Originally published in TEACH Magazine, Digital Citizenship Special Issue, 2020
By Alex Newman
Released in 2018, TikTok has become one of the fastest growing social media platforms. The wild popularity of the app can be accredited to users’ ability—often youth—to express themselves through music, singing, dancing, and comedy routines. The app, however, has also raised concerns—mostly among parents, but also with educators—for the way it’s being used. One example is the “pass out” challenge whereby kids cut off oxygen to their brains and then record the results.
Focusing on those types of negative incidents—as dangerous as they are—is missing the point, explains motivational speaker Joe Whitbread. “Kids today are digital citizens from birth,” he says. “They already know about cyber bullying, rights, and wrongs. This shouldn’t be a conversation about TikTok per se, but about the mental health of the child and whether he or she is exploring places in a negative state. If a child is healthy, chances are high that their online explorations will also be healthy.”
Alex Newman is a Toronto freelance writer and editor. Visit her website, alexnewmanwriter.com.
