TikTok offers belonging to people with mental illnesses, but a University of Minnesota study found that the popular social media app can be a "runaway train" of distressing videos based on how it picks content.
Detailed interviews of 16 TikTok users confirmed the suspicions of U computer scientists: The app's algorithm can draw people together around videos they find interesting, fostering community, but it can do damage if it force-feeds content that increases anxiety.
"Users are along for the algorithmic ride with little ability to affect what the train is doing," they reported. "The train takes them to places they may not themselves want to be about their own past experiences and traumatic events, yet they cannot stop seeing it without a complete cessation of app use."
