Parents Fight for Control Over Harmful TikTok Videos
By Movieguide® Contributor
From eating disorders to self-harm, TikTok’s additive algorithm sucks in unsuspecting teens and funnels them harmful content. Parents are desperate for control over the app and to protect their children from some of the more extreme videos.
“I guess I’d wish there’d be a class that I could have taken that would show me these different things on social media and how they work, as well as how to go through your kids’ phones,” Parent Patrice Hartman shares with Zoe Thomas of The Wall Street Journal. “What exactly should you be looking for? How do you find the things that they think are hidden but really aren’t? That would be if I could do one thing as a parent to change things, that’s what I would do, if I could find something like that.”
Hartman’s daughter Beth battled an eating disorder and lost 20 pounds in two months, though Hartman was unaware at the time that TikTok was to blame as it continued to send Beth videos about starvation and purging.
Parents aren’t the only ones wishing for more control of the app. Beth and other young people who have been affected by videos they’ve seen wish TikTok did a better job of weeding out the content they show users on their pages.
“There was a point where I had to physically delete TikTok so I could get a full whole new For You Page but then that didn’t work,” Beth said. “I kept getting those videos to keep creeping in again.”
TikTok’s algorithm makes it extremely difficult for users to avoid unwanted content. The algorithm takes note of what users click on and how long they watch a video; that’s how they decide what to show users.
“It’s scary but the algorithm does seem to know me and it does seem to,” said Perry Kornbluh, who also battled an eating disorder made worse by the platform. “If I’m having a bad day, I’ll start seeing more negative videos and if I’m having a really good day, a positive day, I’ll see more positive videos and it seems just really scary and specific in that way.
“Whenever it starts affecting me,” Kornbluh continued. “I have to step away and that’s not because of anyone else’s videos. It’s just because if I am too obsessed with, like, is my video going viral, is it not going viral, what are people saying then I know it’s time to take a break.”
Many users have asked TikTok to improve the way they filter content, and it appears the app is taking notice. The company recently announced that they would start testing new ways of preventing users from seeing too much of one type of content, like extreme dieting or self harm.
TikTok’s Policy Director for US Trust & Safety Tara Wadhwa said, “We’re working to continue the work that we’ve established with our company-wide initiatives on how we can keep the For You feed diverse and full of new and exciting content to discover, as well as retain the content that people have come to know and love. We look to continue to expand our partnerships and search interventions as well as resources that we can provide to our users.”
Users aren’t the only ones giving TikTok feedback. The app has recently been discussed at a hearing on Capitol Hill for a hearing on protecting kids on social media.
South Dakota Senator John Thune said, “Social media’s platforms use of algorithms to shape and manipulate users’ experience resulting in individuals being trapped in what we call the filter bubble. The filter bubble can be particularly troubling for younger users….I have a bill, the Filter Bubble Transparency Act and another bill called the PACT Act that would make significant strides in addressing the lack of transparency online and importantly, the Filter Bubble Transparency Act would give consumers the option to engage with internet platforms without being manipulated by opaque algorithms.”
Another proposal asks that social media companies share their data with researchers, while another bill would hold the platform legally responsible for harmful content that users post.
Munmun DeChoudhury, Associate Professor at Georgia Tech said that changing the algorithm may be the only way to really improve user experience.
“I do believe that we can completely think about redesigning these algorithms in a way which is,” DeChoudhury said. “Every few posts you show something random, something on a topic that has nothing to do with self harm or eating disorder or you can purposefully introduce uplifting content.”
While steps are being taken to make apps like TikTok safer, parents should still be extremely cautious when regulating their children’s use of social media.
Movieguide® previously reported:
This is an opportunity for parents to speak life into their children and remind them of their worth in Christ. If parents fail to teach their children biblical worldviews, the children can easily fall prey to the destructive evils presented in the world.
Proverbs teaches us that parents should train up their children in the way they should go, and when they are old, they will not turn from it. While a tech-dominated society may be intimidating, parents have the opportunity to counteract the secular message.
Parents, teach your children how valuable they are right now. Remind them they were created with a purpose. Speak gently with them about their bodies and how they were created to be temples for the Lord. Carve out time each day just to soak in that family time. Read scripture together and pray. These are the sure-fire ways to help protect your child from the evil that so many mindlessly consume.
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
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