TikTok, investigated for its impact on the mental health of young people

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A group of prosecutors from the state of California, Florida and Kentucky, among other states in the United States, has launched an investigation into the potential detrimental effect on the mental health of young people that can cause the TikTok platform.

A British study has already determined the damage to the mental health of adolescents from the use of social networks such as Instagram

The investigation is aimed at verifying whether the TikTok platform maintains a design and operation that potentiate negative effects in younger users (children and adolescents).

Mainly, the functioning of the techniques, tools and, especially, of the algorithm of the social network is studied, capable of detecting what content the user consumes with more interest, trying to show him more similar content to maintain his attention and increase the time he spends using it. from TikTok.

It is not the first time that the risks to the mental health of young people due to the use of certain social networks have become the object of study. Five years ago the London Royal Society for Public Health established the negative impact of Instagram on young people.

TikTok spokesman Ben Rathe has said the company appreciates prosecutors’ concern for the mental health of young people, being willing to cooperate providing all the necessary information regarding how they handle the security and privacy issues of their youngest users.

However, this investigation could affect other companies with social platforms, such as Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Snap (Snapchat) and YouTube, precisely those social networks that have emulated one of the defining characteristics of TikTok: short videos. , in the case of Reels, Snaps and Shorts, respectively, content formats that users can already use and are characterized by their brevity, editing possibilities and the use of music, among other options.

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