TikTok has been the top downloaded app in the world for several months, with 1 billion active users each month. And as TikTok’s users reach new heights, it has changed the Internet ecosystem and even sparked another discussion about child users.
A few days ago, in the United States, there was a horrific “child live killing” accident, and it has caused the world to pay attention to the use of the Internet by children. The incident occurred when a pair of cousins (Paris Harvey, a 12-year-old girl, and her cousin Kuaron Harvey), who were having fun at a family birthday party, entered the bathroom at 2 a.m. with the family’s handgun to take a live selfie in the mirror. During the live broadcast, the girl from Paris picked up the pistol and pointed it at her cousin’s head, but the next moment she accidentally touched the trigger, killing her cousin on the spot. The girl panicked, but picked up a pistol and shot herself. She died in the bathroom, and died on the spot.
Although the live platform in question is not TikTok but Instagram, because of the rise of the short video and short film performances brought about by TikTok in recent years, it has even influenced YouTube and Instagram to launch corresponding features to compete with it. In order to stand out from the crowd and absorb traffic in a short period of time, the content of short videos often tends to be popular, and there are even various “challenges” that are harmful to others or their own health. Children, especially those who are immature, are most likely to want to express themselves in a different way because of the influence of their minds. So many people feel that the shooting tragedy and TikTok’s collateral effects are difficult to separate.
Although TikTok has stated more than once that it is a child-protective platform and that children under the age of 13 are strictly prohibited from using it, the fact is that they have only taken action to disable the uploaders of videos suspected of being children, but they have failed to prevent children from viewing videos on cell phones that are logged into other people’s accounts.
A survey by Ofcom found that nearly 16% of local children aged 3 to 4 were watching TikTok content, and the 5 to 7 age group even increased to over 30%, so it’s easy to imagine older children taking a greater interest in the TikTok platform. This is also due to the role of parents using cell phones and other smart devices as “electronic pacifiers”, which affects the concentration balance of the new generation.
