively impact the mental health and self-esteem of those who do not gain the same level of popularity because you know the reason (via The Breeze). What you post can also affect your image. Remember when Teen Vogue's editor-in-chief Alexi McCammond resigned before starting due to the resurfacing of some anti-Asian tweets she posted in high school (via Business Insider)? Now more than ever, it is so important to think before you post and limit your TikTok use instead of mindlessly scrolling on it all day. Do yourself a favor and take a walk outside without your phone.