TikTok, a social media platform for creating and sharing customised music videos, has taken the city youth by storm. Developed by the Beijing-based firm ByteDance, the craze for this app, used to film short-duration videos, is becoming a cause of concern for parents.
It was taken down from app stores on April 17 on the orders of the Madras High Court over the concerns of ‘pornographic content’ being uploaded on to the app.
Mohammad Salman, a 19-year-old boy from Delhi, reportedly lost his life after his friend Suhail Malik accidentally shot him while he was posing with a countrymade pistol for a TikTok video.
However, the ban was lifted by the court on April 24 with the condition that the platform should not be used to host obscene videos.
“TikTok was very addictive at one point and that’s why I had to uninstall it. If you are good at something, you want to do it again and again. As much as I love the app for instilling creativity, it is important to prioritise ourselves and focus on important things,” says Kavita, a student.
‘Self-control needed’
“Even though freedom of expression is essential, It is also important for the users to maintain decency in their content.” says Rajesh, an employee of a call centre.
Dr. Deepa Mohan, from the Department of Psychology at Gitam University, said, “Social media apps like TikTok plays a strong incentive for teens and youngsters who yearns to be popular, recognised and known to people. Apprehensive behaviour such as ‘Fear Of Missing Out’ or a desire to stay continually connected with what others are possible factors that draw youngsters into popular apps like TikTok.”
People tend to be addictive with such platforms where ‘unfulfilled dreams’, fantasies of idolisation could be fulfilled, she said. Dr. Deepa said that “Side effects of addiction towards social media such as aggressive behaviour, sleep disorder, and decline in studies shouldn’t be ignored.”