Is TikTok safe? I tried it for a week and this is what I found out…

is TikTok safe
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Maybe your kids are on TikTok, maybe YOU are on TikTok, or maybe you are vaguely aware of TikTok but not really sure what the hell it’s all about having only got to grips with Instagram. You may have seen reports in the media questioning if this latest social media platform TikTok is safe. From allegations that the Chinese are using TikTok to spy on us innocent old Westerners, to it being a breeding ground for hostile predatory behaviour.

After resisting it since it became “a thing” I finally decided to bite the bullet and find out what all the TikTok fuss was about and try out the newest social media platform to take the nation by storm for myself.

What is the point of TikTok anyway?

TikTok is a social media platform with creating, sharing and discovering short videos at it’s core. It’s become a hit because it’s a brilliant outlet for young (and many older) people to expres themselves with dancing, singing, lip-syncing, parody and the like. Obviously, during lockdown with sweet nothing else to do, TikTok became an amazing piece of distraction and is now used by 3.7 million people in the UK.

My experience of TikTok

When I first got onto TikTok, I thought I was in heaven! Singing, dancing and parody felt like my ultimate playground. My chance to get creative, be silly, and express myself when the rest of life was still feeling pretty hum drum in the pandemic. It is also seemed like a hotbed for plenty of giggles from other creators at first look.

TikTok is very clever and knows how to get you hooked when you first join. My first three videos had 500 – 600 views – which for a newbie seemed pretty damn good. OK, not in the thousands, but I was pretty impressed….flattered even! It gave me a thirst for more…which soon graduated from thirst to a bit more of an obessesion.

I became obsessing about what videos I could make. I spent more time that I care to admit dreaming up which video I was going to make, or which “trend” I was going to copy next. I was hooked. It felt exciting but also a bit deranged. Like an infatuation with a new hot boy. But I am a 40 year old mum, not a teenager, and surely I should have been worried about my reaction to all this recognition.

If it was having that affect on my already wired adult brain, imagine what it must be doing to the highly impressionable and still-wiring brains of our kids!

If you thought other social media channels were harmful and addictive, then I tell you this – they have nothing on TikTok!

And then things changed

After a few days of posting on TikTok – which by the way you are supposed to post at least once a day – I noticed I was starting to feel like it was having a strangle hold over me. The day became about what TikTok video I was going to post that day….would it get as many views? Why the hell should I care anyway?

But you do, as everybody does, – your brain is pleading for that same dopamine hit it got before. But only a lucky few who strike on a winning formula will get it video in, video out.

Once I’d lost my TikTok tinted glasses, I began seeing the more ugly side of TikTok. Firstly, who even has the time to think up and produce all these videos day in day out? I was mentally exhausted by the end of the week and didn’t even want to hear the name TikTok.

It was then that I then realised that although there are some really funny and talented people on there, actually a lot of it can be quite narcissitic. I mean, after all, it’s basically one big rigged talent competition, isn’t it? And then there’s the other stuff – outdated sexism and stereotype aplenty. I started finding the videos on there more and more cringe-worthy (maybe that’s why everyone likes them??!) – and that includes my own.

The worst thing about TikTok is how much of your time it consumes – both in terms of making the videos and then the mindless scrolling through others. OK, maybe that’s fine if you have nothing else to do with your life, but as a mum who is constantly trying to carve out more time for myself, how can I justify wasting so much of it on TikTok. I shudder to think how much time I wasted on TikTok that week.

TikTok and mental health

With all of the above said, I can’t help wondering just how bad TikTok can be for your mental health. During the week I used it, I felt irritable, distracted, obsessive and frustrated. And that was only after a week! Imagine if it had been more, and on a younger mind too. Like with all social media platforms, it is driven very much be likes and reactions which makes it all too easy to get hung up on the popularity of the videos you are creating. This is tough enough for adult minds but can be incredibly damaging for a child’s mind.

Although it’s true I found some snippets of informative content on there which was supportive of anxiety and stress-relief (Pink Pear Bear’s ADHD content is fantastic), I would say the vast majority of it is very much a catalyst for mental health issues as opposed to an antidote.

Calling time on TikTok

For me, TikTok was like that hot new guy that could charm the pants off you in the first week, only to leave you feeling ditry and unwanted by the end of the first seven days of being together. He becomes so suffocating that you have to run away to escape his fakeness and flaws. It’s been an interesting experiment but my time with TikTok is done for now. Will I ever come back to it? Never say never, but for now, TikTok and I are having a break.

Aside from the fact that it’s super easy to stumble upon highly inappropriate content which should definitely not be seen by young minds or eyes, a lot of the messages being conveyed on the platform around mental health, body image and the like are highly questionable. And then there’s the fact that it exposes you to pretty much anyone and everyone in the world – making it perfect for predators, cyberbullying and a truckload of suspect behaviour! Not forgetting the privacy issues that have so far got TikTok thousands and thousands of column inches worth of negative press.

Are you concerned whether TikTok is safe? Have you ever tried going on the platform yourself? Or perpaps your children are already using it extensively and it’s causing you concern? Please share your experience in a comment below.

Photo by Hello I’m Nik on Unsplash

7 comments

  1. I think everything you’re saying can be applied to any social channel. I don’t think TikTok is any different.

  2. I loved this post. I have a TikTok account but never made a video, I just enjoy watching some people I follow, I am learning a lot but I couldn’t agree more about being addictive and a problematic place if you not set up your boundaries. I love that you decided to experience it yourself and not just took somebody else’s word about it. Thanks for sharing your experience.

  3. I do have Tik Tok and use it occasionally looking at videos but don’t creating music videos as I find it takes too much time. It is so harmful for children and I hope people realise that by reading your post

  4. This is a very informative post. I like TikTok, but I will be the first to admit in the beginning it had such a draw that it seemed unhealthy. I have taken a step back from it, but still enjoy posting from time to time.

  5. My husband and I have a TIk Tok and I use it occasionally. Our daughters ages, 15, 16 and 18 also are on TikTok. II believe parental warning and monitoring is needed like on all social media. My children are the ones who inform me about things they see, and I am able to share with my mom group.

  6. What an interesting inside into TikTok. I have never made content on it, personally, but instead consumed a bit of content from it when it first came out. It’s an interesting platform, but the drive to keep making throwaway content is intense.

  7. Thank you for sharing and loved the post. I see you had such good numbers and likes and slowly the amount decreased… I have heard that from many too an d you almost have to wonder… is it designed that way to get you hooked??? I have an account but have never used it. My kids love it… and I am a bit weary of it. I will sue Instagram and their reels if I go that route 😉

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