Tiktok, the world’s most beloved app, has rapidly taken over social media since its launch in 2016. With over a billion users worldwide, the endless amount of content has definitely reeled in a substantial amount of issues. Although Tiktok has taught us all our favorite recipes and life-hacks, there is a lot of misinformation pertaining to serious topics such as health and politics on the platform. The app isn’t just for the hottest songs and dance routines anymore— there are a lot of opinion based videos that dominate the app. Most of the posts on Tiktok are not fact-verified, so anyone can hop onto the app and make a 15 second video that is total BS just for views and likes. The main issue with this app is that there are no age limitations, so any kid can stumble upon any video, regardless of algorithm. These young minds are easily swayed by this content, especially if it is “endless.”
These days everyone is a “board certified dermatologist” or a “professor,” because verifying legitimacy is quite the pain and people tend to be ignorant and just believe everything that is said. This has come as far as doing “research” on a topic consisting of searching it up on Tiktok rather than fact checking with credible sources. More recently, a lot of videos concerning health-related topics have surfaced. There are many “doctors” or “professionals” on the app promoting products and regimens that are harmful to all age groups. Sometimes, there are even products being promoted that can be helpful with people of a certain age but that aren’t explicitly explained in the videos. As mentioned, kids are impressionable and they don’t really know what is right or wrong if not specifically told so. Videos like these promote the wrong idea to the general public, oftentimes vouching for products that are completely bad for you and deeming what is or is not “healthy.”
Remember, Tiktok is not a verifiable source; it is an entertainment app and not all of its content is rotten! This app gives a platform to creators to express themselves through their content and share ideas amongst their audience. Tiktok showcases all types of videos all around the world and there is a lot of content that is harmless and funny!
Here is my message to content creators: it is your ethical responsibility to put out information that is fact-checked and verified. To impersonate a professional for your five seconds of fame is not only morally wrong, but also careless. And to viewers, I urge you to fact-check opinion-based videos. A lot of the stuff that is on Tiktok is not researched and just opinions. Make sure you research on your own to make up an opinion for yourself. Tiktok is a fun app, so try to have fun!
Happy scrolling!!!