Why is TikTok so Addictive? Solutions to TikTok Addiction

TikTok, China's most popular video-sharing platform, offers entertainment and fame with various short videos which range from 15 seconds to one minute each. Millions of active users are using this app nowadays. However, the app is so addictive that TikTok addiction among teenagers has become a big concern.

According to Forbes, almost every user spends an average of 50 minutes a day on TikTok. Spending such a long time on a social media app can cause many side effects, although TikTok sometimes offers excellent educational and informative content that can be helpful. If you have the same concern, don't worry; read on to find the solutions we prepared for you.

Part 1. Potential Risks of TikTok Addiction

1. Unable to be focused on class

Excessive use of this social app can make children be addicted to it. They will get more concerned about getting views and likes on their videos instead of paying attention to the lesson. Even though they’re sitting in the class, but what they’re thinking is all about the fancy videos they watched last night on TikTok.

No matter what, if your child is addicted to the app, you need to take action right away, or the situation may get worse.

2. Irregular eating habits

This social app can make children so indulgent that they will forget to eat properly. They won't even respect table manners. Bring their tech devices to the table, open TikTok, then watch these short videos during lunchtime like they did when the first TV arrives at your home. Plus, most of the time, they won't even feel hungry.

This happens because that our brain will signal to our body when the body is hungry, however, if the brain is busy signaling your child to perform or watch more videos on TikTok, it is obviously not signaling hunger. This situation can lead your child to many other serious medical problems.

3. Less or no interaction with family members

Tech devices will run out of kids’ energy and cause them to be unwilling to talk with others even their parents. Usually, they will share their daily routine with their parents, but nowadays, all they want maybe your consent to watch one more TikTok video. And when it comes to the weekend, you may see your kids sitting in the room all the time with one tech device in their hands.

4. Online Predators

Social Media Apps like TikTok can easily be used by predators to contact teenagers since the app makes it convenient for strangers to find kids and message them. Anyone could sign up for a TikTok account, there isn’t any restriction. And it’s unable to know their real status, age, or even gender. As reports say, the online predator would set a date to meet the kids as a friend, then do something that may harm them.

5. Lose Self Confidence

Spending much time with online friends instead of partners in real-life could make your child be isolated from the outside world. And a large number of fancy videos posted in TikTok could cause appearance anxiety. According to the report released by the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons (ASPS) in 2020, nearly 230,000 cosmetic surgeries and nearly 140,000 non-invasive cosmetic procedures were performed on teenagers ages 13-19.

Part 2. How to Overcome TikTok Addiction?

To help your kids overcome TikTok addiction, you could make use of TikTok’s parental control features which could help parents limit, control, and monitor their kids’ TikTok activities.

Here are the steps to set Parental Pairing:

Step 1. Open TikTok on both phones.

Step 2. Click on profile, press settings (press the "..." button in the upper right corner).

Step 3. Scroll down until you select Digital Wellbeing

Step 4. Click on Family Pairing and choose whether you are an adult or a teenager.

Step 5. Scan a QR code from your child's phone to link the accounts.

Step 6. Now you can access password-protected security features.

You also could set up TikTok restricted mode:

Step 1. Open the TikTok app on your teen's device.

Step 2. Go to profile, then head to settings (it's the "..." button in the corner).

Step 3. Scroll down to Digital Wellbeing.

Step 4. Select Restricted Mode.

Step 5. Tap "Turn on Restricted Mode".

Step 6. Set and confirm a passcode.

To turn off the restricted mode, you just need to repeat the steps, then tap "Turn off Restricted Mode"

Part 3. Wondershare FamiSafe—Help your kids get rid of TikTok addiction

Another solution to help your kids get rid of TikTok addiction is to use the Parental Control app. FamiSafe is the most reliable parental control app that could help parents keep an eye on their children's online activity. With this app, you don’t need to worry that your kids would turn off TikTok family pairing or restricted mode without your knowledge. Not only this, FamiSafe enables parents to set a screen time limit on TikTok and the device. If the kids are trying to access TikTok during homework time, parents can block the app instantly to prevent kids from openning the app.

If you are interested in it, check the following video to see how to set parental control on TikTok with FamiSafe.

Here are the text steps to register FamiSafe:

Step 1. Download it from Google Play or App Store.

Step 2. Launch it on your mobile device, and you will be directed to the registration page.

Step 3. Follow the instructions to finish the sign-in process

Step 4. Once you’ve completed, now you could view your child's phone usage details by simply clicking the START button.

Step 5. You will see a pairing code on your child's device, enter it on your mobile and connect with your child's device.

Activity Report:

With this feature, you could monitor your kids’ phones and get details about their phone activities like how much time they’ve spent on TikTok. It could help you check the daily phone usage details in a timeline format and provide information about when and what apps are used, or which websites are visited. In this way, you could know the usage frequency of TikTok on your kids’ devices.

App Blocker:

This feature will help you block unwanted applications on your kids' devices or limit their obsessive use. You could block apps by age ratings or block FamiSafe-supported app's internet. With this feature, you could set daily or weekly time limits for the apps and will receive alerts when kids try to open blocked apps.

Screen Time:

This feature will allow you to set a scheduled screen time for TikTok on your kids’ device. Once you noticed that they’ve spent much time on TikTok, you could block it, even all apps with one tap. Also, you could set specific screen time for weekdays or weekends. You could choose an age rating to be allowed all the time. Set the duration and track the child's app usage details. In addition, you could block unwanted games or apps on their devices while setting a smart schedule.

Apart from using TikTok Parent Pairing and Parental Control App to control, there are also a few things that could help your child get rid of TikTok addiction.

• Develop kids’ habits, dancing, swimming, painting, or cycling to distract them from tech devices.
• Spend more time communicating with your kids to know more about them.
• Learn what your kids are interested in like TikTok to make them believe that your concerns are reasonable. If you happen to be a TikTok beginner, we’ve prepared a TikTok user guide for you as well that could make you know more about this video-sharing app.

Part 4. Bottom Line

Overall, TikTok is a good app, but it would extract kids' energy if they get addicted to it. You have to be very careful when they start using it excessively. Either turn it away from use or use privacy settings or an app such as FamiSafe to monitor your child's activity.

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