The Tourettes Tik-Tok Pandemic

The Tourettes Tik-Tok Pandemic

Jaylee Price, Reporter

Social media has taken over the world for sure- but Tik Tok has a grip on young minds unlike no other. Teens spend over 24 hours a month on Tik Tok watching content alone- when this is added to other social media platform usage statistics, this number gets even more concerning. It is alarmingly high, even spiking above YouTube which is exclusively for watching videos. “Tik Tok Addictions” are becoming more and more common, especially throughout the pandemic. 

However, users report that Tik Tok has significantly changed throughout the pandemic- for the worse. Users say that it used to be a place to connect, do some silly dances, and stay up to date with other’s interests. Now, Tik Tok is full of hate and harmful trends. For example, the rise of “Tic” Toks. These videos alone aren’t harmful. Spreading awareness of tic disorders is important, especially in teens. The real problem is that many teens are faking tic’s to get views, or be “trendy”. This has resulted in a spike of teens getting diagnosed with tourettes- often (but not always) misdiagnoses. 

So, what are “tics”? And Tourettes? To start off with, tics are “sudden, brief, intermittent movements or sounds” (Mayo Clinic). There are different types of tics as well. Motor tics include eye darting, head jerking, blinking, and more complex tic’s such as repeated observed movements. Vocal tics include grunting, coughing, and repetition of words- sometimes vulgar, but not always. It is a false stereotype that tics must be the repetitive usage of vulgar words. Tics are the hallmark symptom of Tourette’s Syndrome. Tourette’s is whenever someone experiences tics so often that they interfere with their quality of life. Diagnosis of Tourettes often requires having tics for more than a year, having more than two motor tics, and the tics not being the result of an underlying condition. They often must be under 18, as w,ell as this syndrome occurs in minors. 

These disorders are very serious, and the misinformation spreading can be very hurtful to those who actually have the disorder. The Tourettes community agrees that Tik Tok has been harmful towards them. Not only are teens faking tics for attention, they are getting misdiagnosed with it after ‘coming down with it’. The influx of girls experiencing tics is not false. They just do not have Tourette’s. 

Over the pandemic, students found themselves locked up with nothing to do. Schools were shut down, most places were closed or required social distancing and had a limit on how many people could be inside the location. Getting out wasn’t exactly safe, nor easy. This led many to just lay around on their phones, on social media such as TikTok. Teen’s screentime jumped to all time highs as they desperately tried to find something to do to avoid a sorta cabin fever. 

This increased time on TikTok is what many doctors say likely caused the influx of teen girls experiencing tic’s. Mental illnesses are not contagious, however symptoms of expression surely are. These tics are not from Tourettes, they are a byproduct of the anxiety, stress, depression, and PTSD, which many felt amplified throughout the pandemic. Tics are very suggestible, which means that the body can experience them easily if experiencing these other disorders. 

Overall, teen girls did not ‘get Tourettes from TikTok,’ they simply picked up a symptom which is part of it from their own mental health struggles. This is a social influence factor. The mental health factors were already present, Covid just brought them to a boiling point where they could no longer be avoided. 

 

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/tourette-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20350465