Is TikTok Bad For Mental Health?
Key takeaways about TikTok’s impact on mental health
- TikTok may negatively impact the mental health of adults, teens and children. But research has shown that minors may be the most susceptible to mental health harms.
- TikTok mental health issues may include anxiety, depression, eating disorders and self-harm such as cutting and suicide.
- Help and support are available for people harmed by TikTok.
- Individuals, school districts and attorneys general are suing TikTok, seeking to hold it responsible for its impact on the national mental health crisis.
How does TikTok affect mental health?
TikTok’s features may encourage negative habits and feelings that can lead to poor mental health. Social media apps are designed to be addictive to make more money through digital advertising. This design may interfere with a person’s mental health. For example, one study found that using social media for more than two hours daily was linked to psychological distress in teenagers.
Since a young person’s brain is still developing, they may be more susceptible to the addictive features within social media apps. Behavioral researchers liken social media platforms to slot machines. They work by capturing a user’s attention and randomly giving them rewards to keep them hooked. These are called intermittent variable rewards (IVRs). The young brains crave rewards and approval, these kinds of designs and features can foster addiction in children.
TikTok uses notifications of likes and comments as rewards. TikTok’s features also encourage social comparison and repetitive account checking, which manufactures insecurity. Harmed families and school districts allege TikTok also has faulty age verification and deficient parental controls, which, if adequate, could potentially mitigate the harms that children experience on their platform. This may also give parents a false sense of safety when letting their child use the app on the personal devices or smartphones.
TikTok and depression
Studies have linked TikTok and other social media apps to depression. One study has even found that social media platforms like TikTok may be linked to higher levels of depression in introverted teens. TikTok was also associated with depressive symptoms for teens prone to negative thought patterns when using social media. Conversely, other researchers have suggested that some teens have reported feeling less depressed when they spend less time on social media, such as TikTok.
Developing depression can lead to complications, which may worsen without professional treatment. Some complications related to depression include:
- Alcohol or drug misuse
- Difficulties at school, work, within the family, or in relationships
- Physical illness
- Premature death
- Self-harm such as cutting
If you as a young adult or your child (now or as a minor) are experiencing depression after using TikTok, it’s important to know that the outcomes of depression can be serious. Seek professional help as early as possible.
Need help?
If you or a loved one shows signs of being suicidal, call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988. This free, confidential call will connect you with a trained staff member. You can also visit their website: 988lifeline.org.
TikTok and eating disorders
Researchers have also connected eating disorders, body dysmorphia and self-harm to TikTok.
Eating disorders are a form of self-harm that can lead to serious health problems or even death. Eating disorders are characterized by changes in the following:
- How a person thinks about food: Obsessive thoughts about what they’re eating, when they last ate and how long until they next eat.
- Their eating behaviors: Eating less food than they need or inducing vomiting to prevent digestion.
Researchers have connected eating disorders, like anorexia, to social media apps like TikTok. People with anorexia have an intense fear of gaining weight and stop or severely limit their food intake.
In a 2020 study, researchers found that teenage girls who spent more time on social media were more likely to develop eating disorders. The study also found that teens with multiple social media accounts showed more disordered eating behaviors. Eating disorders are one of the harms named in the lawsuits filed against TikTok.
Need help with an eating disorder?
If you or a loved one are experiencing symptoms of disordered eating, you can contact the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA). The helpline number is 1-866- 662-1235, and the website is nationaleatingdisorders.org.
Reach out to a TikTok attorney
If you as a minor or your child when a minor suffered from mental health issues after using social media platforms like TikTok, you may be eligible to file a claim.
Contact Motley Rice attorney Tammy Cauley Rivers for more information about a social media lawsuit.
How can I get help for TikTok mental illness?
The first step toward getting help for TikTok’s effects is contacting a mental health professional. Therapists, psychiatrists, treatment programs and counselors may be able to help you or your child combat depression, eating disorders and harmful thoughts. If you feel you need immediate mental health care, please reach out for help via a hotline or talk to a mental health professional about how you’re feeling.
After a mental health diagnosis, you may also have legal options to sue TikTok. Parents, children, adults harmed as minors, school districts, and attorneys general are all filing lawsuits against social media companies. Lawsuits against TikTok allege that the app’s design fostered addiction that led to negative mental health outcomes. If you feel you’ve suffered harm from using TikTok, you may have the option to file a lawsuit against them.
TikTok users across the U.S. have filed lawsuits against the app’s parent company, ByteDance, and other social media companies such as Instagram for the harm their products caused.
Harms named in social media lawsuits include:
- Addiction
- Anxiety
- Body dysmorphia
- Compulsive use
- Depression
- Eating disorders
- Self-harm
- Sexual exploitation
- Suicidal ideations
- Suicide
There are two types of TikTok lawsuits that have been filed:
Individual personal injury lawsuits: People who experienced harm as a minor or parents whose children suffered harm while using TikTok are filing personal injury lawsuits. The individual lawsuits seek compensation for mental health harms.
School district lawsuits: Several school districts across the U.S. have filed lawsuits that seek to hold TikTok accountable. They are citing the cost of damaged property or of hiring additional staff. These school districts contend they needed more resources to accommodate the impact of TikTok and other social media platforms on their students.
Our social media harm experience
For decades, Motley Rice has stood beside people who have been hurt by the practices of corporations that prioritize profits over people. We are working on behalf of people who have experienced poor mental health due to TikTok and other social media platforms. This may include adults or children who have experienced the development or worsening of mental health issues such as depression, eating disorders and suicidal ideation.
Your well-being is important to us. We can help you determine if you are eligible to file a lawsuit after experiencing poor mental health related to TikTok.
Read more about our social media harm litigation experience.
- Sources
- Cleveland Clinic. Anorexia Nervosa.
- Cleveland Clinic. Eating Disorders.
- Hunt M, Marx R, Lipson C, Young J. No More FOMO: Limiting Social Media Decreases Loneliness and Depression. Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology. 2018 Dec; 37(10): Abstract.
- Keleş-Gördesli B, McCrae N, Grealish A. A systematic review: the influence of social media on depression, anxiety and psychological distress in adolescents. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth. 2019 Mar 3; 25(1):1-15.
- McArthur B, Tough S, Madigan S. Screen time and developmental and behavioral outcomes for preschool children. Pediatr Res. 2022 May 19; 91(6):1616-1621.
- Pew Trusts. America’s Mental Health Crisis.
- WVU Today. WVU research reveals possible link between teen personalities, social media preferences and depressive symptoms.