Tick tock, your internal security clock is ticking…
TikTok is an engaging and fascinating time sink– it is time to think about how this impacts wellbeing and personal security
TikTok, the video-sharing social media platform that is currently creating more viral content than any other platform on the market right now, has increased its first-time installation base by 400% year-on-year with 740 million new users joining the platform in 2021, according to Statista. Further research has found that it is currently the fifth most used social media platform according to global active users, and has one billion active users every month. This is wonderful for marketers and content teams, but it should come with a warning. Anna Collard, SVP Content Strategy & Evangelist at KnowBe4 Africa, points out the fact that TikTok is so addictive and attention-grabbing makes it a risk for younger people and those who can become easily addicted to social media.
“Mindfulness is key when it comes to engaging with activities online,” she explains. “When you are aware of your clicks and the content you are absorbing, you are more likely to make the right decisions around what kind of content you absorb and where you go to consume it. However, TikTok’s fast pace and attention-grabbing immediacy is all about making users mindlessly scrolling and want more.”
In a recent analysis of TikTok, Professor Mary Aiken says: “I was on TikTok for three days. I also found it to be highly manipulative, addictive, compelling, very, very hard to resist, and I am a Cyber Behavioural Scientist – what about our kids?” She goes on to highlight how every part of this platform has been designed to make it as addictive as possible, from the moment you join to the moment you start flicking through the videos. It is easy to see why children are spending around 75 minutes a day on the platform and why the average user takes a hit around eight times a day.
With its smart algorithms, structure, visual cues and personalisation, TikTok has the knack of capturing attention within three seconds, and holding it. But, as delightful as it can be to slip into the stream of content, there is one question that everyone should be asking…
“How meaningful can content be if it is designed to snare you in seconds and drop you onto the next piece of content in under a minute?” asks Collard. “People should be finding this a lot scarier than they currently are. Within this visual onslaught, adults can make mistakes by accidentally sharing information or clicking on a dodgy link, or being influenced towards whatever keeps them glued to the screen, even if that is potentially polarizing and negative content. So just imagine the risk that this platform poses to young people who do not have training and, often, do not have awareness.”
Cybercriminals are very much aware, to the point where TikTok in the news is not as pretty a picture as its statistics. On NetSec.news, the story outlines that TikTok denied the theft of around two billion data records and source code by hacker AgainstTheWest. A story in The Guardian has unpacked that cybersecurity professionals have warned about the ways in which TikTok harvests personal information, and how this information may be potentially used. And InfoSec magazine told the story of how TikTok was the subject of a national security review by the U.S. government mainly over concerns over its Chinese developer, ByteDance. There remain significant concerns around data privacy, propaganda, dis-information, information theft and cybercrime.
“Yes, people use the platform for entertainment and fun, and this should not be dismissed, but this use should be managed,” says Collard. “First, people need to be stricter about the amount of time they spend on the platform, so they are in control of how they use it and when. They also need to avoid using it at the same time as performing other tasks to prevent brain overload and mistakes caused by multitasking – half watching TikTok while going through your email could result in you getting phished or hacked because you clicked on the wrong link.”
As addictive and mesmerising as TikTok can be, this is one platform that needs to be managed carefully because it also has themes of misogyny, fat shaming, abuse and bullying that can be harmful to young people, and it has cybercriminals hanging around and waiting for that one, little mistake.
