By Silje Pileberg

“Brain rot” and scrolling until their eyes get sore. Is TikTok ruining today's youth? Not at all, says Emilie Owens, researcher at the University of Oslo.

How does the social media platform TikTok affect teenagers' behaviour? And how does it shape their lives? These are the questions Emilie Owens seeks to answer in her doctoral thesis.

“My goal has been to get to know teenagers and their phones. I wanted to be in the room with them,” says Owens, who is a doctoral research fellow in media studies at the University of Oslo.

Her curiosity is a reaction to the negative attitude many adults have towards TikTok, she explains.

“I too am critical of the commercial aspects of the platform. But I try to see it from another perspective as well. Teenagers in my research say that TikTok makes them happy and provides comfort. They also see it as a social activity.”

No significant gender differences

Over a seven-month period, Owens visited a class at an international high school in Oslo. She did her best to make sure the students could relax and go about their normal teenage lives during her visits.

Sometimes she assigned tasks – such as finding images on TikTok or creating their own to share. She did not just want to talk to the teenagers; she wanted to see them in action.

“I thought I would see gender differences in the way boys and girls use TikTok. That was true to some extent, but not as much as I had thought,” she says.

A small subgroup of boys engaged more with sarcastic, political, and controversial topics, while the majority of the class mostly watched funny memes, quirky content, or educational content.

Russian women explaining maths

“I was surprised by how much they said they learned from TikTok. Some even felt it was easier to understand people on TikTok than their own teachers,” Owens says.

A 16-year-old girl put it this way:

“All of these controversies going on? There's always someone explaining it there. Or I have actually seen Russian ladies, like, describe math to me, and I understand it.”

A 17-year-old boy thought that the best part about TikTok is the short videos:

“The best thing with TikTok is: because the videos are short, they just go straight to the point without any explanation. So you just get the main info and things, which is better for me, at least.”

A lens through which to see the world

The teenagers also discussed various ways in which they use TikTok. Sometimes they watch while waiting for the bus or for dinner to heat up. Other times, they use it together with others – looking at each other's phones and sharing videos with one another.

“In such cases, TikTok becomes a social focal point, a kind of lens through which they can see the world together,” says Owens.

Some also found it challenging to communicate with people who do not use TikTok.

“I think TikTok can be a great way to bridge divides, such as in an international class with students from different countries. It provides common reference points,” Owens explains.

Eye strain after twelve hours

A few mentioned that they did not like TikTok and preferred using YouTube, as they felt they learned more from it. Others said that they delete TikTok for three to four weeks when they have a lot of schoolwork.

“One person said that after twelve hours, your eyes get sore. I'm not sure if she actually used it for that long, but it gives an idea of how it feels. Teenagers are well aware that this isn’t good when it happens, and they don't like it.”

The teenagers felt that TikTok could be both good and bad for them. This also applied to the content.

“If you follow the… I won't say the right type of people, but if you follow a certain type of people, it can be motivating. But if you follow a certain group of people, it can be very demotivating as well.” said a 16-year-old boy.

The word “brain rot” was also something the teenagers used to jokingly explain that the content on TikTok can be so silly that it makes your brain go rotten. As a term, it is not meant to be taken literally, writes Owens in a piece on psyche.co about TikTok and “brain rot”.

Growing up in a customised world

One day, today's teenagers will become adults. What will it have meant for them to have had TikTok when they were young? This is something Owens has asked herself.

“It certainly gives them a more customised world. They learn to expect things to be the way they want them, and if they don't like something, they can watch something else instead. I don't know what this means yet, but I think it could be interesting to explore the consequences.”

In terms of the parents, Owens points to another researcher at the University of Oslo, Professor Elisabeth Staksrud, who has conducted a lot of research on the parents of today's youth. Staksrud recommends that they get involved in their teenagers' lives.

“It's probably wise to be realistic. Young people use social media now, and it's an important part of their lives. Approach it as you would any other issue in a teenager's life. Ask them what's happening and show that you care,” advises Emilie Owens.