China Takes Extreme Measures to Keep its Teens off TikTok

The terms “iPad kid” and “screenager” have become increasingly popular terms to describe children and teenagers who excessively use screens, particularly in social settings. There are many culprits: YouTube, Netflix, Instagram, and Snapchat. But one of the biggest is TikTok, a highly addictive social media app that allows users to share short video clips. Sameer Ahuja, a Scarsdale Village Trustee and the President of sports tech company GameChanger, discussed China’s TikTok restrictions and steps that the United States could take to curb addiction.

Ahuja writes a newsletter, Consume at Once, that discusses how technology is transforming how we create and consume movies, videos, TV, games, sports, and social media. He recently wrote the following article: China Takes Extreme Measures to Keep its Teens off TikTok.

China Takes Extreme Measures to Keep its Teens off TikTok 

Do you really know what your kids are watching online? 

It’s no idle query. For years, ever since the Internet became ubiquitous, well-meaning parents have torn their hair out over the content their children consume. Back in the early 2000s, Eminem CDs and 50 Cent music videos had parents printing out lyrics from sites like Genius, intercepting what they deemed abhorrent content. 

Now, in 2023, the debate is all about TikTok. 

Last month, the company CEO Shou Zi found himself in the hot seat. The hearing, which occurred in the U.S. Congress, featured a series of questions surrounding the viral app, its capabilities, and its dangers.

Viewers may recall Mark Zuckerberg’s similar testimony years ago, where congresspeople sounded woefully unprepared to confront Facebook’s founder. The hearings led to discussions about advancing tech and its growing ability to eclipse our archaic legal system. 

It also featured plenty of memes. 

A seemingly ridiculous question during the recent TikTok hearing included, “So if I have a TikTok app on my phone and my phone is on my home WIFI network, does TikTok access that network?”

US Rep Mike Gallagher referred to TikTok a “national security threat,” saying, “We have to deal with it before it’s too late.” Whether you agree or not, it’s clear valid concerns exist, especially regarding youngsters' app usage. 

The Chinese government, for its part, has placed strict limitations on their version of TikTok, Douyin. This isn’t the first time Beijing has flexed its muscles to clamp down on what they warn is an issue of  “teen addiction.” 

Two years ago, the nation instituted strict restrictions on video games. According to CNN, “China has barred online gamers under the age of 18 from playing on weekdays and limited their play to just three hours most weekends...” Compare this to American kids’ average of 13 hours a week playing video games, and the worries about disparities start to seep in. 

Now, with the proliferation of short form video apps like TikTok, CCP officials warn of the same phenomenon and are determined to enforce, “the regulation of short videos and preventing underage users from becoming addicted.”

Through these restrictions and Douyin’s “teenager mode”, the app already restricts content, such as dangerous pranks, adult topics, and other content the state deems unsavory for kids. In fact, in China, users under 14 are shown wholesome videos promoting art and culture, science experiments, history lessons, and more. They can also only use it for 40 minutes a day. 

This brings us to the debate for similar restrictions in America. As we know, Americans have never embraced perceived governmental overreach, from the time of the nation’s founding. Restrictions that “infringe on personal freedoms” rarely pick up steam in a country built on rugged individualism.

So how do we proceed, knowing full-well as China does, that even casual TikTok viewing can turn wildly addictive? 

For one thing, as the experience with Eminem and 50 Cent prove, we cannot shield kids in perpetuity. This means any strategy can’t solely be restrictive. We must also encourage positive content viewing habits.

Instead of wagging our fingers at the mindless “junk” content, it’s imperative we substitute it with something better. (After all, this is what China is doing. Example: most American kids want to become YouTubers, not astronauts; in China, the situation is reversed.)

This brings up yet another related issue. 

Ever since any notion of a shared mainstream pop culture has collapsed, each internet user seems to exist in their own bubble, especially our youth. This makes it harder to monitor content, especially because viewing now occurs largely via private devices in silo. 

Returning to our question, what kinds of content do we wish for our kids? Should it all be informative and educational, a kind of add-on to school? Even Saturday morning cartoons once upon a time managed to infuse fun with learning. Maybe this is a valid approach worth pursuing? 

My advice? 

Emphasize at least some content that inspires curiosity and personal growth. For every dance trend clip, there could be a related video promoting musical history and/or culture. Likewise, sports highlights could be paired with motivational fitness content.

Videos inspiring action and especially community in an age of virtual disconnect could turn things around, especially for young people. Moreover, they needn’t come from some top-down edict. 

Rather, an opportunity exists in the market for (positively) disruptive bottom-up influencers to produce and monetize content that uplifts audiences, especially young people. This kind of good reinforcement is more likely to be effective than a blanket ban. 

As I wrote about last month, it’s in our hands to shake up our addictive dopamine cycle with something else, something better. And I believe the secret sauce is autonomy. 

Sameer AhujaAs parents, the most enlightened of us know we can’t control every aspect of our kids’ lives. But we can do our best to block the bad, and more importantly, engage our young ones’ curiosity by offering something better. Something positive.

But this message isn’t just aimed at parents. Collectively, we are all going through a kind of digital adolescence, an age of deep uncertainty and confusion as we learn to assimilate newfound technological powers and infinite content made by anyone, anywhere in the world.

This brave new era comes with new responsibilities—and yes, privileges—our ancestors never had. My final advice? Hold more conversations with your kids about their viewing habits. And rather than ask: “What content are you watching?” Instead, ask: “Why are you watching that content?”

The answer may surprise—inspire you.

See more about what Ahuja has to say here.