TikTok toxic to teenagers
Youngsters were bullied, and became aggressive and withdrawn, mum says. By Brianna McIlraith.
The mother of a teenager who was assaulted after uploading videos of herself to TikTok is warning of the dangers the social media app can pose.
Jane Larsen’s 14-year-old daughter began uploading videos to TikTok, a social media platform for creating, sharing and discovering short videos.
That was until other teenagers found out and turned on her.
‘‘She ended up being punched in the head because of it . . . giving her a concussion,’’ Larsen, from Taranaki, said.
‘‘I had the impression it was really harmless, they just had few videos of themselves on there, none of these jokes and adult content.’’
She said she noticed changes in child behaviour after they started using the app, including their becoming more aggressive and withdrawn and has since banned them from using it.
Last week, the Sunday StarTimes revealed a third of Kiwi teenagers are going without eating or sleeping so they can spend more time online. According to recent Netsafe research, nearly half have experienced conflict with wha¯nau and friends over their internet use.
TikTok was launched in 2017 and the app was downloaded more than 738 million times last year. Users can like, share and comment on videos and it was marketed as a creative platform for kids, which is why Larsen let her 12-year-old and 14-year-old daughters use it.
Dr Kirsty Ross, senior lecturer in clinical psychology at Massey University, said TikTok was originally meant to be something creative and fun, but it quickly turned darker as kids were exposed to illegal acts.
‘‘The way TikTok is designed has potential for there to be problems.’’
Opening the app you land on the ‘‘For You’’ page. Curated based on what the user has previously watched and liked, the page recommends videos.
‘‘It starts to become quite a selective view that you’re presented with, so that creates problem,’’ Ross said. ‘‘It doesn’t present a very diverse view of the world and of society.’’
Ross said those negatively affected by TikTok might show signs of being anxious, on edge and reactive. They may also suffer from a loss of appetite, sleep problems, withdraw socially and be unable to focus at school.
TikTok was also a way of digitally self-harming, anonymous online posting, sending, or sharing of harmful content about oneself.
‘‘When young people are feeling in a really negative head space they can do things which invite or raise the possibility of negative comment. Those comments will kind of confirm what they’re thinking so it is a form of digital self-harm.’’
Auckland teen and TikTok user Bella Howarth agreed there was some dark content on the app, and while she hadn’t been affected, she could see how a younger audience may find it difficult. Howarth, who is in her second year at Victoria University of Wellington, has more than 20,000 followers. Her videos have swearing so were aimed at an audience over the age of 14, she said.
She has more than 541,000 likes on her videos, and her most popular one has more than 1 million views and is a screen recording of messages exchanged between her and her boyfriend.
‘‘My videos are mainly jokes, me making fun of my life and just having a laugh,’’ she said. ‘‘Most people make fun of my accent, which I find quite funny. Since my videos are usually me making fun of myself, I kind of expect that sort of reaction, people joining in and making fun of me.’’
Dr Samantha Marsh, a research fellow at the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, described much of the content on TikTok being ‘‘crazy’’ as users on the app fight to become ‘TikTok famous’.
‘‘There’s this misconception that fame equals popularity and positive social reinforcement,’’ she said. ‘‘At an extreme level, someone seeking fame might be because they’re feeling really isolated at school or among their social group.’’
But for 17-year-old Bella Lister the app is a form of harmless fun. Her 10,000 followers see videos of her dancing with friends and family. She said she hadn’t noticed the app affecting her mentality negatively even though a video was posted about her that was false. ‘‘The video ... filmed me near police and then the car driving off to look like I was taken home by the police and arrested,’’ she said.
‘‘But I actually just spoke to them on New Years as they were being friendly and then I walked off with my friends.’’
The video took off and got more than 17,000 views and Lister had to ask the original poster to remove the video, which they did.
Police were unable to confirm if they had dealt with any cases relating specifically to bullying, assaults or threats through TikTok as it would depend on the level of detail given by the informant on what social media app their issue occurred on.