TikTok, a ticking timebomb (Part 2)

A ‘general profile’ of the ‘average’ TikTok user

We are nothing but an aggregation of behavioural traits, some dominant, some passive! What intrigues me is the psychological framework of TikTok users and what goes on inside their heads making them crazy for the app. Why are some people drawn towards the app and not others? Do TikTok users have some common traits? Can we do a general profiling of major behavioural traits applicable to more or less to all users?

“While most users will claim that they downloaded and registered on the app merely for ‘entertainment’, ‘fun’, experts believe that there could be underlying mental health concerns.”

From my observation and understanding I have drawn a psychological and behavioural profile, which more or less is applicable to all TikTok users.

1. Most TikTok users are coy and supressed in real life. They lack social skills and have difficulty in conversing. They have a low concept of self.
2. In real life they feel discriminated against either for their gender, physical appearance, social strata etc.
3. They are less empowered to make more meaningful decisions and choices in life; hence their need for constant validation is higher.
4. They have low threshold of boredom and hence seek immediate gratification through social media.
5. They are usually academically poor (compared to their peers or immediate family) or illiterate.
6. They have undergone some sort of emotional trauma (poverty, abuse, under confidence, violence, heartbreak)
7. They are attention seekers. Well we all are to some extent, but TikTok users who go to any length to draw attention are another level altogether. They seek attention even if it comes from gyrating to a provocative number or posting a nude act.
8. They are narcissistic individuals seeking validation from strangers. They become delusional and believe that they are talented and other people actually look up to them for inspiration and in awe.
9. They are unable to identify and manage their emotions. They judge themselves on the basis on how people, often strangers, react to their videos. Their emotions can range from being ecstatic to suicidal in a matter of minutes. They are engulfed in stress and anxiety.
10. They have difficulty separating real from virtual. They are so captivated by their 15 seconds of virtual fame that they choose to unsee the often dull, impassionate, dejected and ungratifying real lives they lead.

Read Part 1: What makes TikTok so desirable