The indiscriminate use of social networks is one of the great concerns of parents of teenagers. There are not a few young people who have been excessively hooked on the networks and have caused addiction problems, cyberbullying or low self-esteem. But in recent weeks a new problem has emerged that worries parents, and that is whether it is true that TikTok can create nervous tics in users.
This problem has been observed since the beginning of the pandemic. Many adolescents from various parts of the world have gone to the doctor in recent months with apparently repetitive tic problems, including repetitive throat clearing, grimacing, involuntary blinking… These are cases detected in different parts of the world that seem to have only one thing in common: they were all TikTok users .
The doctors assure that all the boys who encountered these problems were fans of watching videos of influencers on this social network who said they suffered from Tourette syndrome or who imitated the tics of this disorder, an alteration of the nervous system that causes tics ( repetitive and involuntary movements or sounds). These cases have been found in countries as diverse as the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom, and at least a dozen cases have also been detected in Spain.
NERVOUS TICS IN YOUNG PEOPLE DUE TO THE USE OF TIKTOK
So do we have to be concerned about nervous tics in young people from the use of TikTok ? At first it seems that it is not something excessively worrying. The number of cases detected is not yet too large, although it is important that we are a little vigilant.
The problem doesn’t appear to stem directly from TikTok but is also a reflection of the increase in screen time that many young people have experienced since the pandemic began. An addiction to certain types of videos can cause certain hobbies to be copied.
So if you have a teenager who spends a lot of time on TikTok, you shouldn’t worry too much in principle . The cases in which nervous tics have occurred are not too numerous. Only if you see that the increase in time spent in front of screens has coincided with the appearance of certain manias or tics on the part of the youngest, is it interesting that you discuss this situation with the doctor.
But although specialists have expressed the possibility that this exists, at the moment it does not seem to be a cause for alarm or that we have to worry too much.
TIKTOK CHANNELS AND VIDEOS WITH NERVOUS TICS AND TOURETTE’S
The common element that the adolescents who have encountered this type of problem had is that they had all seen TikTok channels and videos with nervous tics and Tourette’s . This syndrome is characterized by involuntary repetitive movements or sounds, known as tics, that cannot be easily controlled. Some of the profiles that show this type of video are This tourettes guy or Omulcutourette , which show the daily life of people who suffer from this syndrome. In principle, these types of channels are a visibility tool for people with this type of problem that could be very positive, although it has ended up becoming harmful.
What at first was a way to make visible the fact that there are people who can suffer from certain syndromes has ended up becoming a somewhat strange fashion. And there are adolescents so hooked on these videos that they have ended up having the same tics as their protagonists. But of course, a responsible and moderate use of TikTok does not imply any type of risk.