Social media has taken the world by storm, with TikTok becoming one of the most popular today. Users spend an average of 58 minutes on TikTok every day, and that number is rising every year. Why is TikTok so addictive?
We are going to go over why it seems you end up scrolling on the app throughout your day. Understanding why TikTok is so addictive will help you have a healthier relationship with it while still enjoying it.
What Is TikTok Addiction?
When we refer to TikTok addiction, we are talking about behaviors that result in negative results within life due to spending too much time on the platform.
An addiction to using TikTok involves it taking attention away from something important, such as driving a car. It can also involve feeling anxious if you are not checking to see whether you received any new notifications, or a strong pull to look at notifications if you receive push notifications. Ignoring people who are talking to you because you are deeply focused on scrolling and watching TikTok videos is another sign you may be addicted to the app.
Overall, TikTok addiction involves excessive use of the app to the point where you feel you cannot be alright without being on it. This is the shift where something that could help will hurt.
Why Is TikTok so Addictive?
As with other social media platforms, the never-ending content feeds that are algorithmically curated to your likes and interests are easily addictive. The user-friendly interface makes for sharing and watching videos you might find incredibly easy.
On top of that, all of the extra special features like effects and filters can take up a great deal of your time simply by playing around with them. These features are great for enhancing your creativity but can be overused.
Considered by many to be the most addictive social media app, there are a few key reasons besides the ones mentioned above that lead to TikTok being addictive:
Creates a Sense of Community
Connecting with friends, influencers, and brands allows for sharing and seeing passions you are excited about, resulting in close-knight community bonds forming.
Produces Highly-engaging Content
Given how saturated TikTok is, there is intense competition by creators vying for users’ attention, resulting in increasingly more exciting, creative, and engaging content that hooks viewers.
Leads to a Dopamine Feedback Loop
The more likes, comments, and messages you get, the more dopamine hits you receive, leading to a positive reinforcement loop that keeps you creating new content and checking for new notifications.
Reinforces the Need for Validation
Feeling appreciated and validated is a major pull for users, especially when coupled with them having a possibility of going viral and blowing up on TikTok, with this race to get trending keeping creators on the app and making new content.
Infinite Scroll and Autoplay Keep Your Attention
The infinite scrolling and auto-playing of videos leads to an endless stream of content. Before you know it, you may have had an hour go by and you did not even realize it. These two features have proven to be exceptionally effective at keeping users on the app.
A Highly-personalized Feed Knows What You Like
TikTok’s algorithm has been tweaked to perfection, ensuring users see content that is relevant to their current interests. Thanks to several different data points, the algorithm is able to show videos that are the most likely to keep users scrolling for as long as possible.
Short-form Content Leads to a “just One More” Mentality
Short-form videos have separated TikTok from other social media platforms that came before it. The viral and addictive nature of quick videos is due to users feeling they are only investing a small amount of their time into it.
Conclusion
Now that you know the answer to the common question “Why is TikTok so addictive?” you may notice yourself falling into some of the behavior patterns above. Seeing engagement on your videos and viewing content you enjoy in your feed are both highly rewarding feelings. However, it is a good idea to consider how much you are on TikTok and find a healthy balance so that you can continue to enjoy the app without it having a negative effect on you.
