TikTok Is Hurting Our Kids—And It’s Far Worse Than We Thought

Forget everything you’ve heard about social media being bad for kids. TikTok is on a completely different level, and here’s the truth that no one’s talking about: they knew it all along.

This isn’t a vague “social media is bad for mental health” argument. This is an app meticulously engineered to keep kids addicted, and the company behind it was fully aware of the damage it would cause.

Recent revelations from a lawsuit expose that TikTok’s executives knew their platform was harming children—eroding their ability to focus, empathise, and engage with the world around them. And instead of taking action, they made a calculated decision to do nothing. The goal? Keep kids hooked, no matter the cost to their mental and emotional well-being.

As someone who has been involved in digital marketing and cyber security for two decades, I understand how these platforms are built. TikTok isn’t just another app; it’s designed to trap users in an endless loop of content consumption while tracking their every move.

I’ve personally never had a TikTok account, and I never will, and I’ve always advised against it —both for professional and personal use. However, professional life aside, as a father to two young boys, and after seeing the stark evidence from this recent lawsuit , I can confidently say that?this app has no place in any child’s life.

The Reality: What TikTok Knows About Its Impact

Internal documents from TikTok , which surfaced during a two-year lawsuit, have shown that the company has been aware of its app’s detrimental effects on young users for years. The lawsuit revealed that TikTok’s goal was to hook kids, even though they knew the risks. The app’s compulsive usage was found to correlate with alarming mental health issues:

• Decreased memory
• Lack of empathy
• Reduced analytical skills, and
• Increased anxiety.

What’s most disturbing is that the addictive nature of TikTok isn’t an unintended consequence—it’s a core part of the platform’s design. The app’s algorithm is masterfully crafted to keep users engaged, feeding them content that pushes them deeper into the cycle of endless scrolling. Within just 35 minutes , kids can be hooked, and the consequences are staggering: heightened anxiety, loss of focus, and, in extreme cases, it has been linked to an increased risk of suicide.

Mental Health Crisis: A Generation at Risk

The mental health crisis among young people is no secret, and social media platforms like TikTok are accelerating it. Teens and children are particularly vulnerable to the app’s content, which promotes not only addictive behaviours but also harmful ideas. TikTok’s algorithm actively pushes content that exacerbates feelings of inadequacy, depression, and anxiety—whether it’s unrealistic beauty standards, dangerous viral challenges, or polarising, emotionally charged videos.

Imagine a generation of kids who are losing their ability to think critically, empathise with others, or even have meaningful conversations—all because of the compulsive, mind-numbing content they’re consuming on TikTok. It’s more than just wasting time; it’s reshaping the way they think and feel, with devastating long-term consequences.

Addiction by Design: 35 Minutes to Hook a Child

TikTok’s own research shows that users—particularly children—can become addicted to the platform in as little as 35 minutes.

In that short span, they can watch hundreds of short, dopamine-triggering videos. This rapid-fire content is designed to keep users coming back for more, and for kids, this often leads to hours of mindless scrolling. This behaviour isn’t just bad for mental health—it affects physical health, too, by disrupting sleep patterns, reducing attention spans, and increasing irritability.

These aren’t just abstract concerns; they’re impacting real lives. Parents have reported a direct link between their child’s TikTok use and declining mental health, and, tragically, there are cases where this has led to self-harm or suicide. When children spend hours immersed in an app that encourages comparison, judgement, and superficiality, the effects are far-reaching.

A Platform That Knew—And Did Nothing

One of the most shocking aspects of the TikTok revelations is that the company knew all of this. They knew their platform was harming kids, and they did nothing to change it. Instead, they doubled down on features designed to keep children glued to their screens. And while TikTok spends millions on PR campaigns to paint itself as a fun, creative outlet, the truth is much darker.

TikTok isn’t just a distraction—it’s a platform that is actively shaping the minds of our children in harmful ways. And for what? Engagement, profit, and the endless pursuit of growth at the expense of their most vulnerable users.

Protecting Our Children

Parents, we need to wake up to what’s really happening here. TikTok isn’t just another social media app. It’s a machine built to exploit vulnerabilities, to keep our children glued to their screens with little regard for the long-term consequences. We can’t afford to ignore the risks any longer. The time to act is now, before the damage becomes irreversible.

As a digital marketer, I understand the allure of quick engagement and viral content, but we need to ask ourselves—at what cost? The real cost of TikTok isn’t clicks, views, or likes. The real cost is our children’s future, their ability to think critically, to empathise, to grow into healthy, well-rounded individuals. We owe it to them to protect that future, no matter how tempting the platform may be.