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CENTRAL ARGUMENT:  Discussing personal stories of mental distress, symptoms of mental disorders, or poor mental health habits can be harmful to both the content creators and the viewers

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CENTRAL ARGUMENT:  Discussing personal stories of mental distress, symptoms of mental disorders, or poor mental health habits can be harmful to both the content creators and the viewers

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After seeing videos that relate to their symptoms, viewers have reported being diagnosed by medical professionals on TikTok. Social media drives relatability, so users are inclined to jump to whatever measures that ensure they feel as "part of the community". This encourages the false overgeneralization of mental disorders.

"..while the prevalence of the #ADHD hashtag has brought increased awareness of the condition, experts have warned of unintended negative effects, including medical misinformation" (Paul 4).

Hashtags and virality will contribute to the spread of medical misinformation on the platform, which gives rise to further dangers for viewers and how they go about life outside of the media.

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Self-diagnosing is an issue as it spreads medical misinformation, overlooks underlying issues, and may manifest symptoms of a condition that one does not actually have. Additionally, when a large amount of people falsely self-diagnose, it over-glamorizes the disorder, potentially invalidating those who truly struggle with it.

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HARMFUL TO CONTENT CREATORS OF THESE VIDEOS

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HARMFUL TO CONTENT CREATORS OF THESE VIDEOS

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Vulnerability contributes to additional trauma

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Vulnerability contributes to additional trauma

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TikTok encourages the concept of a “Platform Spirit” or the process of “‘posting very loudly about very intimate and intense things,’” further encouraging people “‘to be vulnerable to fit that spirit’” (Paul 5).

-TikTok's way of getting users hooked is encouraging vulnerability. It adds to sense of community and belonging. However, the people that you are interacting with are strangers, so it can be more harmful than intended. This ultimate displayed vulnerability can result in using humor and irony to share devastating stories, which are not always healthy coping mechanisms.

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"'..disclosing abuse or mental health issues can be traumatic and harmful,'"..."'In clinical work..there is a safety net to catch them. And that does not exist in a social media environment'" (Paul 6).

-Social media, particularly TikTok, does not guarentee a network of support when displaying content to complete strangers. This can be unexpected and harmful to those who expect support, potentially leading them to draw conclusions of not being cared about when in reality the community as a whole is an illusion.

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Viral TikTok videos are typically displayed to users that are unfamiliar to you, which may lead to demanding or harmful comments as a result of the anonymity, and contribute to additional trauma for the victim.

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"Studies show that when chronological feeds are discarded in favor of suggested content, the algorithm frequently gives rise to more extreme views" (Paul 3).

The TikTok algorithm, known as the "For You Page" optimizes videos and presents extreme “relatable” content/views, encouraging users to share them. The app is able to optimize its content, giving rise to more extreme views with this type of algorithm, different from other social media platforms. When this comes to discussions around mental illness, "emotional nudges" will begin to pile up that impact the mental state of users. The algorithm pushing these extreme discussions on those who are not necessarily ready is contributing to the harmfulness.

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"Most computing is not trauma informed, and when social media is not trauma informed it can exacerbate trauma"..."When I look at social media, the question is...how do mental health issues you already have get exacerbated by its design" (Paul 6)

Social media is currently making mental devastation worse as the algorithm is not educated on the impacts. Programming algorithms about trauma and its potential dangers may combat the issue of displaying content to viewers who are mentally impacted by viewing it.