Juggling Act: Teens love TikTok. But how is it impacting their brains?

Once a day, my nearly 14-year-old son goes into a trance.

For a solid hour after he gets home from middle school, his first real access to his cellphone for the day, he barely responds to questions, hardly moves and is consumed. The Earth could crack in two and he wouldn't notice.

Why? It's called TikTok.

The social media platform with 1 billion active users isn't just all-consuming; it's addictive. Even I've found myself slipping down a digital rabbit hole every time I'm on it, watching one cooking or organizing video after another until 2 hours have gone by. I follow one user whose entire account is dedicated to impersonating the Kardashian sisters (her content is a ridiculous and yet delightful waste of time).

TikTok's algorithm follows what users watch and then spoons them up more.

For my teen, his TikTok use is all about basketball, the NBA, stats on different players and Victor Wembanyama's latest feats (Wembanyama is an NBA rookie from France tearing up all sorts of records).

My husband and I use parent controls to limit my son's time on the app to one hour a day, much to his chagrin. Still, he is consumed in that one hour.

Now, TikTok is under fire. The U.S. House last week approved a bill that would impose a ban on the app unless it cuts ties with its Chinese parent company. Proponents of the ban say they're worried about exposing users' data to the Chinese government. Critics have concerns about free speech rights.

What I worry about is my son's developing brain. There's even a term now to describe the constant barrage of 15-second videos on young brains: "TikTok brain." Some experts have expressed concerns about how watching so many hours of these quick-hit videos can impact attention spans and long-term communication.

Studies also have shown that all social media, not just TikTok, can impact kids' mental health, leading to higher rates of anxiety and depression. The U.S. Surgeon General released a report last year essentially stating that we don't know enough yet about the long-term impact of social media on kids' health.

For my family, the TikTok fight — and my son's requests for more time on the app — is a daily occurrence.

"Why?!" my teen will plead when he sends my husband and me requests for more time and we deny them. A code has to be entered for him to get more time. "Why?"

And my answer is always the same: "Because my job is to protect your brain."

Social media is like the Wild West. It's vast and unregulated. Who knows who is doing what? And yet it's the next frontier.

But it's also how a lot of kids communicate.

According to the same 2023 Surgeon General report, social media use by young people is nearly universal, with up to 95% of young people ages 13-17 reporting using a social media platform and more than a third saying they use social media “almost constantly.” My son also loves SnapChat and YouTube.

So how do we balance our kids' love of these often-unregulated platforms and yet also keep them safe? Carefully.

As a parent, I want to see my kid protected. His brain is powerless against the TikTok algorithm. But is the app to blame or me as a parent for letting him go on it too much?

Maybe it's both, and more. Parents can and must, as hard as that is, limit how much time their kids, especially younger ones, spend on social media, especially if it's impacting grades, relationships or other areas of their lives. I've found my son is more irritable the longer he's on screens. I monitor his cellphone screen time regularly. If it's too much, we take a break from all screens, including computers and the TV.

Government officials also need to do more to regulate Big Data and protect kids. And researchers need to really dig in and figure out what are the long-term health effects of these platforms so we can better understand what's at stake.

An outright ban of a platform that millions use every day may go too far, though some regulation makes sense, especially as it relates to kids. And there are benefits to social media and its ability to connect people. But we need to start somewhere.

Phone manufacturers could install social media app limits based on age, meaning that they would automatically shut off after a certain amount of time. Just as we don't allow kids to drink or smoke, why would we allow them to use a tool that their brains aren't fully developed for as much as they want?

Maybe we should take our lead from TikTok's country of origin: China.

How long can kids there go on TikTok? Just 40 minutes a day. And TikTok users under 14 can access only child-safe content.

mfeighan@detroitnews.com.