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FACT BRIEF

Is TikTok usage linked to anxiety, depression and suicide?

By Tom Kertscher
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YES

Research has linked use of the video-sharing platform TikTok to anxiety, depression and suicide.

The Center for Countering Digital Hate created TikTok accounts that paused briefly on videos about body image and mental health, and liked them; within 2.6 minutes, TikTok recommended suicide-related content.

Amnesty International found that children who show an interest in mental health are drawn into “rabbit holes of potentially harmful content, including videos that romanticize and encourage depressive thinking, self-harm and suicide.”

One study analyzed TikTok videos hashtagged #mentalhealth; almost half “reported or expressed symptoms of mental distress.” Another found a tendency to repeatedly expose users to content that could harm their mental health.

A study cited by New York University social media researcher Jonathan Haidt found that asking people to stop using Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok for one week improves well-being, depression and anxiety.

TikTok says it has more than 150 million U.S. users.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Bloomberg Businessweek TikTok’s Algorithm Keeps Pushing Suicide to Vulnerable Kids
counterhate.com Deadly By Design: TikTok pushes harmful content promoting eating disorders and self-harm into young users’ feeds
JMIR Formative Research Deconstructing TikTok Videos on Mental Health: Cross-sectional, Descriptive Content Analysis
University of Minnesota How is TikTok affecting our mental health? It’s complicated, new U of M study shows
TikTok Celebrating our thriving community of 150 million Americans
Amnesty International Driven into Darkness
Google Docs Social Media and Mental Health: A Collaborative Review
Mary Ann Liebert Inc. Taking a One-Week Break from Social Media Improves Well-Being, Depression, and Anxiety: A Randomized Controlled Trial
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.