The image is by Alex Castro.
Over the past few years, people have been flocking to TikTok, but research into the social media giant's potential health impacts hasn't kept up. Despite the fact that TikTok now has over 1 billion users, public health researchers know very little about the health effects it might be having on the platform's users. Researchers know that social media platforms can be harmful to the health of some groups of teens and adolescents.
Marco Zenone, a health policy researcher at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, says there is almost no scholarly investigation into the platform.
Zenone believes that it is important for researchers to figure out if TikTok has the same issues as other platforms, like the mental health of some teen girls and failing to slow conspiracy theories. He published a proposed research agenda detailing the areas experts need to investigate. The medical advice given by users, the way alcohol use is presented on the platform, and moderation policies are included. They are worried about what happens to users when videos sharing personal, sensitive stories go viral, and if the platform has the same impact on teen mental health asInstagram.
The research is behind because of how much reach TikTok has.
Zenone spoke with The Verge about his proposed agenda and the importance of research into TikTok's health effects.
The interview has been edited for clarity.
We don't know much about TikTok's health impacts.
I think it rose to prominence quickly, and research hasn't been able to catch up. We know that TikTok has 1 billion users, but a lot of the research is still on other platforms. We have seen what happened in the past when it was left unattended.
Why are the important areas so important?
Some of the issues that we have flagged are just some of the issues that we have dealt with on other social media platforms, and have been documented on other platforms, but that we haven't looked at yet on TikTok. The promotion of health-harming products spread faster than health researchers could study how the conversation was expanding. That is one reason why we need to document what is happening around the platform.
A lot of people give health advice on the platform, but we don't know the quality of it. When someone has a credentials to speak on a topic, they are usually accurate, according to what research is available. The quality goes down if there is a conflict of interest. That can be concerning if someone is using that health information in a questionable way.
Misinformation is a problem on social media, but we don't know the extent of it on TikTok. TikTok needs to be looked into for the dissemination of sensitive or offensive content. With a billion users, we have to ask how good moderation is.
Is there something unique about TikTok that makes it different from other social media platforms?
The main difference is that TikTok has the chance to learn from other social media platforms. The flaws have been documented. The big thing is new. Social media has the same problems on different platforms. That is one of the reasons we need to do the research.
The user base of TikTok is different. I think we have to keep in mind that there are a lot of young people on the platform.
Understanding TikTok is important.
TikTok is going to be here for a while. The majority of people who use it are younger. It is about making TikTok as safe as possible.
I believe that we have to be accountable. One way that we can do that is to make sure that we are up to date with what is happening on the platform.
