Austin Scholar #39: Don't Put Screen Time Limits On TikTok
(& How To Make TikTok Valuable For Your Kids)
Hey, y'all!
I used to be an anti-TikTok snob.
Now I think TikTok is one of the most underrated places for teens to learn - and a great way for teens and parents to strengthen their relationships.
TikTok is full of useful information if you know where to look.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
This week from Austin Scholar...
Austin’s Anecdote: How I Became A Reluctant TikTok User
Don't Put Screen Time Limits On TikTok (& How To Make TikTok Valuable For Your Kids)
Scholar’s Sources: The Best TikTok Accounts To Follow
Last weekend was quite honestly the best weekend I’ve had in a while. I got to go to the World Series. The actual. World Series. Where the Astros became champions. (Thanks, Dad.)
I had an absolutely incredible time with my friends, watched stunning baseball, and had iconic, once-in-a-lifetime moments as we walked out of Minute Maid Park with fireworks and cheers surrounding us.
(Also, since the Phillies lost, maybe we won’t be going into a recession?!)
Austin’s Anecdote: How I Became A Reluctant TikTok User
I'm not going to lie: up until a few weeks ago, I was a TikTok hater.
I was definitely one of those pretentious academic kids who thought TikTok was beneath them.
I felt like I already wasted a ton of time on my phone (as seen by my embarrassing screen time reports each week). I really didn't want to add on more hours of scrolling.
And, of course, I'd heard all of the anti-TikTok arguments about how TikTok causes a decline in teen mental health. As someone who struggles with mental health, I didn't want to add to that, either.
I just wanted nothing to do with that mess.
And for a while, I was pretty proud about not having TikTok. I definitely judged the popular girls who spent lunchtime doing TikTok dances in the bathroom, too.
Occasionally, my sister would send me a funny TikTok about why it makes perfect, scientific sense that younger sisters have messy bedrooms and I would laugh and get an urge to download the app so I could find more videos like it.
But I refused.
Until this year.
As a writer, I chose to build my audience for my Alpha Masterpiece on Substack and Twitter. My friends, who are not writers, chose to use TikTok.
After a few weeks of constantly hearing my friends talk about their viral TikToks and not being able to watch them, I made the jump.
I downloaded TikTok.
"All to support my friends, of course," I told my parents.
I didn't want to admit it even to myself, but secretly I also wanted to watch more TikToks on science and messy bedrooms.
The first few days I had TikTok, I tried to continue my anti-TikTok agenda. I only watched my friends' videos and set 10-minute screen time limits for TikTok.
But then, one day, I opened TikTok and was about to click to search for my friends' accounts, when I saw a video with a caption that looked suspiciously like a newsletter I had written a few weeks ago.
The video was about Ellen Delle Donne of the Washington Mystics, the greatest free throw shooter of all time. She has a higher free throw percentage, by a lot, than anyone else in either the WNBA or the NBA.
The TikTok goes into how Donne was able to have such a high success rate.
Her secret? Consistency and simplicity in her routine and form.
Sound familiar?
In October, I wrote an article about how J.D. Martinez became the best hitter in baseball through daily practice, and how his habits can be applied to things outside of sports.
After watching that video, I started to dive deeper into TikTok. Much to my surprise, I found a ton of super engaging content.
The next day, I canceled my screen time limit.
I've spent the past few weeks on TikTok finding tricks to help with math, advice on college admissions, relevant world news, and so much more.
I've realized that TikTok can actually have a ton of value–value I wouldn't have known about if I had continued my screen time limits.
Don't Put Screen Time Limits On TikTok (& How To Make TikTok Valuable For Your Kids)
I won’t sugar-coat it: TikTok does have dangerous, inappropriate, and time-wasting content on its platform.
It exists.
And, yeah. Sometimes teens will compare themselves to people who put filters on their videos and will end up thinking they aren’t pretty enough. .
But, here’s the thing: most kids don’t actually want to spend their time watching bad videos and comparing themselves to TikTok stars.
What they do want, though, is the dopamine kick.
The short, punchy videos give kids a huge burst of dopamine–regardless of what they’re about.
So, most kids just fill their TikTok feed (called a For You Page) with anything that gives them that rush–which is, of course, extremely addicting. This leads to hours of screen time where kids watch a ton of useless 15-second videos that “rot their brain.”
Most parents’ solution to the TikTok addiction is to simply add screen time limits to their kids’ phones.
Here’s the thing, though: screen time limits don’t actually stop the negative effects of TikTok.
Kids can still watch the “bad videos.” They can still “doom scroll” for as long as the limit allows. And, in true teenager fashion, they’ll try their best to find a way around the screen time limit.
All for that dopamine.
Plus, your kid will probably get really mad at you. Kids hate it when parents put limits on their teen’s technology. It puts you at odds with them – which isn’t helpful at all when you’re trying to build a cooperative and constructive relationship.
So, what should you do?
Instead of putting time limits on your kid’s TikTok, teach them how to use it.
There’s actually a ton of valuable content on TikTok. You just have to find it.
Here’s how you can teach your kid to curate a feed that they can learn from, (but that will still give them the dopamine kick):