Could TikTok Be Hazardous to Your Health?

Some experts believe that TikTok must be researched in the context of health hazards. As soon as possible.

The reason why TikTok is a medical terra incognita is its meteoric rise. The platform is still young. But it already has 1 billion registered users.

It wasn’t until now that medical professionals began paying attention to the world’s most hyped app.

Marco Zenone from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, published a research guide, elaborating which potentially harmful aspects of TikTok should be investigated.

Among them, he points out the negative impact produced on the mental health and stability of teenage girls. Other possibly dangerous factors include the rise of conspiracy theories and promotion of junk food, vape culture, and so forth.

Knowing how popular the “challenges” are on TikTok, it’s also no wonder that a harmful, or even deadly, the trend could be launched.

Since TikTok is mostly popular among young kids and teenagers, they can’t always assess the risk and damage they can be exposed to.

One of the brightest examples was the Tide Pod Challenge that became viral in 2018. The substance in the pods is highly toxic if it gets inside the human body. A number of teenagers went through the near-death experience while partaking in this “challenge”.

Another reason why TikTok isn’t that great for your well-being, at least intellectual, is its clip-based nature.

The app invites you to watch more and more videos: they are short, and the app’s GUI allows quick and smooth scrolling. As a result, your mind adapts to consuming minuscule bits of information, developing the so-called clip thinking.

In turn, this can damage your memory, development of abstract thinking, and, as a result, overall mental productivity.

TikTok is yet to be studied by doctors. Do you believe it’s really that dangerous? Let us know in the comments!