TikTok, TikTok, TikTok.
It may seem like we’ve been talking and frowning about this social media platform as often as the clock ticks, but is there a good reason? I mean, really? After all, it seems that everybody is flocking regularly to sip from this firehose of billions of bite-sized videos (between 5 and 120 seconds in length). So, how is this all a potentially bad thing?
Just in case you’ve actually never seen a TikTok vid, let’s take a look at a popular one.
At the time of writing, this lip-synch video by Bella Poarch—posted in 2020—is one of the most popular videos on the TikTok site. It’s been watched over 690 million times with nearly 60 million fans mashing their like button after seeing it.
Is there a huge problem with this TikTok video? Nope. In spite of the edgy British grime tune the video’s lyrics are plucked from, the TikTok video itself is simply bouncy and focused on Bella’s facial expressions and cute delivery.
In fact, there are gazillions of fresh-faced and innocent-looking young people mugging for the camera (and gazillions more that aren’t quite so innocent) in hopes of reaching Ms. Poarch’s level of success. It just so happens that she has parlayed this video and others into a pretty sizable income, including a record contract and the ability to rub elbows with the rich and famous. All in the space of, what, about two years?
So, what is the problem?
Well, as we’ve laid out in prior blogs, a steady diet of these appealing and catchy bits of eye-candy can lead to a bit of a tooth-, er, brain ache. For example, we pointed out that researchers are starting to worry about an addictive aspect to the videos called TikTok Brain, and we also noted that some teens have even developed what amounts to TikTok-connected Tourette’s syndrome. How is that even possible? It all comes down to the creative and sensory appeal of the videos and their overconsumption—something that the creators of TikTok have surely designed into their site to keep viewers hooked on these sugary treats as long as possible.
But there is another side to the problematic equation: there’s the impact on the TikTok posters themselves. A story came out not that long ago about a young teen named Ava Majury, who hadn’t reached Bella Poarch’s level of fame but was working on it. This 14-year-old posted videos of herself singing, dancing and pulling pranks. And people thought they were cute.
One 18-year-old watcher, however, began thinking they were far more. He became obsessed with Ava, messaging her in Snapchat and on Instagram, and even joining online games she played with her brothers. Then he started sending money her way via Venmo, all in an attempt to get her attention. Ava’s parents allowed their daughter to sell this guy a couple selfies in an effort to calm him down. But that only fueled the fire. He started demanding something more risqué for his cash.
Next thing you know this obsessed and troubled guy has traveled hundreds of miles to arrive at Ava’s home. He then proceeded to blast open her front door with a shotgun! The gun jammed so he ran off. But when he later returned, Ava’s retired policeman dad had to shoot him dead.
Now, I’m not suggesting this sort of thing happens every day. But it happens. And bad things can slip in to deliver an unexpected bite on both sides of the TikTok borderline. We just need to stay aware and be as wise with our time, our kids and our families as we possibly can.
Hey, little Johnny or Jada may want to be the next Bella. But have you considered what she’s had to deal with after playing piper to tens of millions of obsessed fans? It’s probably not all gumdrops, sugarplums and m-m-m-m-m to the b.
2 Responses
-I had to play the “bad cop Mom” with my son and social media. Early, like VERY early on just before the 7th grade, I informed him that he was NOT allowed social media accounts until he reached the age of legal adulthood (18) and there would be nothing I could do about it. He received a flip phone, not a smart phone, at age 13 with the knowledge we weren’t doing it to punish him in any way, but to TEACH him that the WHOLE WORLD doesn’t NEED to know who you are, what you look like and where you live as well as all the things you like, your hobbies, habits and where you go to school. It was the right way to raise him away from the temptations and lies our children are fed on a daily basis. He is one of so few trying to navigate a social scene that exists mostly from behind a camera and online. I pray everyday that social media soon becomes a tired avenue of that 15 minutes of fame and young people leave their bedrooms and walk into the world again.
-Well said! I’m trying to raise my son the same way. And media literacy is just as important, so I’m trying to teach him about reliable and unreliable sources of information.