Can TikTok’s influence have a terrible interference with Timber Creek students?
By Leilani Haile
TikTok is an app for creating and sharing entertaining videos. To navigate the app you must scroll up and down to view a wide range of videos, almost like a feed. Video creators have several tools to produce creative videos at their disposal. The app has taken a liking globally, especially with young adults and pre-teens. The issue with the app is that it is obsessive. Many people have become overly consumed with the app, and it is having a terrible influence among its viewers.
Some students have found TikTok to be a platform that allows them to express themselves in ways they haven’t before. Camila Bernero, a freshman at Timber Creek High School said, “TikTok is fun. I enjoy it because I can see different dance challenges and there is a lot of funny content and videos. I use TikTok wherever I am and I haven’t had a problem with it.” The majority of people as well as Bernero believe that TikTok is an enjoyable app that allows you to make any form of entertainment you please without any cost and it also allows you to follow and view anyone you like to watch. TikTok can give people a voice and has changed the lives of many since it was created.
Although the majority of people enjoy all that comes with TikTok, there are some who find it challenging to do their schoolwork and focus in class. Freshman Reanna Robinson shared an intriguing statement about TikTok that most do not recognize is the reality of the app. Robinson said, “I’ve had TikTok for a while and it’s fun. Although at the same time I struggle with focusing on my academics. I usually stay up late on TikTok some nights or stay up late doing homework and then I am tired when I get to school.” It seems like while TikTok could be an enjoyable app there are many downfalls that come along with it.
Time management is a crucial skill for anyone’s success, especially high school students hoping to excel in school and pursue a fruitful college career. Social media apps have a way of consuming a lot of our time and energy. TikTok in particular requires a little bit more of a time investment than other social media apps. Between editing videos to sync with the latest music to repetitively practicing different dances to keep up with ever-changing trends, TikTok users, especially high school students, spend an exorbitant amount of time curating their TikTok videos. As a result, time and productivity are greatly wasted and the necessary skill of time management (as well as prioritization) is not properly honed.
TikTok is a social media platform that is used to spread and create forms of entertainment for all, but at what cost? Although most high school students find it extremely entertaining and enjoyable, the truth is it serves no educational benefits. If TikTok continues to be used in school, will it come as an advantage to students or will TikTok play as an app that distracts and derails students from productivity, optimal work, and ultimately academic success.
Renegade, Renegade! Freshmen Reanna Robinson and Camila Bernero practice a new TikTok challenge in front of Timber Creek’s Wolf Gallery. “It’s just fun to make hilarious dance videos with my friends,” said Bernero. Photo by Leilani Haile