Privacy and Data Collection Risks
TikTok has been criticized for its extensive data collection practices. The app collects a wide range of user information including location data, messages, contacts, browsing history, keystrokes, biometric data, and content of videos watched and created [1]. Some of this data collection occurs even when the app is not in use. TikTok’s privacy policy reveals that they access users’ camera, microphone, contacts, calendar, text messages, pictures, and location [2].
Experts argue that the breadth of TikTok’s data collection abilities provides significant risks, as the data could potentially be accessed by hackers, authoritarian governments, or exploited for advertising purposes [3]. There is particular concern that TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is based in China and subject to Chinese national security laws that could compel data sharing with the government.
Addiction and Screen Time
TikTok’s algorithm is designed to keep users engaged on the app for long periods of time by showing them personalized and addictive content. A recent New York Times investigation found that TikTok appears to be promoting addictive content and recommending dangerous challenges and potentially toxic or harmful videos. TikTok says it limits total daily screen time to 2 hours for ages 13-15 and 3 hours for ages 16-17, but teens have found ways to get around these limits.
According to a report by Amnesty International, after 5-6 hours on the platform, almost 1 in 2 videos shown were related to mental health. Excessive screen time on TikTok can negatively impact mental health, sleep, and focus. Young users in particular are vulnerable to developing compulsive app usage habits.
As experts caution, while social media can have benefits, there are clear risks when it comes to mental health, especially regarding addiction and obsessive use.
Exposure to Inappropriate Content
One of the biggest risks of using TikTok is exposure to inappropriate or dangerous content. TikTok’s algorithm is designed to quickly determine a user’s interests and preferences in order to recommend engaging videos. However, this can lead young users down dangerous ‘rabbit holes’ as the algorithm recommends increasingly extreme content in order to keep users on the app.
In particular, TikTok has issues with the spread of inappropriate sexual content, violence, and dangerous viral challenges. While TikTok does have some moderation, inappropriate and dangerous content still slips through, especially since new videos are being uploaded every second. According to Parents.com, overtly sexual videos are a major issue, with adult jokes, swearing, and suggestive dancing and clothing regularly making it past filters.
Predators are also known to groom children on the app. Violent content like fights, dangerous stunts, and even animal cruelty can also be found on TikTok. Dangerous viral challenges encourage risky behavior among impressionable young users. Things like the blackout challenge, milk crate challenge, and other reckless stunts have led to injuries and deaths.
It’s extremely difficult for parents to monitor this constant influx of new content or prevent their child from encountering inappropriate videos. TikTok’s powerful algorithm means that just one video can lead to a barrage of similar inappropriate content. This steady exposure poses risks especially for the mental health and development of young users.
Cyberbullying
TikTok’s massive user base and anonymity enables cyberbullying and harassment to occur more easily. Cyberbullies can hide behind fake accounts and harass others without consequence. According to Cybersmile, cyberbullying involves sending threatening or taunting messages, starting rumors, posting private information or photos online, and impersonating someone in order to make them look bad.
On TikTok specifically, cyberbullies may duet, stitch, or use offensive hashtags to attack someone’s content. They may also leave hurtful comments. This constant harassment can cause victims to feel depressed, anxious, isolated, and can even lead to suicidal thoughts. TikTok has community guidelines against bullying and harassment, but enforcement relies heavily on users reporting incidents. More should be done to detect and prevent cyberbullying proactively.
Predators and Dangerous Interactions
TikTok has faced criticism for enabling predatory and dangerous interactions, especially involving minors. The addictive, short-video format and loose age verification has made it easy for predators to contact and interact with children. According to one source, “TikTok predators lure children out of their virtual relationships to have physical encounters. This is a dangerous aspect of online predation that parents should recognize” (source).
Despite TikTok’s community guidelines prohibiting predatory interactions, predators still find ways to contact minors through direct messages, comments, and other features. A Thorn report found millions of young children use TikTok before age 13, putting them at higher risk of predator contact (source). Parents should be cautious of predators grooming children to eventually meet in real life.
Spread of Misinformation
One of the biggest risks of using TikTok is the rapid spread of misinformation through its platform. TikTok’s algorithm is designed to quickly promote viral content, which means conspiracy theories, propaganda, and other types of misinformation can spread to millions of users in a short amount of time.
According to a report by NewsGuard, nearly 1 in 5 videos about key news events on TikTok contain misinformation. This was evident during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, where misleading and false claims about the war circulated widely on TikTok.
The bite-sized, entertaining nature of TikTok videos can make it easy for users to consume and share misinformation without proper fact-checking. Even content that seems harmless like conspiracy theories about celebrities can normalize distrust in authoritative sources and scientific consensus.
TikTok has implemented policies to reduce the spread of misinformation, but its efforts have had limited success so far. Users, especially younger ones, should be aware of the high potential for coming across false or misleading content on the platform.
Negative Body Image and Low Self-Esteem
Using TikTok excessively can negatively impact body image and self-esteem, especially among young users. TikTok’s emphasis on appearance, trends, and acquiring likes can lead to unhealthy comparisons. Research has shown that higher TikTok usage is associated with increased body dissatisfaction. In one study, young women reported how TikTok warped their body image and led to eating disorders (“It’s not worth it’: Young women on how TikTok has warped their body image,” 2020). The constant pressures to look perfect in videos can be damaging to self-perception.
Seeing idealized depictions in TikTok videos may harm how young women think and feel about their bodies according to research from the University of New South Wales (UNSW, 2022). This phenomenon is known as “social comparison,” where people compare themselves negatively to others. TikTok’s algorithm often promotes content showing idealized beauty standards. Comments praising or criticizing appearance can also impact self-esteem. While TikTok does offer some body positive content, the heavy emphasis on looks and trends overall can negatively effect body image, especially among vulnerable young users.
Lack of Oversight for Young Users
One of the primary concerns with TikTok is the lack of oversight and protections in place for young users. TikTok’s default privacy settings leave the accounts of users under 16 public, allowing anyone to view their videos, comment, and message them. There are minimal parental controls available on the platform, making it challenging for parents to restrict who their child interacts with or what content they can access.
According to a 2022 study by the nonprofit Tech Oversight Project, TikTok is “intentionally designed to be addictive” and children and teenagers are “particularly vulnerable” to getting hooked on endless scrolling and video loops [1]. Without proper safeguards in place, young users can easily be exposed to inappropriate content, predators, cyberbullying, and other risks.
While TikTok has added some basic content restrictions to filter out more mature content, these controls are not robust enough to fully protect minors. There have been calls for TikTok to strengthen age verification, make young users’ accounts private by default, and give parents more tools to monitor their child’s activities. However, the company has been slow to enact meaningful change, prompting lawmakers to get involved with proposed legislation to improve child safety on the app [2].
China Security Concerns
One of the biggest worries around TikTok is that the data from its users could be accessed by the Chinese government. This is because TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is headquartered in Beijing. Critics allege that the Chinese government may be able to influence ByteDance and compel TikTok to censor content or share user data (source).
There are concerns that the Chinese government could potentially access TikTok user data like browsing history, location, and biometric data. Some fear that this data could be used for surveillance, blackmail, corporate espionage, or other nefarious purposes. Lawmakers have warned that TikTok poses a national security risk, and have taken steps to restrict TikTok use on government devices.
TikTok claims that Chinese government officials have not requested access to TikTok user data, and that U.S. user data is stored outside of China on servers in the U.S. and Singapore. However, some experts say that Chinese intelligence laws could compel ByteDance to share data if requested. The company is now taking steps to further isolate U.S. user data to ease these concerns.
Distraction from School and Work
TikTok’s highly addictive and time consuming nature can distract students from focusing on schoolwork and employees from being productive at work. With its endless stream of short videos tailored to individual interests, TikTok makes it very easy to lose track of time. Studies show that the average user spends over 80 minutes per day on the app. This constant stimulation and dopamine hits from new content can make it very difficult to focus on anything else.
For students, TikTok can be an enormous distraction during study time and in classrooms. The app makes it tempting to procrastinate on assignments in favor of endless scrolling. Studies show that smartphone use in schools has exacerbated issues like cheating and cyberbullying. Many schools have banned phone use entirely to combat the distraction of TikTok and social media.
At work, productivity can suffer greatly if employees have TikTok access. The quick videos make it easy to lose focus on tasks and waste time aimlessly scrolling during work hours. Some companies have gone as far as blocking the app on work networks to eliminate it as a distraction. Unmonitored TikTok usage at work can significantly hurt employee performance and focus.