TikTok has put out at least half a dozen initiatives this year alone to further safety and privacy, primarily for teen users. Its latest initiative is aimed at promoting new resources to support mental health and community well-being on its app.
The potential negative impacts of social media on mental health are nothing new. Study after study has shown that time spent on these platforms can disrupt sleep and expose teens to bullying and unrealistic views of other people’s lives. Links have been observed between high levels of social media use and depression or anxiety symptoms.
“While we don’t allow content that promotes, glorifies or normalizes suicide, self-harm or eating disorders, we do support people who choose to share their experiences to raise awareness, help others who might be struggling and find support among our community,” Tara Wadhwa, director of policy for TikTok US, said in a statement announcing the additional resources to support well-being.
The platform is also expanding its search interventions. When a user searches for terms related to suicide, for example, they’ll be directed to local support resources such as the Crisis Text Line helpline. Users will also be able to opt-in to view videos in the search results from TikTok creators sharing their own experiences with mental health, providing information on where to find support, and giving advice on how to talk to loved ones.
The TikTok announcement comes as social media brands have come under increased scrutiny for their negative effects on people’s mental health. Another slide claimed this increase in anxiety and depression among users was “consistent across all groups,” according to WSJ.To curb these issues, Instagram created a “well-being” team in 2018 that has come up with ideas like hidling like-counts and creating the ability to flag posts for those who could be suffering from mental illness and potentially self-harm.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Opinion: Let’s use social distancing to slow the viral spread of misinformation on social mediaTech companies manipulate our primate brains into believing the crowd is wiser than we are about everything, even our own feelings and thoughts.
Read more »
Facebook cracks down on German anti-COVID restrictions group over 'social harm'Facebook has removed a network of accounts linked to an anti-COVID restrictions movement in Germany as it announced a new crackdown on coordinated campaigns of real users that cause harm on and off its platforms.
Read more »
Doctors Express Concerns Over TikTok Trend Of Women Removing Their Own IUDsDon't do it (via toofab)
Read more »
Inside the Missing Persons Case That Has True Crime TikTok Freaking OutGabrielle Petito went missing at the end of August. By mid-September, tens of thousands of people on the internet had fallen down rabbit holes looking for clues.
Read more »
The D'Amelio Show Paints a Grim Picture of TikTok Fame'Charlie and Dixie D'Amelio seem truly distressed about the expectations they labor under, but to be famous and to continue working at the pace that they do seems to be their only mode of being.'
Read more »