TikTok has become one of the most popular social media platforms in the world, with over 1 billion monthly active users as of September 2021 (1). The app allows users to create and share short videos, often set to music, ranging from dance trends to comedy skits and more. While much of the content on TikTok is lighthearted fun, the platform has also received criticism for problematic content like fights and other violent videos that get posted.
Sources:
(1) https://www.enterpriseappstoday.com/stats/tiktok-statistics.html
TikTok Content Guidelines
TikTok’s community guidelines explicitly prohibit violent and dangerous content. The rules state that TikTok does “not allow any violent threats, incitement to violence, or promotion of criminal activities that may harm people, animals, or property.” Fights and other acts of violence clearly violate these guidelines.
Specifically, the community guidelines ban “dangerous acts that could lead to serious harm” as well as “content that encourages others to commit violent acts.” Videos depicting physical fights encourage and promote violence, and therefore go against TikTok’s rules. Even if an actual fight is not shown, threats and challenges to fight also violate the prohibition on inciting violence.
In summary, TikTok aims to create a safe and positive community, so content showing or promoting fights is considered dangerous and a violation of the platform’s community guidelines.
Why Fights Get Posted
One of the main reasons fights get posted on social media is the desire for attention and views. Posting a fight video can quickly go viral and result in lots of likes, comments, and new followers. According to a study by the University of California, people are motivated to post controversial content like fights because of the potential social rewards like status and influence (https://www.quora.com/Why-do-people-post-fights-on-social-media). The excitement and drama of a fight draws attention, which many find alluring.
Additionally, peer pressure can compel people to post fights to act tough and gain respect. Teens in particular may feel they need to share fight videos to bolster their reputation and social standing. According to research from the American Psychological Association, teens are highly susceptible to peer influence and often make risky decisions like posting fights online because of it (https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2013/02/teen-risky-behavior). The desire to fit in and impress others means that even if teens feel posting a fight is unwise, they may do so anyway out of pressure from friends or classmates.
The Impact of Fight Videos
Videos of fights that get posted and shared on TikTok can have a significant impact by normalizing violence and even triggering additional fights in schools. As Machronicle reports, “Watching fight videos is a way for people to live vicariously through those fighting and release some of their anger without any consequences.” This normalization and even glorification of violence can desensitize viewers, particularly youth, and lead some to believe that fighting is an acceptable way to resolve conflicts or gain status. Posting fight videos also risks triggering or instigating more fights according to E-Safety Commissioner, “Sharing these recordings can lead to more violence or retaliation and sometimes encourage ongoing fighting.” Capturing fights on video and sharing them publicly online can create cyberbullying situations that extend a schoolyard fight into the digital realm.
TikTok’s Response
Despite TikTok’s extensive community guidelines prohibiting violent content, fights and other posts showing physical violence still manage to make their way onto the platform. According to TikTok’s transparency report, the company uses a combination of technology and human moderators to identify and remove inappropriate content.
TikTok relies heavily on artificial intelligence and machine learning to detect violent and dangerous acts in videos. The automated systems are designed to identify both real-world violence as well as stunts and challenges that could lead to injury. Any videos flagged by the AI moderation systems are sent to human moderators for additional review and potential removal. TikTok claims their AI tools are constantly improving and allow them to proactively detect the vast majority of policy-violating content before users ever see it.
However, reports indicate TikTok’s algorithms still struggle with detecting nuances in human speech and understanding context, leading to both false positives and undetected policy violations. The company must balance safety with preserving free expression, all while handling billions of video uploads from users globally.
The Challenges TikTok Faces
One of the biggest challenges TikTok faces in content moderation is the extremely large volume of videos uploaded to the platform every day. According to TikTok’s transparency report, over 300 million users upload videos daily, totaling over 1 billion videos per day.
With such a massive influx of content, it can be incredibly difficult for TikTok’s algorithms and human moderators to keep up. Videos depicting violence or other violations of community guidelines can quickly amass thousands or millions of views before being taken down. This is especially true for fight videos, which tend to go viral rapidly on TikTok.
Another key challenge is that even when a fight video is removed, it will often reappear in some form. Users will edit or re-upload the same fight with small tweaks to try and evade content moderation. Or the video will be downloaded and spread through other platforms. This makes it extremely difficult to permanently erase fight videos from TikTok.
According to an article, TikTok is facing a wave of creator frustration over these types of content moderation issues. The company recognizes improvements need to be made to more quickly identify and remove policy-violating content at scale.
What Parents Can Do
Parents can take steps to monitor their child’s TikTok usage and set restrictions to help protect them from viewing or engaging with inappropriate or dangerous content. Some key measures parents can take include:
Monitor child’s TikTok account – Parents should regularly check in on their child’s TikTok account, profile and posts. Look at who they are following and chatting with. Be aware of hashtags, challenges or trends they may be viewing or participating in. Having the account password allows full visibility.
Set viewing restrictions – TikTok has settings such as Screen Time Management and Restricted Mode that parents can enable to limit content and usage time. Restricted Mode filters out mature content, while Screen Time Management allows setting daily limits and restricting nighttime use. Parents can also restrict messages and comments.
What Schools Can Do
Schools have an important role to play in educating students on appropriate social media use and preventing fights from being recorded and shared online. Schools should focus on teaching digital citizenship and implementing consequences for students who film and post fights.
Digital citizenship education should start early and continue through high school. Lessons can cover topics like evaluating sources online, avoiding cyberbullying, understanding privacy settings, and using social media responsibly. Schools can partner with local law enforcement and organizations to provide engaging workshops and seminars around these issues.
It’s also critical that schools update discipline policies to deter students from recording and distributing fight videos. The consequences should be clearly stated in student handbooks and code of conduct guides. Punishments may include suspension, bans from school events, or loss of phone privileges on campus. Enforcing these rules consistently and involving parents will demonstrate the seriousness of filming and posting unauthorized violent content.
Overall, a focus on preventative education and enforcement of consequences by schools can help curb the spread of fight videos online and foster more responsible use of social media.
What Users Can Do
There are a few things individual TikTok users can do to help reduce the spread of fight videos on the platform:
- Report violent videos – If you come across a video depicting a physical altercation, you can report it to TikTok for review. TikTok’s community guidelines prohibit content that displays or promotes physical harm. Click the share button on the video and select “Report” to flag it.
- Don’t view or share fights – The spread of fight videos is often fueled by viewers seeking out and sharing the content. Avoid searching for or passing along videos that glorify violence. The fewer views and shares that fight content receives, the less incentive there is for it to be created and posted.
As TikTok user moisetiktokhelp advises, “The most important thing is educating our kids and monitoring their use of social media.” Parents should have open discussions with children about online safety and digitial citizenship. But users of all ages can do their part by being responsible content consumers and reporting inappropriate videos.
Source: https://www.tiktok.com/@moisetiktokhelp/video/7135530308006382853
Conclusion
In summary, while TikTok has built up a collection of policies against posting fights and other harmful content, users continue finding ways to get around the rules. Videos of fights, especially among teens, still spread widely on the platform despite potentially negative impacts. TikTok uses automated systems and human moderators to take down policy-breaking videos, but the scale of the app makes this an ongoing challenge.
Parents can help by monitoring their kids’ accounts and having open discussions about social media use. Schools should educate students on digital citizenship and the consequences of posting fights online. Users should think twice before viewing or sharing violent videos, and consider reporting content that violates TikTok’s guidelines. Ultimately, TikTok needs assistance from all stakeholders – parents, educators, authorities, and users – to create a safe environment as the platform continues rapidly growing.
