TikTok has become a major social media app around the world, and it’s taking over people’s lives. TikTok’s algorithm shapes itself for you, hence the TikTok For You page, which is the reason it’s so addicting. This causes people to spend hours at a time on TikTok, wasting their days staring at a screen. 

Recently, I have deleted TikTok because it was greatly affecting my mental health. This is not a personal problem; it has happened to so many people; especially teens. 

“No two users will see the same videos on their For You page, and the videos you see might change over time based on your viewing preferences and even your current state of mind.”(How the TikTok Algorithm Works in 2021) 

The scary thing is, social media can track a person’s likes and dislikes, recent purchases, accounts followed, pretty much anything you do on your phone. TikTok recently came out with the secrets to their algorithm, including tracking. TikTok follows what a person looks up, hashtags they use, who they follow, what language they speak, which videos they have liked or blocked, etc. 

In all of the tracking and customizing a For You page to fit a person’s likes, mental health plays a huge role in watching TikTok. Because of the very accurate For You page, people may begin to question themselves and if they are doing anything right in life. 

Anna Muharem, English teacher and mother, believes that social media has created a “toxic alternate universe” where it becomes extremely addicting. 

“There’s an overwhelming compulsion to always check our phones, refresh our feed, to see what we’ve already seen,” says Muharem. “What’s ridiculous is that we immerse ourselves in other people’s lives- some who are complete strangers.”

For a teenager, TikTok may show other people their age at their best moments, and cause these teenagers to think they aren’t good enough. From models to dancers, TikTok creates an unrealistic view on how people should look or act. 

Erin Bridges, a Woodland student, tries to stay away from the toxic sides of TikTok, and use it for better purposes.

“[In TikTok], there’s a lot of physical appearance comments that could be toxic for growing teens seeing unrealistic beauty standards,” Bridges states. “I use it more for comedy or tutorials on things I haven’t heard of.” 

The psychology behind how social media affects one’s mental health is really quite interesting. Stephanie Borowy, school psychologist, goes deeper into the reason mental health is greatly affected by social media. Social media can get you lost in different unpleasant topics and make a person think they aren’t fitting in with the social norm.  

 “[Social media] makes you think that you’re not fitting in and you’re not doing the right thing,” explains Borowy. “Social media makes you question yourself, next your judgement [and] lifestyle.” 

The overall mental state a person feels after looking at social media can be very negative. Using TikTok on a daily basis may cause you to question your own self worth, which is unhealthy. In my own experience, my mood was worse after using TikTok than before opening the app. 

Muharem also states, “ I think that social media has given us an insatiable appetite for “more” beauty. The problem is that if you’re always wanting something, you’re never fully content with what you have.”

TikTok, like many other social media apps, causes teenagers to reevaluate their own lives, adding more stress and worries to their already long list. Keeping the app on your phone can drain your mental health, taking you on a spiral to nowhere.