Social media is constantly changing and fast. Facebook is already considered old by most teens and kids, who have since shifted to Discord, Snapchat, and TikTok.
Parents are scrambling to catch up in their role as gatekeepers of their children's well-being. It seems, however, that it is not only dads and moms who are in a scramble, as researchers are also unscrambling what TikTok brain is and how children are getting it.
What is TikTok Brain?
Adam Holz of PluggedIn showed how girls acquired tics that resemble Tourette's Syndrome due to watching too much TikTok. However, TikTok Brain is even more pervasive.
TikTok videos and other short-form social media content have an addictive element. Watching short TikTok videos for extended periods can seriously negatively impact people's capacity for concentration.
According to The Wall Street Journal's Julie Jargon, when kids are constantly binging on 15-second TikTok videos, it makes them perceive YouTube clips as agonizingly boring PBS documentaries.
Nowadays, many parents say their children can't finish feature-length movies any longer, as the kids feel that they are so slow. Other parents observed that their kids struggle in focusing on their homework. Reading books has become virtually impossible.
This is not a new phenomenon. Social media and the internet have already reduced our concentration faculty for many years. However, the rising popularity of TikTok videos coincides with parents' observations regarding the decline in their kids' ability to keep their attention on other matters. TikTok's algorithm is programmed to keep its users' eyes peeled on its videos as much as possible.
TikTok provides videos that its users want. This is a good business strategy, but it is akin to giving only desserts to kids because they prefer sweets over vegetables.
According to Carl Marci, a psychiatrist, it is easy to conclude that increased media consumption, media multitasking, and the rise of ADHD in the youth cause their short attention span.
TikTok Brain and the Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic may have exacerbated the TikTok Brain phenomenon. For over a year, teens and kids have been severely restrained from their everyday activities. And so, they started using TikTok to keep themselves busy.
The TikTok algorithm learned more about their viewing preferences, which prompted it to feed kids more of the same sugary, bite-sized nuggets to which they have been addicted ever since, The Wall Street Journal says.
Lately, TikTok has made positive changes and encouraged teens to go outside, eat snacks, or otherwise take a break from viewing the platform. However, TikTok is still a business, and its primary goal is to keep viewers glued to its content.
Combating the TikTok Brain
TikTok's business model proved to be immensely successful, and parents need to be wary and guard their kids against abuse.
Parents need to be familiarized with the app's screen time settings, which allows them to create their account and have it linked to their children's. This enables them to set limits on their kids' viewing duration.
An alternative is to engage kids in outdoor activities such as sports. Even better is for parents to engage in these activities with their kids. Family activities such as hiking, cooking, or bowling are excellent in taking children away from their electronic gadgets. The best solution is to get kids' brains interested in something more worthwhile.
