By: Kim V. Naparan
With just a few swipes, I was hooked.
I do not have TikTok installed on my device. However, I can still watch videos from TikTok posted on other social media platforms. These videos range from 10-second pranks to dance challenges to make-up transformations to lip-syncing music videos to animal rescues, and to many more.
With every video I watch, I feel like the algorithm knows instantly what I want to see or search. It can almost determine my music taste, book interests, political beliefs, philosophy, and even my sense of humor!
During the first quarter of 2022, TikTok had over 1 billion active users worldwide. Since its launch in 2016, TikTok has rapidly gained popularity across the globe.
TikTok is a video-centric platform. It shows various genres ranging from educational to purely entertainment with durations from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. In 2021, a data report revealed that users spend an average of 89 minutes a day on TikTok.
Moreover, TikTok mainly attracts younger audiences. Reports show that 63 percent of its users are under the age of 30. In 2020, a study showed that 30 percent of teenagers ranked TikTok as their favorite app.
It begs the question: Why is TikTok so popular? What makes it very addictive?
A Highly Addictive Digital Crack Cocaine
TikTok is no stranger to criticisms. The short-video platform has always been in the spotlight when it comes to issues regarding its psychological effects to its users. It likewise gets its biggest share of controversies when it comes to misinformation, censorship, inappropriate content, and data privacy.
John Koetsier’s 2020 Forbes article wrote that TikTok is a “digital crack cocaine for your brain.” Meanwhile in his podcast, Koetsier spoke with Dr. Julie Albright, a sociologist specializing in digital culture, who said that, “While on TikTok, users are in this pleasurable dopamine state. It’s almost hypnotic, you’ll keep watching.”
Scientists have also coined the term, “TikTok Brain,” to explain the phenomenon of ever-decreasing attention span among the youth. Many studies and articles point to TikTok as one of the biggest culprits for the youth’s fleeting attention spans; hence, the term “TikTok Brain.”
According to a New York Times article, the TikTok algorithm is perfectly designed to show users videos that are “close to what they want to see, not exactly on their nose.” This means that the users will keep on watching ang gaining exposure to similar videos, which they may be interested in along the way, through a stream of “For You” recommended content.
Furthermore, an individual experiences a flood of dopamine when he or she finds a video on TikTok that he or she likes. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is released in the brain when a person is expecting a reward. In short, dopamine is the “feel-good chemical” in the brain.
Studies show that once the brain gets used to the dopamine release, it anticipates and rewards the body for even the slight exposure to the source of that release. Nathalie Nahair, psychologist specializing in technology ethics, refers to this phenomenon as the “dopamine loop.”
Is TikTok Solely to Blame?
Numerous studies and articles suggest that TikTok is to be “blamed” for the degrading attention span and its negative long-term effects on the brain, especially on the youth whose brain is still developing until the age of 25.
However, measuring one’s attention span is complicated. It is also reported that there is no real evidence that TikTok has any long-term effects on attention span. It may be inferred that due to the newer state of TikTok, most of the evidence is only “circumstantial or anecdotal” at this point.
In 2019, the Yale Journal of Biology & Medicine found that the data is inconclusive to show the relationship between technology and attention span. Research only provides that multitasking overwhelms the brain.
Good thing, I am already past that age. But while TikTok cannot solely be blamed, generally, it still influences users negatively. For instance, TikTok was shown to have led users to misdiagnose their mental health problems. This alarms doctors since this can potentially harm people for the incorrect treatment for their issues. Furthermore, Tiktok has also been shown to reduce personal or real-life interactions with other people. This results in stunted emotional and social development.
TikTok is truly a highly addictive and powerful app. It relieves boredom and gives a short-term “high.” But it comes with a price. TikTok can easily make someone dependent on it to keep him or her “alive.”
And, with just a few more swipes, I was hooked.
THE BARRISTER 