Ethics of Tiktok and Dopamine Effects on the Brain

Introduction: Social media has become an increasingly prevalent part of the lives of all age groups since its creation. In recent years, several platforms have gained popularity in the social sphere, distinguishing their respective influence. One of such platforms is TikTok, a video sharing app where users can create short clips addressing virtually any topic. The content that TikTok users may encounter on the app is shaped by several factors, beginning with an interest survey inquiring about the user’s interest in animals, comedy, travel, food, sports, beauty and style, art, gaming, science and education . TikTok initially presents users with varied content that has high view numbers, and narrows down to more specialized content topics as the algorithm begins to learn about a user’s interests. The algorithm bases these trajectories off of clues such as how long a user lingers on a particular video or how many times they rewatch it. The hashtags and topics are then used to inform the algorithm and generate more videos with similar themes, creating content more and more tailored toward individual preference (video from class). This system has the potential to produce individualized content that only becomes more niche as a user continues to watch, which can lead a user deep into rabbit holes of content that may be uplifting and funny or depressing or anxiety-producing. (video from class) This situation gives rise to certain ethical concerns, one being the question of how the emotional responses to TikTok videos affect one’s brain chemistry, and how our dopamine levels are affected.

History of TikTok: Before TikTok, the short, looping style of video sharing became popularized by social media platforms such as Musical.ly and Vine. Released in 2012, Vine was used by many influencers to gain a following before moving on to more profitable and modern platforms (emerald). Musical.ly was released in 2014, and unlike Vine, was intended to be a lip-synching platform. TikTok followed shortly after with its release in 2016 and has been downloaded more than 2.6 billion times since February of 2021. It was created by the Chinese company ByteDance and was originally named “Douyin” (emerald). TikTok quickly became the most successful app from Chinese origin in regards to global distribution (Frontiers). Musical.ly ultimately merged with TikTok in 2018, making the app available to users worldwide (sagepub). Since its founding in 2016, TikTok has been distributed widely and attracted the attention of young users who can use this app to view, produce and comment on video content (frontiers).

Dopamine explained: Dopamine is a monoamine neurotransmitter that is made in the brain. It is produced in a two step process, in which the amino acid tyrosine is first converted into L-dopa (also an amino acid). Then, L-dopa is converted by enzymes into dopamine (HArvard). Dopamine plays a role in many of the central functions of the body and mind. As a neurotransmitter, dopamine communicates chemical messages from the nerve cells to the brain, as well as the brain to the body (Cleveland). Functions of dopamine as a neurotransmitter include pleasurable reward, behavior and cognition, attention, sleep and arousal, mood, learning, lactation, movement and memory (Cleveland). Aside from its role as a neurotransmitter, dopamine can also act as a hormone. Dopamine is closely linked to the sensation of pleasure, and is known as both the “feel good” hormone as well as the “reward center.” (cleveland) As a hormone, dopamine is released into the bloodstream and can cause blood vessels to relax or constrict, sodium and urine removal from the body, reduction in insulin production in the pancreas, slowed gastrointestinal content movement and a reduction in lymphocyte activity in the immune system (Cleveland). A “dopamine rush” is experienced when one participates in a rewarding activity, such as winning a game or eating delicious food. This sensation is also involved in reinforcement, which is why a person may want to participate in pleasurable activities over and over again, creating the conditions necessary to form addictive behaviors (Harvard). Having too much or too little dopamine can cause various health issues, both mental and physical. Too little dopamine is linked to feelings of decreased motivation and excitement, as well as mental illnesses such as depression, schizophrenia and psychosis (Health direct). Too much dopamine, on the other hand, has been associated with increased aggression and competitiveness as well as decreased impulse control. This can lead to conditions like binge eating, addiction, gambling and ADHD (Health direct).

Ethical implications:

Although the long term health effects related to excessive social media use are somewhat unknown, there is controversy regarding the ethical implications of TikTok’s effects on dopamine and the brain. The “like” button on TikTok allows for instant gratification, and increased dopaminergic brain activity as a result of giving or receiving a “like” encourages continuing use of TikTok, with hopes of recreating the pleasurable experience. This positive reinforcement creates conditions which facilitate persistent use and addiction (Brown). Additionally, the scroll and reward pattern is linked to a flow-like mental state in users where high focus and productivity can distort the passage of time. Similar to other substance abuse and addiction disorders, TikTok addiction can be the result of several factors working simultaneously to jumpstart dopamine production. App design and functionality, variable reward pattern of the content stream, “flow-inducing” interface and endless scroll capability all utilize reward based learning to encourage addictive behavior (Brown). These elements of TikTok’s app design are facilitated by the app developers and hypothetically could be eliminated. However, content developers are unwilling to do so as the success of the app relies on the manipulation of users to continue scrolling, regardless of adverse effects (Brown). Public health officials have called for increased research into the addictive potential of TikTok and evaluation of TikTok’s policies to prevent misuse and overuse of the app (BMJ). From a psychological perspective, the ethics of adolescent use of TikTok has been called into question as well due to lack of self control and only a partially developed prefrontal cortex at this age (Frontiers). These ethical implications are ongoing as society enters an increasingly digitized, technology based reality (brown).