The dark truth about TikTok and young people

TikTok executives and employees were aware that the app's features encouraged compulsive use and that it negatively affected mental health, according to NPR. The organization reviewed redacted documents from a lawsuit filed by the Kentucky attorney general that were released on Kentucky Public Radio. More than a dozen states filed a lawsuit against TikTok a few days ago, accusing it of falsely claiming to be "safe for young people." Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said the app was "deliberately designed as an addictive machine that targets children who are still developing adequate self-control."

Most of the documents submitted for the lawsuit were redacted, but in Kentucky, some information was negligently blacked out. Apparently, TikTok's own research found that "compulsive use correlates with a number of negative mental health effects, such as loss of analytical skills, difficulty in memory formation, decline in contextual thinking, depth of conversation, empathy, and increased anxiety*". TikTok executives also recognized that compulsive use can interfere with sleep, work, school, and even "connecting with loved ones."

They also knew that the time management tool was hardly helping young users stay away from the app. While the tool sets a default app usage limit of 60 minutes per day, the teens still spent 107 minutes on the app even when the tool was activated. This is just 1.5 minutes less than the average usage before the tool was introduced, which was 108.5 minutes per day. Based on internal documents, TikTok measured the tool's success by how it "improved public trust in the TikTok platform through media coverage." The company knew the tool would not be effective, with one document stating that "teenagers lack the executive function to control screen time while young adults do," and another document stating that "by most performance metrics, the younger the user, the better the performance”.

Additionally, TikTok is said to know that "filter bubbles" exist and understand how potentially dangerous they could be. According to the documents, employees conducted internal studies where they themselves entered negative filter bubbles shortly after following certain accounts, such as those that focus on painful (“painhub”) and sad (“sadnotes”) content. They were also aware of content and accounts promoting “thinspiration” related to eating disorders. Due to the way TikTok's algorithm works, its researchers found that users are placed in the filter bubble after 30 minutes of use in a single session.

TikTok also faces moderation challenges, the documents state. An internal investigation revealed that underage girls were receiving "gifts" and "coins" on the app in exchange for live strippers. Senior executives at the company reportedly instructed moderators not to remove users who are registered as under 13 unless their accounts specifically state that they are under 13. NPR says that TikTok has also acknowledged that a large amount of content that violates the rules gets past their moderation techniques, including videos that normalize pedophilia, glorify sexual assault of minors and physical abuse.

TikTok spokesman Alex Haurek defended the company, saying the Kentucky attorney general's lawsuit "makes misleading quotes and takes outdated documents out of context to misrepresent our commitment to community safety." It also said that TikTok has "strong safeguards in place, including proactive removal of suspected underage users", and that it has "voluntarily implemented safety features such as default screen time limits, family bonding and privacy for minors under 16".

Source: Kentucky Public Radio

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