A new epidemic is infecting North Atlanta students, but instead of a biological disease, this epidemic is digital. Unofficially known as “doomscrolling,” it occurs when someone spends excessive time scrolling through social media apps that are centered around short videos. In contrast to traditional video platforms like YouTube, apps such as TikTok feature consecutive short videos that usually range from a couple of seconds to a minute long. These short videos are meant to capture and maintain the audience’s attention. The constant usage of short video apps like TikTok has caused a decline in attention span, especially in younger users, and the students of North Atlanta High School are one such example of this.
One reason apps including TikTok are so addicting is because of the tailored content that is pushed out to each user. These apps use an algorithm to analyze each user’s interests, so everybody receives different videos in their feed. The more time someone spends scrolling through one of these apps, the more the algorithms are able to refine the selection of videos that are extended to each user. The personalized feed that these short video apps push out can make it hard for users to click off of TikTok. “All of the short videos on Instagram give me great stimulation,” said senior Alex Katz. “I get instant dopamine that makes me happy.”
TikTok’s success has caused other social media apps to copy TikTok’s short video format in hopes of replicating its popularity. Instagram and YouTube, two of the most popular social media apps from the past decade, have added sections to their apps called “Instagram Reels” and “Youtube Shorts,” which are obvious duplications of TikTok. Despite their similarities, these replicas have still managed to garner a large audience, with many people even preferring them over TikTok. Senior student Sergio De La Cruz is just one example of this, saying, “Instagram Reels has looser restrictions on what can be posted, so it is more entertaining to me.”
TikTok’s digital hold on the students of North Atlanta may be nearing its end, as TikTok has been voted to be banned by Congress. After years of talk of TikTok being banned in America, the notion has finally been pushed through, and the Supreme Court has recently upheld this decision. After this ban, users in the United States will no longer be able to download or update TikTok in the app store, and users with the app already installed will likely stop functioning as more updates come out over time. TikTok’s only options to remain in the United States are to either sell the company so it becomes American owned, or for president-elect Donald Trump to reverse the ban once he is in office. In regards to other apps, this means that TikTok users in the United States will have to shift over to similar apps including Instagram, YouTube, or even another Chinese-based app named RedNote. “I’m infuriated that TikTok’s getting banned,” said senior Wyatt Welch. “I guess I’ll have to use alternatives to keep me happy.”
With all of the uncertainty surrounding TikTok’s future, it is hard to know if short video apps will continue dominating the social media industry. What is a certainty, however, is that many North Atlanta students will still be spending too much of their time scrolling through videos, regardless of whether or not they are on TikTok, Instagram, or some other short video app.
