TikTok is ruining relationships – point, blank, period. Romantic or platonic, comparing your relationship to others online and following advice from unknown usernames causes users to get into their own heads and corrupt their connections.
The rise of TikTok has now allowed users to easily share only snippets of their relationships, making those who view them feel insecure or unhappy in their own. Users may find themselves asking, “why doesn’t my friend treat me like that” or “why doesn’t my significant other do that for me” – creating unrealistic expectations for all types of relationships.
It feels as though most teenagers live on social media and struggle to differentiate what is genuine and what is simply a highlight reel for people’s enjoyment. The lines between fantasy and real life have become blurred within this society, causing us to destroy our own healthy relationships.
Not to mention, TikTok comments and videos are flooded with toxic advice from unqualified and random people. I have seen many people in the comment sections say something like, “If your friend/significant other does this to you, they don’t care and are simply losing interest. So if you see something like that, you should start to distance yourself.”
I don’t necessarily think users attempt to share advice with ill intent, but it just might not be accurate for the specific situation. TikTok’s algorithm doesn’t help either. Once you interact with one video questioning behavior in a relationship, the algorithm places more on your feed, leading to an endless cycle of overthinking and doubt.
Another big issue I have is that users on TikTok are not therapists or psychologists – stop asking them for advice. They are simply normal people with too much time on their hands. Just because they went through a similar experience doesn’t make their advice correct; clearly they don’t have any meaningful connections if they have enough time to comment on yours.
Not to mention, social media is an addiction. Once you start scrolling TikTok, it’s hard to stop. The app takes away from the quality time you could be spending with your loved ones. I know personally, half of the time when my friends and I hang out, we are lying in someone’s room scrolling on our own phones.
That was embarrassing to admit, but it’s true.
It has become second nature in this generation to pull out your phone and fixate on it to avoid having social interactions. I personally think that to save ourselves and our relationships, we need to “hang up and hang out.”
According to Apptopia —a company that provides app data for investors—, in 2024, the United States had a monthly average of 42 hours and 53 minutes spent on TikTok alone, while the worldwide average was 34 hours and 56 minutes – making the U.S. above average for TikTok use.
Honestly, this is ridiculous. As a country, we are spending 16% of our month on one social media platform alone, and we wonder why relationships may not be as strong.
I know I am appalled by this statistic, and I hope this makes us as a society feel guilty. We need to change to save the good of humanity and the future of our world. I don’t want to grow up in a world where it is normalized for our children to have more online relationships than those you can physically feel, touch and sense.
Even though TikTok is diminishing future relationships, it places a strain on current relationships as users jump to conclusions, overanalyze someone’s behavior, and may hold an unnecessary, toxic grudge over something they digested from a rando’s 15-second video.
