TikTok’s damaging effect on children’s attention span

Psychologists have discovered a grim Tiktok impact on kids’ brain functions with some young children now unable to watch a movie or read a book in full length.

Time is ticking on the attention-span of young people.

Children and teens are becoming hooked on short video services like TikTok in search for cheap thrills and a speedy dose of dopamine.

Yet despite the quick hit, these platforms are swallowing up kids’ attention, making it harder for young ones to watch a movie or read a book in full length, health experts say.

Child psychiatrist and author Tanveer Ahmed has had an increasing number of parents approach him because they were worried about their child’s attention span — and how it is being impacted by apps like TikTok.

It’s definitely the case, we should be worried … it’s growing harder and harder to engage kids in longer form narratives (like books or movies) or sustained conversation,” Mr Ahmed said.

Psychiatrist and author Tanveer Ahmed.

“The key risk with TikTok, because it appeals to younger kids, is they’re psychologically unsophisticated and need stronger boundaries from parents otherwise they’ll likely get over-engaged and addicted to it.”

He added: “Their capacity for slow, or spontaneous, developing interactions is potentially at risk. If TikTok is one part of their social interaction … It’s fine, but when it replaces physical healthy social interactions, it’s not good.”

Mr Ahmed suggested setting time limits for TikTok use for kids. Picture: istock

It follows a 2021 study by Chinese researchers on a similar app called Douyin, which found the personalised videos the app’s recommendation engine shows activate the reward centre in a user’s brain.

By scanning the brains of young college students, researchers found areas of grey matter involved in addiction were highly activated in those who watched videos personalised for them through Douyin.

The research also found some struggled to stop watching.

“We speculate that individuals with lower self-control ability have more difficulty shifting attention away from favourite video stimulation,” the researchers at China’s Zhejiang University wrote.

Children and teens are becoming hooked on short video services like TikTok. Photo: Tolga Akmen/AFP

Psychologist Professor Dianna Kenny said TikTok had clear “brain impacts” on young people.

“It’s a seductive medium … young people can become addicted to these platforms because of the affect it has on the brain’s activity and the release of endorphins and dopamine and other hormones that enhance mood,” she said.

Mr Ahmed suggested setting time limits for TikTok use for kids or making time online a shared activity.

“Apps like TikTok are fine in small doses … but consider doing it with them, that’s the modern challenge for parents, how can we make the screen more of a shared experience,” he said.

“Find the balance of letting them have (social media) but then get them out having physical and social interactions too.”