TikTok has become one of the most popular social media platforms in the world, and people are spending more time than ever scrolling on the app. TikTok is known for their short and sweet videos. When you’re on the app, you can casually scroll through hundreds of videos in a matter of minutes if you wanted to. Attention spans are on the decline, any user of the app will admit how it can sweep you in to the unlimited amounts of videos, ranging from cooking one second, to cats the next. “Although we don’t yet have longitudinal research, there is no question that TikTok affects the brain, and children’s brains are still developing into their early to mid-20s,” said Jessica Griffin in Verywell.

The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain in which attention, impulse inhibition, and memory are focused. This part of the brain is not fully developed until about the age of 25. Several existing studies proove that technology in general can and does harm young people’s impulse control and the ability to value delayed gratification. This is what keeps you scrolling endlessly until your fingers lose circulation. 

“Short videos, like candy, provide a rush of dopamine, a feel-good chemical that’s released in the pleasure center in our brains,” Griffin said. “That rush often leaves you wanting more—like kids in a candy store.” This makes it harder for people, especially teens, to step away from the app and highly challenging for them to transition to more productive activities. I can speak for this firsthand, there have been countless times when I have several assignments I need to get done, but I catch myself needing to lay in bed to scroll through tik tok first. It’s addicting, it’s relieving, like a drug almost. It helps me focus on something, many things at that, and it gives me useful information, why could that be so bad?