Mindlessly scrolling through social media won't solve any of your problems. Studies have consistently shown the detrimental effects of social media apps on children. The nagging question is how long companies knew about them. In TikTok's case, the company was aware of the app’s potential harm to teenagers and continued to design and implement tactics with the express intention of addicting young people to the app.
Addicted in 35 minutes...TikTok determined the precise amount of viewing it takes for someone to form a habit: 260 videos. Given the amount of data and analysis, it's no surprise TikTok was able to boil this down to a specific number. What is disturbing, however, is the development of features not only to drive addiction among users, but the marketing of others designed to mislead parents.
Case in point is TikTok's time-limit tool, which was aimed at 'improving public trust,’ not limiting app use. Apparently, the goal of the feature wasn't designed to reduce the time teens spent on the app, but rather to provide parents with a false of security.
Beauty is only skin deep, but it sells. Even more galling is TikTok's practice of demoting people it deemed unattractive on its feed. The company used this to then highlight the company’s beauty filters, which users can overlay on videos to make themselves look thinner and younger or to have fuller lips and bigger eyes. Put bluntly, TikTok retooled its algorithm to amplify users the company viewed as beautiful.
All of this reinforces the negative effects of social media around body image, social skills and overall mental health. Arguably, while anxiety and the inability to interact with others are already major issues, prolonged use and addiction apparently reduces one's ability to empathize.
The harsh reality is social media companies know and fully understand the impact of their apps on users. TikTok isn't alone. From Meta's own studies, Instagram and Facebook purposefully engineered its platforms to addict children and knowingly allowed underage users to hold accounts. We're at an inflection point, and on the verge of a lost generation https://lnkd.in/gR4S2gCN #tiktok #kentucky #children #parents #mentalhealth #socialmedia #health #ethics #addiction #culture #society
Performance Marketing Analyst | Digital Marketer | Expert in Google, Facebook & TikTok Ads | Data-Driven Strategist | Passionate About Innovation & Growth
7moGreat reminder! Limiting sensitive ad topics on Google is a handy way to personalize your online experience. Personally, I'd love to see options for political ads and news. What about you?