Nowadays, it’s not longer shocks us to see a teenager spend 3 whole hours on his phone. It shocks us to see a teenager reading a book.
The main question are, why TikTok make us addict ? Why TikTok and not another social media ?
Let me tell you, TikTok is much more than a social media. That’s why we can’t stop.
It all starts very fast. Once you download TikTok, you don’t find yourself exposed to possibilities like YouTube where you can choose what you are going to watch. Here, you don’t have a word about what videos is on your “For you” page. Or you might think so at the beggining. But truly, what TikTok is doing is like a speed-dating, he’s testing your tastes and learning about you.
So here you are, having a date with TikTok. First, the general questions, to do so : they put every type of videos in front of your eyes. What they will observe now, is how you’re acting : how much time are you watching each video, do you like it, do you comment it, do you just watch the comments and interact with others users, do you add it to your favorite, or do you share it ? By -clearly- stalking every actions you’re making on the app, they are now able to propose to you videos that you will watch entirely and that you will like.
In conclusion, the algorithm is so intelligent that it became impossible to ignore it.
I think we can agree that with TikTok, it’s a love at first sight.
But, why our brains are becoming addictive ?
One word : dopamine.
Every time you are enjoying a video of the app, you brain releases a dose of dopamine. A nice sensation, so obviously, you want more. You’re becoming a TikTok soldier, searching for the next video that will offer you that same feeling over and over again. It’s a never ending circle.
It’s a toxing relationship.
Now what ?
You might think that the only risk is to spend too much time on the app. But there is much more than that. In fact, if you’re too addicted, you’re always making your brain wait for his doses of dopamine, and if it starts missing them, it will have an effect on how it treats the information that you received. You will be unable to concentrate or to listen, because your brain will be like in plane mode : information will never land in your brain, it will refuse them, and all you will be able to think about is your next tiktok.
Technology and psychology are better friends than you think.
