TikTok has become a huge app in recent years, especially during the pandemic while everyone was stuck at home. According to Wallaroo Media, 1.1 billion people around the world use TikTok. This use is mainly for entertainment, but many companies use TikTok for business purposes as well. Such a prevalent site and company must have a huge impact on users, but how?
From 2020 to today, the minutes used per day have massively increased. According to Wallaroo Media, the average is up to 95 minutes for the average user. That is an hour and a half of scrolling through 30-second to 10-minute videos. While scrolling, users come across multiple video subjects from self-care to politics. With such a wide range of subjects, there also comes a wide range of opinions. The many opinions can cause negative impacts.
One negative impact of TikTok may be judgment. If people have lifestyle differences, because of culture, or family, issues and judgment become common. Judgment is a huge factor in such a diverse app, which in turn brings mental challenges regarding confidence and happiness. Judgment is not always bad but even a good form of judgment can take a turn for the worse, which leads to the other negative impact of TikTok in which people depend on the opinions of others, who most of the time are random people, to support their mental health.
While scrolling, people may also see the seemingly perfect social media influencers, like the notorious Charli D’Amelio, Kim Kardashian, or even their own friends, and start to compare themselves to those people. Not only does that reduce self-confidence, but it also gives an unrealistic expectation of how a person should look or act.
On the other hand, TikTok does present amazing opportunities for people. Small business owners and artists who want to expand their horizons are good examples of benefitted users. Some may know Keith Lee, who reviews small restaurants around Los Angeles. His reviews have opened up amazing opportunities for businesses and sometimes gives them a boost during hard times.
TikTok is overall not a bad site, especially since users get to connect with so many other people around the world, but users should also be careful about the information they take away from it, and be aware of how it may be affecting their mental health.