You Should Limit Your TikTok Screentime — Here’s Why
The peak of the COVID-19 pandemic reached its peak in 2020 with the entire world simultaneously implementing lockdowns. Along with this is the peak of TikTok’s popularity that came as a consequence of the obligatory restrictions. Most people would agree that the app is fun to use, but what lies behind it?
Known as Douyin in China, TikTok is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It features a variety of user-submitted videos ranging from 15 seconds to ten minutes. These videos usually involve dances, pranks, skits, product reviews, and even daily vlogs; users are free to post videos of any kind that would give them the engagement they want.
Why you should probably lessen your TikTok screentime
It shortens your attention span
According to The Science Times, TikTok’s short video format correlates to a decrease in attention span. With constant usage, it tweaks our brain to get to used to quick information signals. There is now a tendency to ignore other parts of the video until it gets to a certain point that we want to see. One can also just stop watching if that certain point doesn’t show at a span the viewer can handle. The more we consume this type of video, the more we tolerate our brain to only entertain things that catch our attention. Effects are crucial in the modern era where most news is posted online. People now have a hard time sitting through long videos and articles which can lead to misinformation.
It can get in the way of your daily activities
TikTok is famous for its brilliant algorithm. This explains the For You page (FYP) that contains uniquely altered content for every user. What happens is that TikTok detects how long you watch a video and how much you interact with it- that includes liking, commenting, sharing, and saving it. That is all that the app needs to know the kind of content a user is interested in. Once you interact with a good number of similar videos, related videos will automatically be on your FYP’s queue. I personally feel at home whenever I open my TikTok app, that explains why.
Having a bunch of videos that you find funny or interesting just sitting on your app makes you addicted to using it. Moreover, the short length creates an illusion that you haven’t been watching for long. The next thing you know is that you’ve been scrolling for the past 4 hours.
TikTok is fun and all, but just like any other thing, too much can have negative effects. What started as a source of enjoyment shouldn’t end up being harmful.
