by Veronica Witkowski
The recent controversy surrounding the proposed TikTok ban in the United States has highlighted the app’s infiltration of society and raised questions about its future. TikTok has over 1 billion active users worldwide, with around 170 million in the United States alone. As a ban of the app looms large over this active user base, it is also pertinent to consider the effects that such a popular app is having on the population.
The justifications for a TikTok ban in the United States center around concerns of national security. TikTok is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. This means that the Chinese government can, and allegedly has, accessed user data and censored videos that are unfavorable to Beijing. In light of these concerns, Donald Trump implemented an executive order in August of 2020 that gave ByteDance 90 days to divest of any assets used to run TikTok U.S.; this led to legal challenges by ByteDance. However, Joe Biden’s inauguration in January of 2021 came with the indefinite postponement of these legal cases. In June of 2022, reports that China-based ByteDance employees had accessed American TikTok user data sparked fresh concerns. In April of 2024, a bill that authorized the ban of TikTok unless it is sold by ByteDance was signed into law by President Biden and immediately challenged legally by TikTok and ByteDance. A federal appeals court and the Supreme Court both upheld the ban. The app went dark on January 18, 2025, but following Trump’s inauguration on January 20th, he implemented an executive order that postponed the ban for 75 days. What will happen following these 75 days is not yet clear.
While the looming ban has placed the focus on the national security concerns surrounding TikTok, there are other very salient concerns regarding usage of the app. One very prominent issue perpetuated by TikTok is detrimental mental health outcomes. For example, evidence suggests that the app’s algorithm feeds young girls damaging weight loss content, possibly contributing to a rise in eating disorders among young women.
The algorithm also perpetuates damaging mental health content. One experiment involved the creation of a fake account meant to be a 13-year-old girl. Within 2 days, the algorithm had placed excessive amounts of self-harm and suicide content on the user’s page. Overall, systematic analysis suggests “potential negative effects…such as lower life satisfaction, increased risk of ‘contagion’ of certain psychiatric symptoms, and problematic usage patterns.”
Another major issue regarding TikTok is its addictive nature. The variable reward system of clinical psychology suggests that intermittent, unpredictable rewards keep someone engaged longest, as is seen with gambling. Short-form content is based on a similar system wherein users continue to scroll in hopes of getting a good video. Short-form videos, like TikToks, activate parts of the brain associated with addiction, due to quick and repetitive hits of dopamine and a variable reward system.
TikTok content is also harmful to focus. Research suggests that using TikTok is linked to a decreased attention span and makes it difficult for people, especially children, to engage in activities that do not provide “instant—and constant—gratification.” This damaged attention span can then have detrimental effects on things such as academic performance, which often relies on long-term goals and sustained effort.
The national security concerns that underlay the original TikTok ban, if substantiated, are legitimately important and should be addressed. However, we should also consider other potentially detrimental effects of the app, including negative mental health outcomes and impaired attention spans. Although people have a right to decide how and on what to spend their time, it would benefit many to consider how the app affects people’s minds, especially those of young children.