What started as a video-making platform for would-be influencers and bored tweens has evolved beyond cheeky dances and snippets of pop songs.
It has grown in thousands of directions, meeting users at the intersections of their niche interests.
The app then creates algorithms for the “For You Page” that serve each user the content they’ll find most relevant and engaging.
I was more hesitant than most to download the popular app. But my For You Page soon delivered something unexpected—a community resource and discussion forum for highly personal and little-talked-about topics in the realm of mental health.
Tik Tok creators can demystify and unpack almost any subject in an accessible way, something that peer-reviewed articles and psychological journals typically fail to do.
Tik Tok users post videos and resources on anything from attachment style to emotional intelligence to medication comparisons and mental health diagnoses.
In the past two years, more than a few friends have shared that Tik Tok, along with therapy, helped them clarify and begin destigmatizing their mental illness.
The American education system seems to teach health classes from the shoulders down; there are few resources on mental health diagnoses and treatment, how to speak with friends experiencing suicidal ideation, or dealing with increasing anxiety.
However, these are situations that today’s teens face regularly—how can they fill this gap and prepare for the challenges ahead? Calculus surely won’t help.
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My only memory of talking about mental health during my primary education comes from a single class in high school.
We watched a film about a teen who had developed schizophrenia. But this wasn’t an opportunity to educate us about his diagnosis; it felt more like a cautionary tale.
It left us with the distinct impression that specific diagnoses made you essentially “untreatable” or that your family would crumble under the weight of your illness.
This message was both damaging and fear-inducing. Should any of us ever receive this diagnosis, we might not even see the point in seeking help and lapse into hopelessness.
Growing up, the only way most young people learn about different mental health diagnoses is when they’re labeled with them.
Or if they happened to casually browse the DSM-5 (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders released in 2013), which no one without a psych degree or mental health diagnosis would ever put themselves through.
Now, though, kids seem to be at an advantage in terms of understanding and coping with mental illness early. And one of their most readily available resources is, shockingly, Tik Tok. So how can we verify information on Tik Tok?
A straightforward internet search should either confirm or disprove any facts stated on the app. And many creators will provide links or cite their information in the comments on the video.
In a sense, Tik Tokers are today’s kids’ Bill Nye the Science Guy, or John and Hank Green (brothers, authors, and creators of online videos on topics in history and science, respectively).
These figures break down complex issues and disseminate information through easily digestible videos on an accessible platform. In other words, they were the blueprint for the brainy side of Tik Tok.
Perhaps the most helpful facet of these videos is sharing the life experiences of those with specific diagnoses. In some cases, a person in your life may come across a video titled “common signs of Autism.”
They might begin questioning whether or not they are on the Autism Spectrum based on symptoms like repetitive body movements or overstimulation. The app also successfully demonstrates that there’s no “certain way an autistic person should look, act, or cope” and has been praised in online outlets for promoting Autism Awareness Month.
Is there a chance of self-misdiagnosis? Absolutely. But the normalization of mental illness and disability on the app is one of its greatest triumphs (versus some of its more mean-spirited content). Young people are now talking about overstimulation, ticks, and personality disorders without assigning them the cultural stigma they’ve carried since their clinical recognition.
The app is ever-evolving, meeting the culture where it is on any given day. It doesn’t rely on a manual full of terms that psychiatrists continually reinvent or find to be inaccurate descriptors. Guess we’ll have to wait for the DSM-6 for updates there!
How can young people cope when others mock them for self-pathologizing or being “dramatic” or “reactionary?” It’s simple; they can express their dismay at previous generations’ avoidance of mental health topics altogether.
After all, isn’t it better to understand what a good share of the population goes through, even if it turns out we don’t share the same condition?
Perhaps the Tik Tok generation will grow into adults with enhanced empathy or heightened awareness of the range of individuals’ capacities and challenges. After all, hyper-awareness seems better than willful ignorance.
And as a product of the information age, we are no strangers to fact-checking. Introducing young people to new ideas and a broader picture of everyday experiences can only enhance their understanding of the human condition, and therefore, help them grow into more informed, caring adults.