I recently saw a post on r/AskReddit, where a father asked if it was too early to introduce his 10 year old to TikTok. The comments were quite unanimous - it was a clear and loud NO. A lot of people were against social media for kids in general. But while each of them bring their own demons, Tiktok creates a hell of its own.

To recap on my life, I quit my full time job to primarily pursue a Tiktok brand growth, and it has been successful. I reach 15 thousand followers over the course of a year. More recently, I’ve taken a break from social media growth, to focus my mental energy on other pursuits. But I do still know the value that Tiktok can bring. However, I hear so many conflicting opinions, and they always come from people who haven’t used the app. Plenty of us see Tiktok screen recordings on their Instagram, or see some rip-off reel of a Tiktok trend, and start assumptions on what it is.

I didn’t join Tiktok during the initial hype of 2020. I was vehemently anti-Tiktok, very much contributing to the notion that it was the cringiest app ever, just kids dancing. Once I was on it, it took some time for the algorithm to learn about my tastes, and then there was no going back. I was clearly addicted for a long long time. I was hooked. It was the blissful period of when you first start consuming a drug, where you’re enjoying yourself completely without realizing the subtle brainwashing behind it. After spending a substantial amount of time growing on this app, I can provide a comprehensive opinion to support both sides of the story, and let you decide how to perceive it.


Let’s start with the negatives, so we can end on a good note.

Cyber Security

The most common argument I hear from most people is the data privacy and security concerns. Tiktok has been flagged many times for their data mining protocols, and acquiring access to your phone even for things they don’t ned. This data is gathered by China, where we don’t know what they do with it. To this argument, I say - zip it. Unless you’re someone who works in cybersecurity, or spends a good amount of your career in the data protection field, this is irrelevant to you. Everyone steals your data. Facebook does it, Google does it, Amazon does it, of course Apple does it. And you’re kidding yourself if you think they don’t sell it, or use it to manipulate you.

People focus on Tiktok data mining because it’s based in China. But thats just a distraction tactic.
You think Facebook cares about you because it’s based in America?
You think Amazon Alexa isn’t listening to every word you say?
Do you think using ‘Incognito mode’ does anything to protect you?

Exactly. Every app has access to every single thing about you, and they will use it as they need to. So let’s put that worry out of your head because as I said, unless you’re taking extensive steps to protect your data, Tiktok isn’t any better or worse than countless other apps on your device already.

However, there are far worse things than data protection that should bother you.

The Dopamine Fix

The first thing is the insanely well designed algorithm. It’s core function (like most apps), is to consume the majority of your screen time. An app is most successful when you spend more time on it. Tiktok does this by providing you with extremely niche and specific, bite-sized content that tricks you into an addictive habit. Thats why you can end up on it for hours without realizing or even wanting to stop. Instagram is designed to show you what your friends are upto; Tiktok is designed to show you want you want.

Once Tiktok knows what you like, it starts to give you bursts of dopamine (the chemical in your brain gives you pleasure) through the usage. This dopamine fix is what is so addicting. You watch a video, you feel happy for a minute as a result of your brain generating a chemical to invoke that feeling (this is a vast oversimplification)

However, the human brain was not designed to generate dopamine at this frequency. You can’t be happy all the time; you need a good balance. Once this balance is disordered in your mind, it’s very hard to restore. You can read more in detail here , but the main takeaway is that this is a gateway to a whole slew of issues that can take a lifetime to fix, will most likely impact the people around you, and could be passed down through generations. I’m talking anxiety, depression, insecurity, self-confidence, short attention span, ADHD. The list of mental issues can go on and on.

You start to crave these videos because you want to feel happy, without realizing the happiness you receive is miniscule. Your brain eventually can’t generate happiness outside of Tiktok, therefore throwing you in a self-destructive cycle.

Creativity Dampener

Tiktok also hampers creativity. That sounds like a counterintuitive statement, because it has a lot creators constantly churning content, right?

However, the algorithm focusses less on originality and more on virality. The best chance of building a loyal audience is being yourself. Tiktok does reward authenticity (as opposed to Instagram, which rewards aesthetics). But the best way to building a large audience is ‘hopping on trends’. Trends are repeatable content (usually dances or visual representation of memes), that are heavily promoted because they’re relatable.

It gives creators a false impression that they’re being creative, when in reality, they’re chasing the latest fix. I’m not saying that doing these trends doesn’t require creativity, but it gradually reduces your chances of creating anything original or authentic. This is why Tiktok dances are so popular. They are short, quick and appealing to the eyes, but quickly forgotten. The creators aren’t really building anything; they’re doing trends they know are popular in the hopes to reach popularity itself. Its a mass-producing content machine that wants you to focus on quantity over quality.

The Brainwashing of Personality

There is barely any regulation over the content you watch. More recently, with the rise of Andrew Tate, we’re seeing the spread of toxic male mindsets towards the next generation of men. Disguised as an ‘Alpha Male’ ideology, it is really just spreading misogyny and enforcing the patriarchy.

Tiktok identifies your ideal version of the world, and then provides you with the people who are creating content within it, thus keeping you within that world. It makes you think you know what the world is like, when in reality, you haven’t even left your room, let alone your home town. It makes you feel comforted, but only when you’re actively scrolling.

It gives you a false sense of hard-work and career options, with every inexperienced user thinking that being a content creator on Tiktok can pay the bills. It creates a lot of false confidence and insecurity issues, which is terrible for anyone to latch onto. Even the content directed towards minors is barely monitored (as opposed to Youtube, that requires you to specify if your content is suitable for kids)

I don’t write this to spread fear or build awareness. I write this to show you that I am well aware of the dangers of this app, and have to actively work hard to ensure that I have a good balance on it. But that begs a good question - Why am I still on it ? After describing what feels like the worst possible outcomes form an app, it’s strange to think I’d stay on. Am I addicted? Possibly.

But I genuinely do see what Tiktok offers that others don’t.

The Algorithm

If there’s one thing it does well (or at least, used to do well), is identify how to make you feel less alone, by showing you content that is unique to you. Other apps simply don’t do that to the level of Tiktok. Instagram wants to show you what your friends are upto. Facebook wants to get everyone together. Tiktok knows that there are 10 people in the world who are the closest replicants of your exact persona, and will show you at least 7 of those people.

The algorithm looks into everything from how fast you’re scrolling, how much of a video you watch, do you watch multiple times, do you like and unlike, do you go down rabbit holes. All of this is extensively tracked, and then used to create a repository of content unique to you.

That’s why it hard to stop, because the level of relatability and comfort you can find on this app, is phenomenal.

The Support of Strangers

No app is free from the toxicity of hateful comment. As the internet rose, so did anonymity, the ability for strangers to create fake profiles and hide behind a mask, to bring others down. Another terrible feature that long terms apps eventually succumb to is bots. We’ve seen it more recently with Elon Musks purchase of Twitter. But even on Instagram, as a creator, the second I post a reel, I get 2 comments from bot/spam accounts that say ‘Promote it here’ .

While Tiktok isn’t immune to that, the community you build on the platform is generally more supportive, and will rise to defend you against hateful comments. If a large part of who I am resonates with you, and someone tries to destroy that part of me, you subconsciously feel the threat. Because it's an attack on that part of you.

The Tiktok community is supportive towards growth in general. My Instagram following is 80% of followers I know personally, who would rather DM me that they enjoyed my content, instead of dropping a comment on the video ( which is more beneficial for my growth). Compare this with Tiktok, where my following is 99% strangers from across the world, who are more likely to comment genuine appreciative feedback on my content, which benefits me.

People gravitate towards Tiktok, because they feel supported here, more by strangers than by those they know.

The Sheer Exposure

Tiktok is an excellent way to be introduced to things you never knew you wanted to know. One of the creators I follow, @jay_will_float_too, is autistic and experiences sensory overload. Due to this, she often can’t handle loud music. Her Tiktoks are primarily focussed on how she wants to adapt to her autism, and learn to appreciate music in her own time. It’s a intriguing way to see how her specific autism affects her physically as she is exposes herself to certain music in a controlled space.

Tiktok showed me how much freakin’ work goes into make-up. I mean, they call it a make-up-artist for a reason, because it genuinely takes art, effort and talent to make it look flawless. Creator @brynnemarieeee makes some amazing content on her make up routines, in an entertaining way. A lot of the followers are men, who initially had no interest in make up, but just through her minute long videos, have started understanding how much effort women put into it, and the praise it deserves.

Demi Skipper started @trademeproject on Tiktok, where her mission was to get a house only by trading items i.e, the barter system. She started with a bobby pin and in only 28 trades, eventually acquired an $80,000 house. It was amazing to follow her random trades, from candles, to cars to skateboards, to X-Boxes.

Out of context, these may not mean anything to you, but the point I was making is - without this app and its algorithm, I would never have thought to look into things like this. A lot of other apps (Reddit, Twitter) let you choose who you want to follow, whereas Tiktok shows you a large variety of content and observes the ones you gravitate towards. The exposure is unparalleled. You follow a lot of peoples journeys as you root for them to succeed.

But overall, that is a glimpse of what Tiktok as a platform offers. Let me tell you, it's a lot lot more than cringey dances. It holds up a mirror towards what you deeply desire. If what you want to see is underage women dancing to trends, you will. If you want to learn about business, space, science, economics and math in fun entertaining ways, you will. If you want to start from scratch, and build a platform of your own content, you can. It gives you what you need, which is exactly why it's just as dangerous as it is beneficial. It can be a huge push towards the expansion of your knowledge, or a powerful crutch towards your development.

As with most things, there is a dual nature to this. But since there are a lot of you who are not on the app, I hope this has given you an insight into what I’ve gained from it, while also being wary of its destructive elements.