NPR and Kentucky Public Radio report that TikTok executives know of the app’s potential harm to teenagers. Court documents from lawsuits filed against TikTok show some troubling findings from the company’s research.
The documents say TikTok studies found that spending a lot of time on the app can negatively impact teens’ brains and mental well-being. Teens who used TikTok compulsively showed things like worse critical thinking, memory problems, less empathy, and more anxiety.
One feature was supposed to help parents limit how long their kids spent on TikTok each day. However, the company’s own data showed it only cut average daily usage by about 90 seconds. Also, executives seemed more focused on good publicity than the well-being of teens.
A TikTok spokesperson said sharing these private documents was wrong and that quotes were “cherry-picked” and “taken out of context” to misrepresent their work. However, the revelations have sparked concerns that the social platform may be harming the developing minds of young users. More research could help determine if regulation is needed to protect teens from the potential downsides of heavy social media use.
