The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Mass Amherst chapter.

The phenomenon of social media has taken most of the world by storm. Think about it… everyone you know most likely has a social media account, especially since nowadays it’s unusual to not be on social media. With that said, have you ever stopped to think about how dangerous it could be? Probably, but why should you care when everyone else is using it and it doesn’t seem as harmful as other things like alcohol or drugs? What if I told you that it’s time to wake up from this brain fog and realize social media, especially TikTok, is rotting our brains?

Approximately 5.17 billion people worldwide use social media…that is 64% of the global population. Out of those 5.17 billion people, about 1.12 billion people have a TikTok account. If you don’t know what TikTok is, it is a social media platform that allows users to create, watch, and share short-form videos. It sounds super fun, and I admit as a TikTok user, it is. Honestly, it is probably the number one social media I use daily. The reason I wanted to explore this topic and share my findings is because I’m concerned about my health. At first, I didn’t think about the constant use of social media and how it could affect me, but how could I? Social media is everywhere!!! Social media is integrated into so many aspects of our lives, making it easy to accept this social norm. You barely see any products, advertisements, or marketing tactics that highlight the negative effects of social media, because to an extent they all need it to succeed and reach a variety of audiences. Plus, the side effects aren’t as observable compared to someone who consumes something bad for their physical health, like smoking. Overall, it is easy to get swept up in a world of instant gratification and access, but it is not always our fault.

It is important to remember that even if we cannot see or feel the impacts it could have on us, it does not mean nothing is going on at all. With that said, let’s get into why TikTok is especially rotting our brains. If you’re on TikTok you have probably experienced or heard of “TikTok Brain Rot” or “TikTok Brain”. Essentially, it refers to someone who is constantly on TikTok, and all the videos they’ve watched have consumed their mind. It soon became a joke to non-users because they were thinking “Why the literal f– is this person constantly repeating things from TikTok?” The keyword is ADDICTION! Every social media platform can create addiction, but with TikTok, it is a bit different.

Woman staring at phone at night — Photo by mikoto.raw from Pexels

Due to TikTok’s niche of using short-form videos to entertain their users, it provides quick bursts of dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter that is associated with pleasure and reward. This creates a cycle of needing more dopamine by, for example, unconsciously going back to TikTok to keep watching more content. As a result, it creates an addiction but also affects people’s, especially adolescents’, ability to focus on tasks that require sustained attention. Research suggests that TikTok’s design of bite-sized content can lead to trouble concentrating and retaining information for long periods. This can impact younger brain s by affecting their prefrontal cortex (which isn’t fully developed until age mid-20s), and negatively affect their decision-making and impulse control.

As a long-term effect, people could have difficulty focusing on their school work, career, or even daily life. Overall, this could affect people’s productivity levels and could lead to a decrease in motivation as well. Since it affects people’s prefrontal cortex, it could lead to a stump in growth and maturity, and a delay in cognitive development. To emphasize even more, we need to make sure our brains are developing in the way they should be, otherwise, we are doomed. We need proper development, attention skills, and productivity levels to go through our daily lives. Our brains are constantly being used single day, and if we’re not taking care of ourselves in that aspect then it is going to be difficult to accomplish things we otherwise could have done if we were more cognizant of those impacts.

On top of that, have you ever noticed anything different about your memory, or your ability to retain information? I certainly have! I remember before I was addicted to TikTok I had a pretty decent memory, and I was able to remember things for a long period. However, it has been hard to retain information needed when studying for an exam, or even remembering what I did last week. Is it a me-problem? Maybe, but I still wonder what if TikTok can somehow impair one’s memory? I know other factors can also impact one’s memory, but still, I think it is important to highlight that excessive use of TikTok can as have that impact as well.

The rapid consumption of TikTok can overwhelm the brain to process and store information effectively. As a result, this can impact both long-term and short-term memory, as the brain has trouble consolidating the vast amount of information/data it receives. This means that people who use TikTok frequently could have difficulties retaining and processing information, which leads to forgetfulness or not remembering details and information efficiently. This can also impact someone’s daily life, as it is essential to be able to remember information for school, work, and personal matters. If that is also impaired, then life is not going to get easier.

I’m not saying you should completely stop using TikTok unless you feel like it is the best for you. There are ways to help maintain a balance and decrease the chances of having these impacts on your brain.

girl lounging relax 3 — Kristen Bryant / Her Campus

Screen Time Limit: Set a timer for 15-30 minutes for TikTok, and make sure to stick with it.
Schedule Breaks: Use TikTok for 20 minutes, and then for the next 20 minutes do a different activity.
Find Other Activities: TikTok can consume our daily lives, which is why it is important to find other things to fill up your time. Hang out with friends, go back to old favorite hobbies, watch a movie, read a book, etc.
Be Mindful of the content you’re consuming: Make sure to follow content that is positive and easy on the mind, that way it is not overwhelming for your mental health.
Detox: It is also good to completely stop using social media for a period of time, it could be for a day, a couple of days, or even longer than that. If you feel like the other recommendations are not helping, this one might be the one for you.

Overall, TikTok can be a fun platform but it is important to remember that it is easy to let a platform consume us, and potentially impact us in a negative way. I hope this article was a reminder to people who are in a “TikTok Brain Rot” or have “TikTok Brain” to take a break and remember the consequences of excessive use. I also hope it helped educate people who did not know the negative effects to start doing something about it.

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TikTok Brain Rot: Is The Media Platform Rotting Our Brains?

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