Is TikTok Safe?
TikTok is the most popular social media platform in the world. Here, I will discuss the most underlying question: Is it safe?
TikTok is a social media platform that actually began as a lip-synching site in 2014 called Musical.ly. In 2018, it was acquired by a Beijing - based company and merged into the Chinese app TikTok. Lip-synching is still a popular theme on the site, but not the most popular.
TikTok does not have a clean record when it comes to privacy. Europe fined TikTok with a $368 million dollar fine, because it violated Europe's data privacy laws. TikTok was later fined $5.7 million dollars for violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). It collected the data of children under 13 without parental consent, and did not tell parents how they collected data, or give them the option to ask to delete it. Some companies are also concerned that TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is using the app to spy on users. Investigations have proved that the company is not, as far as we know, using it to spy on users, and that the current data collection methods are similar to other social media platforms, but some of those methods are questionable to begin with. ByteDance does watch users of the app in China though, which isn’t shocking.
Most of TikTok’s popularity stems from its incredibly powerful algorithm. It pays attention to which videos you watch, and more importantly, how many times you watch them. It uses this technology to recommend new videos and collects data from these. It quickly starts recommending videos that were precisely what users were hoping to see. This algorithm is so powerful that some people claim that TikTok can read minds.
There are many issues related to TikTok. Too much time on TikTok can lead to anxiety and depression. Recently, TikTok added a 60 minute limit for children under 18. You need a password to get by this limit. People can still get by this roadblock. You need to be 13 or older to have a TikTok account. By simply lying about your age, you can get past this. There is a version of TikTok for people under 13. We all dislike being in “kiddie” versions of things, and the version is specifically designed to make people more excited about the full version, so people just use the previous method. There is a lot of inappropriate content on TikTok. There are many trends and challenges on TikTok, some of which are problematic or dangerous. There have been a small number of stories of people dying from TikTok challenges. There have also been a number of teen girls getting the problematic “tourette syndrome” from TikTok. Because TikTok urges users to create content, some people can get stressed trying to create better and better content, and putting themselves down because of negative comments. Lastly, there is cyberbullying on TikTok. Features like the duets and reactions can be abused. Trolling is a common thing on TikTok as well.
This does not mean there are positives with TikTok. It can be a great way to socialize with friends and share content. If you get lucky and gain a lot of popularity on TikTok, you can earn a lot of money. You can also find fun content that you find interesting.
Is TikTok safe? I think it depends how you use it. If you minimize time spent on TikTok, and stay aware, you are a lot safer. If your parents have parental controls, you will be much safer. Overall, I think that it can be dangerous, and it always will have that potential, but you can do things to stay safe, and they make a big difference, but it’s your choice. I still hope you take this into consideration.
