RTÉ’s Prime Time has investigated the content shown to teenagers in Ireland and the impact it can have on their mental health in response to growing concerns raised regarding the social media app.
The investigation involved creating new TikTok accounts set to an age of 13 years and seeing what content is recommended by TikTok’s algorithm.
Each account was set up using separate sim cards and they didn’t actively engage with content or search for specific topics. Prime Time observed the videos and the shocking findings will be revealed to viewers tonight, April 16, on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player at 9.35pm.
The investigation sheds light on TikTok’s potentially detrimental effects on the mental health of young teenagers as within 20 minutes, Prime Time was being shown videos directly referencing self-harm and suicidal thoughts.
RTÉ revealed that by the end of an hour of scrolling, TikTok’s recommender system was showing a stream of videos almost exclusively related to depression, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts to the users it believed to be 13 years old.
The content was shown to the Chair of the Faculty of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry in the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland, Dr Patricia Byrne.
Dr. Byrne explained, “I work in this area every day... but even for me, seeing that was very emotional and provokes a very strong, very strong emotional reaction. I didn't expect to feel as emotional as I did watching it, but they're very powerful imagery and very intense”.
The investigation aims to prove that action is needed to address the harmful impact of social media algorithms on vulnerable young users.
After the investigation was complete, Prime Time gave TikTok the usernames of the accounts set up which allowed the social media platform to have access to all the videos that had been shown to the accounts.
Ten screenshots of example videos with worrying content were also provided, and seven of these videos have since been removed.
In response to queries from Prime Time, TikTok stated, “RTÉ's test in no way accurately represents the behaviour or experiences of real teens who use our app... Out of hundreds of videos that would've been seen during RTÉ's testing, we reviewed ten that were sent to us and made changes so that seven can no longer be viewed by teenagers”.
Watch Prime Time tonight Tuesday April 16th, at 9:35pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.
