Shocking study on TikTok: "Children can be exposed to suicidal content"
After its publish TikTok has been one of the most used apps of all time with its horizontal short video format but problems continue to occur.
TikTok had previously started trends that resulted in the death of children in some countries. The app, which was criticized by many for this reason, is now subject to more research. Children who sign up for TikTok can quickly become exposed to content about eating disorders and suicide, according to a new study.
Shocking study on TikTok: "Children can be exposed to suicidal content"
In the research conducted at the UK-based Center for Combating Digital Hate, 8 accounts that appear to belong to 13-year-old girls living in the USA, UK, Australia and Canada were opened. Content related to eating disorders and suicide began to be recommended in the "For You" section within three to 30 minutes of accounts joining the platform.
In one of the accounts opened by the researchers, it was stated that the content about suicide was shown within 2.6 minutes, and the content about eating disorders was shown within 8 minutes. According to The New York Times, researchers watched and liked body image and mental health content while using some of these accounts. After that, it was seen that TikTok algorithms suggested similar videos to the accounts in question every 39 seconds. TikTok officials, on the other hand, rejected these claims in the center's research report.
