It’s unfortunate the social platform that kept young adults busy in 2020 was the toxic and overstimulating TikTok. The effects it has on mental health and self-image are astonishing and are something that more users, especially teenagers, should be aware of. This app that consists of 15-60 second videos is consuming and is designed to have its users waste hours a day scrolling on it. Social media in general has a history of causing anxiety and depression and now with TikTok in the mix, it’s expected these statistics will increase. 

This app grew quickly reaching sixth in global users with 800 million active users worldwide, according to DataReportal. To TikTok’s delight, its 2019 revenue came in at $176.9 million. The platform has given fame to influencers who went viral and attracted audiences because of it. Whether they got fame from doing dances or comedy skits, TikTok has for sure changed many creator’s lives who now make a living filming these videos for their devoted fans. However, this newfound stardom for some teens does not compensate for the newfound insecurities it has created for others. An anonymous survey was conducted with 18 students about their opinions of the app. Is TikTok addicting? 88.9% responded ‘yes’. This is no healthy addiction either. When asked the effects of TikTok on mental health, several noted the toxicity of it, even mentioning its caused body insecurities for them.

To combat these effects, the simple resolution is to delete the app. Referring to the previous survey conducted, one student commented, “TikTok disconnects you from reality. It has decreased my attention span as well as my ability to sit still and focus on one thing at a time.” Be like the person who wrote, “deleting TikTok was the best decision of my life.”