TikTok Takes Care of Teens Mental Health

Social media has a tremendous impact on users, especially teenagers. Moreover, experts often assess this impact as unfavorable. This is why large companies strive to make their products more secure and introduce supportive services that help protect customers from psychological issues.

This week, TikTok announced new features aimed at preventing suicide and identifying users in need of professional help. For it, in particular, they implemented various well-being manuals and guides for those suffering from eating disorders. Moreover, the updated search function is of particular interest. If users look for content using suspicious hashtags like #suicide, they will be redirected to psychological support resources (e.g., a Crisis Text Line).

These innovations are timed to coincide with the National Suicide Prevention Week. Also, TikTok generally does not allow content depicting or promoting suicide, self-harm, or eating disorders. At the same time, the platform actively supports users who share their own experiences to draw attention to certain issues and help those who find themselves in difficult life situations.

Earlier, the Wall Street Journal published a report in which it severely criticized Facebook because their Instagram has a devastating effect on users in certain situations. Moreover, the company itself has repeatedly confirmed these findings. American lawmakers believe that Facebook representatives are unable to deal with the existing problem.

Recall that according to last year's report, TikTok overtook Instagram in its popularity among teens (Snapchat was only slightly ahead and took the first place). As we can see, this service is currently doing more to fight the psychological problems of users. Share your thoughts on the new feature in the comments. Do you find it useful?