Many teens these days are always hearing the same things from adults, “get off your phone,” “stop watching those videos all the time,” “you watch TikTok too much.” The fact of the matter is TikTok is too addicting for teens. 

Statistically speaking, teens are on TikTok an average of 82 minutes a day. That is 9.5 hours a week, which may not seem like a lot but when the effects of watching TikToks are put into play it’s a big deal. 

Studies have shown that watching TikToks can cause students to have body image issues and shorter attention spans. These effects are not things that should be taken lightly. 

Being a teen in itself can be hard enough. You have stress from school, work, parents, friends and more. You go through the hassle of trying to fit in and look cool or feel confident. Adding videos of people with unrealistic and edited features won’t make teens feel better about themselves. 

Many say that the app promotes body positivity, but most videos are edited and have filters. Comparing yourself to these unrealistic images can cause body image issues. 

A survey done in Australia shows that 30% of teens have body image issues, most likely affected by social media. When you compare yourself to these beautiful, older, mature models and influencers, it isn’t healthy. 

Some may say that TikTok is more than just pretty people posting videos, which is true, but along with the body image issues, it affects teens’ attention spans. 

This happens because: 1) You spend hours at night watching these short videos which then affects your sleep schedule and 2) You are constantly scrolling and looking for the new thing, which in turn makes you zone out when learning or listening to the same thing for too long. 

According to a study done by Microsoft, the average human attention span is around 8 seconds now because of social media. This amount of time has been decreasing for decades and probably will continue to decrease. 

Don’t get me wrong, I love TikTok as much as the next person, it has fun videos, cool new trends, good music, and more but the truth is it isn’t very healthy for us.