Benefits of TikTok for Teens (Free Essay Sample)

Countless hours are spent mindlessly scrolling through TikTok’s endless number of videos by kids, teenagers, and (though they would hate to admit it) adults. Despite what parents may say about TikTok rotting young minds, in some ways the trendy social media platform can actually be valuable to developing teens. For starters, the app has a great amount of imagination and cheerfulness that is inspiring to teens. Also, because the app has unlimited content, teens can stay updated about practically anything. TikTok, with its faults, teaches teens how to research topics for themselves, as well. Thus, TikTok is beneficial to teens because of the app’s original take on creativity and self-expression, as well as its immense popularity.

To begin, most of TikTok’s biggest and most well-known trends and videos promote and encourage creativity and positivity. With the app’s biggest hits being centered around such a wide range of topics such as makeup, dance, music, art, video editing, and visual illusions, it is safe to say that the platform provides fuel for the imagination. With this diversity of content, young minds are able to see the types of fun, imaginative things that their favorite content creators can make. This then inspires teens to make their own art, dance, music, or really any they want, and gives them an outlet to express themselves. Also, a great deal of TikTok’s trends, such as the “Every Morning” trend where users post the best part of their morning every morning, promote positivity. These trends are such great ways to spread positivity in immensely innovative ways, that draw in youth, and can cause all participants to receive and spread joy. Conclusively, TikTok is promising to teenagers because of its content’s imagination and enthusiasm.

In addition, the app’s wide spectrum of content and viewers also is an important factor in how it is beneficial to teenagers. With over 1 billion users from over 150 countries, TikTok has no lack of content, and no lack of media diversity. With this immense amount of variety, teens can always stay informed with any type of media, whether that be social updates from friends, or national updates from news resources. This is great because through TikTok, teenagers have a way of understanding the world, news, and situations through current events. Consequently, again, because of the wide array of content that can virtually be about any topic, algorithms are set in place to make sure that users consume media that is targeted towards them. This means that teens will see videos for people their age, so media such as information on test preparation, college tours, scheduling tips, or any other well-needed information will come up while they scroll through their feed. This can seriously help a teen make a big decision such as where to go to college, or what career path they want to pursue, and how to prepare for it. In summary, TikTok’s outreach and diverse content can be substantially useful for teenagers.

Conversely, a big concern for teenagers on TikTok could be the possibility of misinformation. Parents might say that TikTok is harmful to teenagers because not every video is fact-checked, leading to misinformation being spread within the app. Of course, the effects of misinformation are dangerous, and a real thing to be wary of. But, while the saying,“You cannot believe everything you see on the internet,” is true, it should not be taken verbatim. TikTok has numerous guidelines set in place to limit the amount of false information, though these guidelines only catch half of the harmful videos. But, teenagers learning how to determine what is real and what is fake is crucial. Teens being able to fact check for themselves with their parents’ guidance can be a great way to avoid fake news, and it will be beneficial in the long run. Overall, while misinformation is a big issue, it also serves as a learning tool for teens to adapt to.

In the end, TikTok’s implementation of original creativity and diversity of content is incredibly beneficial to teenagers. First, the app’s trends promote ways of self-expression and happiness. Also, the app has such a diverse algorithm that teenagers will always be informed. Then, while TikTok does have some issues with integrity, being able to determine what is true is important for teens anyways. In conclusion, scrolling through TikTok may turn out to be just as fascinating and useful as a day at school!