TikTok Is Bad for Kids (Again)

Social Media,

TikTok is feeding teens a “diet of darkness.” Recently, a group of researchers created fictitious accounts of 13-year-olds and quickly found their feeds full with content about eating disorders, body image, self-harm, and even suicide. This is despite the fact that TikTok currently employs 40,000 content moderators and has default screen-time limits for teens.  

TikTok’s problems have long plagued all social media platforms. Most have made efforts to prohibit the promotion of socially contagious self-destructive behaviors, but none have been able to eliminate this content entirely. Their guidelines, bans, and moderators do nothing to restrict other destructive content, such as ideas about gender confusion and transition. 

Parents can’t rely on the goodwill of social media giants to protect their kids. They must be proactive in teaching them how to use tech wisely and, often, just say no to it. Most importantly, parents need to remind their kids who they are: people made in the image and likeness of God.

Copyright 2023 by the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. Reprinted from BreakPoint.org with permission.

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Social Media Serves “Diet of Darkness” to Teens: WSJ

Technology,

A recent Wall Street Journal column highlights how social media giant TikTok is serving teens “a diet of darkness” online.

Julie Jargon writes,

A recent study found that when researchers created accounts belonging to fictitious 13-year-olds, they were quickly inundated with videos about eating disorders, body image, self-harm and suicide.

If that sounds familiar, a Wall Street Journal investigation in 2021 found that TikTok steers viewers to dangerous content. TikTok has since strengthened parental controls and promised a more even-keeled algorithm, but the new study suggests the app experience for young teens has changed little.

The article goes on to offer examples of harmful content directed at teens — including content that encourages suicide ideation, eating disorders, and other dangerous activities.

All of this underscores that Arkansas’ lawmakers did the right thing this year by passing legislation to regulate social media use among minors.

In April the state’s General Assembly passed S.B. 396, the Social Media Safety Act, by Sen. Tyler Dees (R – Siloam Springs) and Rep. Jon Eubanks (R – Paris) says that social media companies must use age verification to ensure minors do not access social media platforms without parental consent.

The measure contains protections for user privacy. A social media company that violated the law could be held liable.

S.B. 396 narrowly cleared the Arkansas Senate, but received strong support in the Arkansas House of Representatives. Governor Sanders signed it into law following its passage.

More and more, we hear stories illustrating how social media platforms host content that isn’t suitable for children. The adults who operate these platforms should not be able to register children as users without parental consent. Laws like S.B. 396 help address this serious problem.

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