Social Media and Addiction: The Unhealthy Use of TikTok

By Camille Clement

Are we addicted to TikTok? When the app shut down for a month in early 2025, I thought my world had ended. By deleting the app, I felt removed from all forms of civilization, and I believed nothing could fill the void TikTok had left. I remember my fingertips automatically searching for the app as if out of habit. For someone with an average daily screen time of 6 hours, that was the longest month of my life.

Since the start of COVID-19, social media use by adolescents has skyrocketed (1). Spending more time indoors, apps like TikTok seemed like a way to connect with others during the pandemic. Nevertheless, high amounts of screen time are linked to detrimental health concerns (1).

This results from social media’s addictive nature. According to the Brown Undergraduate Journal of Public Health, the “like” feature of social media models reward-based learning and positive feedback loops that are associated with dopaminergic release and habit-forming behavior (2). Comparable to a drug addiction, this process has long-term effects that involve compulsive behavior, and it functionally alters the brain’s reward and stress pathways (3).

But is addiction the correct term to describe my relationship with TikTok? I struggled to adjust to its absence, but not in the same ways I think of an individual suffering from substance abuse. I don’t recall physical distress from withdrawals or ignoring my other responsibilities (4). It seems that society misuses the word addiction when describing these sorts of behavior.

The Journal of the Missouri State Medical Association finds that although we colloquially use “addiction” to talk about things like binge-watching Netflix or liking certain smells, ultimately the term is categorized by “tolerance, cravings, withdrawal, and greater amount consumed than intended,” alongside physical and social dangers (4). Based on this article, my use of TikTok fits more along the lines of “unhealthy use” rather than a full-scale addiction like some individuals refer to it as.

With that being said, the overuse of TikTok still has harmful effects on app users. According to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Montreal and the University of New South Wales, there is an association between symptoms of depression and social media and television use among adolescents (5). Does this mean that apps like TikTok have been proven to cause mental health disorders? Not necessarily. Correlation does not mean causation as the overuse of social media could be a result of mental health, and it serves as a way for individuals to feel more connected and supported (4).

My experience on TikTok does just that. It’s an outlet for my creativity and a way to step away from stress. I can catch up with friends from home or share funny videos with loved ones. Of course, there are times when I’m scrolling instead of studying, but with limited use, the app can serve beneficial purposes.

According to NPR, the owners of TikTok calculated that the app can become “addictive” in under 35 minutes (6). With this, the app has built-in screen time features that undermine unhealthy habits and promote lowering social media usage (6). Although these features were deemed to have little impact on screen time, it’s apparent that the overuse of social media is in the hands of the user (6).

Families of young children can monitor behaviors, and adults can decide for themselves how much social media is too much using these features. In the same light, social media is used for different purposes. Some individuals prefer educational content and benefit from TikTok’s “For You Page” function that utilizes an algorithm to fit one’s interests (2).

Social media overuse is not inherently an addiction but more of an outlet for positive behavior like learning and connecting with others. When I think of the benefits of TikTok use in addition to the true definition of addiction, I feel less shame for the time I spend scrolling. Post-COVID-19, social media has become an integral part of our society that only seems to keep growing in value.

1. Vanderloo, Leigh M. et. al. “Applying Harm Reduction Principles to Address Screen Time in Young Children Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, pp. 335–336, June 2020. doi:10.1097/DBP.0000000000000825.
2. Petrillo, Sophia. “What Makes TikTok so Addictive?: An Analysis of the Mechanisms Underlying the World’s Latest Social Media Craze.” Brown Undergraduate Journal of Public Health. 13 Dec. 2021. sites.brown.edu/publichealthjournal/2021/12/13/tiktok/.
3. NIDA. “Drugs and the Brain.” National Institute on Drug Abuse, 6 July 2020, nida.nih.gov/publications/drugs-brains-behavior-science-addiction/drugs-brain.
4. Xu, Kevin Y et al. “Screen Use and Social Media ‘Addiction’ in the Era of TikTok: What Generalists Should Know.” Missouri medicine vol. 120,6 (2023): 440–445. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10743327/.
5. Boers E, Afzali et. al. “Association of Screen Time and Depression in Adolescence.” JAMA Pediatrics. 2019; 173(9): 853–859. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.1759.
6. Allyn, Bobby et. al. “TikTok executives know about app’s effect on teens, lawsuit documents allege.” NPR, 11 Oct. 2024. npr.org/2024/10/11/g-s1–27676/tiktok-redacted-documents-in-teen-safety-lawsuit-revealed.