A recent study from the University of Florida once again reveals the impact of social networks on the mental health of the youngest.
The consumption of screens and social networks has been skyrocketing in recent years, a trend reinforced by the health crisis situation and successive confinements. In France, TikTok is asserting itself as the social network with the strongest growth, but also as the one most popular with the younger generation : 75% of users are under 24 years old, and most of them are teenagers: 38% of them are between 13 and 17 years old.
Since 2020, these young people, who have found themselves isolated due to the pandemic, have spent much more time on TikTok, a practice that would have had direct consequences on their mental health, according to a study by the University of Florida :“Given the known increase in social media use during the pandemic, as well as the parallel increase in tics and tocs that we observed in our clinic, we investigated whether there was a correlation between the social media use and symptoms of tics”, explained Dr. Jessica Frey.
The researchers focused on a sample of 20 people aged 11 to 21 who already had nervous disorders. Among them, 17 said the frequency of their tics had increased since they were using the app. The severity of the tics was then assessed on a scale from 0 to 6 : those declaring to have a reasonable use of the social network estimated it at 4and those declaring that they have greatly increased their consumption during the pandemic estimated it at 5. In October 2021, another study had already alerted to the emergence of uncontrolled tics on the face in young girls, resembling for many the syndrome of Gilles de la Tourette. A more affected target because young girls would also be 3 times more numerous than boys (27% among 13-17 year olds) on TikTok.
Read also: Is TikTok dangerous for our children and teenagers?
An investigation launched to assess the questioning of the social network
On Wednesday March 2, eight American states announced the launch of a joint investigation to better decipher the impact of using TikTok on the mental and physical health of the youngest, but also to determine social network responsibility, according to our colleagues from Le Point.
In the fall of 2021, the whistleblower Frances Haugen revealed, in the case of Facebook Papersconfidential documents proving that the main actors of social networks were aware of their harmful consequences on the youngest, portraying companies obsessed with profit that do not hesitate to exploit the youngest with algorithms. The purpose of this investigation will therefore be to shed light on the exact information that was in their possession : “We know this has devastating effects on children’s mental health and well-being. But we don’t know what the companies themselves knew and since when” commented on this subject Rob Bonta, the California attorney general.
According to an American mediathe social media giant publicly supported the survey initiativeclaiming “we care deeply about creating an experience that helps protect and support the well-being of our community, and appreciate that state attorneys general are focused on the safety of young users“. The company also said that they would be of great collaboration in this endeavor : “we look forward to providing information on the many security and privacy protections we have in place for teens”.