Mental Health And Tik Tok
Title Story
Faryal'S Mother Is Quite Concerned About Her Future Because She Was Unable To Earn Decent Scores For Her A Levels. She Sits Outside A Private Hospital's Psychiatry Department With Her Daughter And Expresses Worry, Saying, "I Don't Think She Will Be Admitted To Any Renowned Universities With No A Grades. She Failed The IBA Entrance Exam Because She Is Constantly Forgetful And, In My Opinion, Has Lost Interest In Her Studies. She Solely Cares About Making Tiktok Videos, Dressing Up, And Going Out With Pals. I Was Instructed To Take My Coworker To See A Psychologist. I Hope They Can Inspire Her To Continue Her Studies.
There Are Many Parents Nowadays Who, Like Faryal's Mother, Are Not Pleased With Their Kids Spending All Of Their Time On Social Media At The Expense Of Their Health And Education. Faryal Is Fortunate That Her Mother Is Making Efforts To Assist Her And Can Also Afford Medical Care, But Not Every Young Person Has This Opportunity. Tiktok Is Currently The Most Popular Site For Teenagers And Young People, With More Than One Billion Active Users. There Is No Doubting That Tiktok Has Contributed Positively To The Dissemination Of Important Messages On Issues Like Racism, Body Positivity, And Self-Confidence, But Most Parents Are Concerned About The App's Deceptive And Addictive Character.
Us Spoke With Farheen Shaheen, A Clinical Psychologist At The Brain Clinic, To Uncover How Youths' Mental Health Is Being Negatively Impacted By Their Excessive Usage Of Social Media Platforms Like Tiktok And What Adults Can Do To Help.
Why Is Tiktok Dangerous For Young People?
I'll Start Off By Noting How Fantastic Tiktok Has Been As A Global Source Of Entertainment And Connection Before Discussing How It Negatively Impacts People. It Gives Young People An Incredible Platform For Self-Expression And Increases Their Self-Esteem. We All Recall How Social Media During The Covid Era Assisted People In Overcoming Feelings Of Isolation And Sadness. In Reality, Many People Made A Job By Posting Reels And Movies To Tiktok On Instagram. Unfortunately, It Appears That Humans Are Predisposed To Negativity; Terrible Things Seem To Have A Bigger Impact On Us Than Happy Ones. Due To Tiktok's Simple Accessibility And Limitless Content Generation, Young People Have Developed An Addiction To Video Watching That Causes Them To Waste The Majority Of Their Valuable Time. Our Brains Become Numbed As A Result Of This Continual Scrolling Since There Is So Much Information To Comprehend.
Researchers Advise Two Hours Of Recreational Screen Time For Children And Teens, But In The Post-Covid Period, When Things Are Virtually Back To Normal, We Only Advise One Hour.
All Of The Spare Time That Children Have Is Spent On Their Phones. Physical Activity, Which Is Essential For Preserving Their Mental Health, Is Therefore Absent. Additionally, The Amount Of Face-To-Face Engagement With Others Is Declining, Which Makes Young People Feel Lonely. Online Chats Can't Totally Take The Role Of Real Talks.
Tiktok Encourages Narcissism
You Publish Information On Social Media For Other Users To See, Therefore You Must Rely On Likes, Comments, And Shares To Gauge Your Success. If You Closely Examine The Videos On Tiktok, You Will Notice That Young People Are Preoccupied With Their Beauty Or Public Perception. Young Tiktokers Typically Use Filters To Look Flawless; Their Videos Only Feature Face Transformations; They Are Obsessed With Showing Off Their Wealth By Creating "Try On Haul" Videos; They Create Videos Where Their Partner Is Overly Affectionate, And They Create Videos Of Themselves Working Out In The Gym And Looking Fit In Their Athletic Gear. Most Popular Videos Tend To In Some Way Or Another Promote Self-Obsession. All Of These Factors Contribute To The Emergence Of Narcissism, A Personality Disorder Characterised By "People Having An Exaggerated Sense Of Their Own Importance, A Profound Need For Excessive Attention And Admiration, Difficult Relationships, And A Lack Of Empathy For Others."
Cyberbullying Is A Different Issue
One Of The Worst Types Of Bullying Is Cyberbullying. Due To Unsuitable Content, Tiktok Banned More Than 6 Million Videos From Pakistan In February 2022. The Private Texts Can Also Be Highly Unpleasant For Some People, And The Comments Section Can Become Extremely Poisonous If Bullies Start Writing Derogatory Comments. When Young Individuals Encounter Such Circumstances, They Frequently Sense Anxiety, Discomfort, And A Desire To Avoid Social Interaction. Therefore, You Are More Likely To Experience Bullying If You Use Social Media Excessively.
Anybody Now Has Access To The Private Data You Add To Your Profile. The Information Suggests That Young People Are Easily Bullied Or Played For Fools. We Advise Children Not To Keep Their Profiles Private, Yet They Want To Feel "Loved" And "Accepted" By The Perspectives And Interests Of Other Social Media Users. Even Arbitrary Friend Invitations On Facebook Provide Users A Quick Rush Of Pleasure. Such Children Eventually End Up Being Abused Online. And As We All Know, If Abuse Is Not Appropriately Addressed, It Can Have Long-Term Impacts On Children's Mental Health.
Private Information That You Add To Your Profile Is Now Accessible To Anybody. According To The Data, Young People Are Susceptible To Bullying And Being Taken Advantage Of. Children Want To Feel "Liked" And "Accepted" By The Viewpoints And Interests Of Other Social Media Users, Despite Our Advice To Them Not To Keep Their Profiles Private. Users Get A Brief Jolt Of Pleasure From Even Random Friend Requests On Facebook. These Kids Ultimately Wind Up Being Molested Online. And As We All Know, Child Abuse May Have A Long-Lasting Effect On A Child's Mental Health If It Is Not Properly Addressed.
Risks Of Performing A Self-Diagnosis
On Social Media, Our Kids Are Increasingly Diagnosing Their Own Psychological Issues, Which Is Another Another Risky Trend That Is All Too Widespread These Days. Most Of Our Youth Just Google Their Symptoms And Correctly Diagnose Themselves With A Serious Psychiatric Disorder. We Must Remember That Only A Clinical Evaluation Can Result In An Accurate Diagnosis. Patients Come To Us With Symptoms And Diagnoses Of Sadness And Ocd. Even If It Might Just Be Tension Or Worry, People Self-Diagnose And Use Technical Terminology Without Even Realising What They Mean Based On The Material They Acquire Online. On Tiktok, There Are Videos Of People Who Are Going Through Difficult Times In Their Lives And Documented By Posting Depressing Films In Which They Disclose That They Have Bipolar Disorder Or Depression. Such Videos Are Deceptive Since We Can't Be Sure How Trustworthy People Are. On Social Media, Everything Is Prewritten.
Having Excessive Expectations
Most Of The Patients We See Are Having Problems In Their Marriages. And I've Noticed That The Majority Of Couples Have Inflated Expectations For Marriage. Couples Instinctively Compare Their Relationships To Those Depicted On Social Media, Where People Are Seen Taking Romantic Getaways To Places Like Paris Or The Maldives, Dining At Five-Star Establishments, Marking Milestones Like Birthdays And Anniversaries, And Exchanging Pricey Gifts. This Entire Website Presents A Romanticised View Of Marriage. This Is How Young People Perceive Partnerships To Be. They Are Unaware That It Is Only A Little Portion Of Reality.
There Are Ups And Downs In Healthy Relationships, And They All Require Work, Commitment, And A Readiness To Change.
What Can We Do To Encourage Kids To Use Tiktok Responsibly?
Here, Parental Participation Can Be Quite Beneficial. We Advise Parents And Adults To Spend Quality Time With Their Children Because We Recognise That Most Parents These Days Work Full-Time And Find It Difficult To Spend A Lot Of Time With Them. Talk To Them About Their Classmates And Teachers And Inquire About How Their Day Was. Use Social Media To Interact With Them While Imparting Knowledge To Them.
Share Both Your Positive And Negative Experiences With Them. Just Keep In Mind That Being Too Severe Will Put A Barrier Between You And Your Child. According To The Theory Of Authoritative Parenting, Parents Should Celebrate Their Children's Accomplishments And Offer Them Constructive Criticism When They Make Mistakes.
Additionally, We Need To Help Our Children Realise That Life Isn't Always A Bed Of Roses. The Reality That Social Media Portrays Is Only A Small Portion Of It. Tell Yourself That Everything Is Staged And That Everyone Is Playing Their Parts While You Browse The Reels And Films. This Will Immediately End The General Sense Of Hopelessness Among Young People.
Creating A Routine For Oneself Is A Further Piece Of Advise. A Set Time Should Be Set Aside For Getting Up, Followed By Time For Studying, Working Out, And Accessing Social Media. Your Life Will Appear More Structured If You Do This. You Will Use Social Media More Deliberately The Less Screen Time You Have.
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