WHAT WILL LIFE AFTER TIKTOK LOOK LIKE?

The app revolutionised the world of social media, but brings with it a host of negative effects. Experts and content creators give their take on the changing landscape and what can be done to mitigate brain rot

- Teo Kai Xiang

When TikTok arrived in 2016, it caught the world of social media apps off guard.

Arguably the most significant social media innovation of the past decade, TikTok popularised a new kind of media at an unprecedented scale: short videos on an infinite scroll feed.

By 2021, it had more than one billion monthly users, raising alarm bells over its influence and impact on mental health.

In a post-TikTok world, terms such as "doomscrolling" and "brain rot" have entered the everyday lexicon, describing the supposed mental toll of excessive social media consumption.

Some countries—notably India and the United States—have even moved to restrict or ban the app, citing concerns ranging from national security to public health.

As TikTok's global omnipresence now hangs in the balance, The Straits Times delves into how the platform has changed the way media is consumed. And what does life after TikTok even look like?

TIKTOK'S PASSIVE REVOLUTION What mainly distinguishes TikTok from its predecessors is that it pioneered a more passive and algorithm-driven way of consuming media such that viewers exert less intentionality over what they see, according to experts.

Unlike traditional platforms where users actively choose what they watch, TikTok's infinite scroll and sophisticated recommendation algorithm create what Dr Samer Elhajjar calls a "doomscrolling culture." He is a senior lecturer at the National University of Singapore's (NUS) Business School.

"You can engage with bite-size content with no upfront investment," he says. "This compulsive scrolling with quick dopamine hits is actually linked to decreased attention spans, where people struggle with longer narratives or tasks requiring deep focus."

Dr Elhajjar notes that where once humans may have had more "boring" time to sit with their thoughts and reflect, this is no longer the case.