By Faten Omar

KUWAIT: With more than a billion users, the social media app TikTok has skyrocketed to prominence. Kuwait's Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA) announced last week that TikTok was the most used app in Kuwait in the first quarter of 2022. Despite its popularity among young people, many have complained about its potential mental, health and social impacts. Kuwait Times spoke with parents, academics and teenagers to learn more.

Nadine Al-Kaouri, a mother of two, told Kuwait Times that her daughter has become addicted to TikTok and spends a long time scrolling the app, which has significantly affected her negatively. "This has become a daily routine for many children and adolescents. It is not only my daughter's problem but also of her friends her age. When I tried to remove the app from her mobile, she took it badly, since her friends were updated with new trends and she was not," Kaouri said.

Teacher Iman Elssadany affirmed that such apps are affecting teenagers in her class. "There are concerns about the effects of TikTok short clips on the level of focus of youngsters. Many students in my class are obsessed with trendy sounds and memes and they use them a lot in class. Observations by parents and teachers have indicated that children's concentration and attention spans are declining, with TikTok and similar apps to blame," she said.

Hatan Fatafta, a 16-year-old, told Kuwait Times that TikTok has affected her adversely. "As a teenager, the time I spend on the app has no meaning. TikTok and its contents are not useful and affect my mind, at a time when I need full focus to study and concentrate on my future and direct on my interests," she said.

"We are addicted because we are teenagers - we want to know what is new, trendy and strange. We do not use books to develop ourselves; we watch clips that make no sense and even if they are wrong. We spend hours watching what that influencer wears, or what is the lifestyle of that TikTok creator. We don't criticize them and copy them blindly without being aware of their negative aspects on the society," she added. Fatafta hopes to uninstall the app for good. "I am still addicted to it. I only delete the app when I want to study for an exam, and redownload it later."

Useful content

TikTok addiction is not only impacting teenagers, but adults too. Omar Yasser said he downloaded TikTok to check what his son was watching, but ended up being addicted to it instead. "I signed up as a joke last month to supposedly just take a quick look, but I did not realize that I spent hours watching dozens of videos," he told Kuwait Times. "I found out TikTok is not just a silly app. There is a lot of useful content that teaches people hobbies and much more. Also, many small business owners are showcasing their products at reasonable prices," he said.

Many academics have advised parents not to try to ban TikTok, but rather teach their children how to use it and limit their usage time, while warning them of its impact on them and directing them to spend their free time in a balanced way. Professor Huda Al-Shuhaibi explained that TikTok has become a space for publishing immoral videos promoting nudity and dancing, and invading the privacy of the home, driving a wedge between spouses and families, to gain followers and search for fame to earn money. She called on parents to be responsible, intervene and carry out their awareness roles to rationalize the use of technology.

She noted that parents can focus on making sure their children are following the right TikTok creators, as there are a lot of talented youth who promote a healthy culture, criticizing attempts to impose guardianship on teenagers to prevent them from expressing their opinions freely.