In recent months, speculation surrounding a significant increase among the number of teenage girls reporting the occurrence of Tourette’s-like symptoms has emerged. Concerned parents of children who are experiencing the onset of tics have sought the help of medical professionals. Surprisingly, these medical professionals have suggested that there appears to be a possible link between the onset of symptoms among these teenage girls and their use of the social media app called TikTok. It has been well documented that social media poses inherent risks and various pitfalls for kids. Dr. Bennett believes that preparing tweens and teens to navigate these problems before they arise by providing them with the necessary knowledge and skills is the key to avoiding digital injury. That is why we created the Social Media Readiness Course, designed to empower families to promote safe and responsible practices while avoiding harmful outcomes.
What is TikTok?
TikTok is a social media and video-sharing platform/app that is primarily marketed to kids and teens. Since its launch in 2016, it has become one of the most popular social media sites, attracting over 1 billion monthly users. TikTok is so popular among today’s kids and teens that it has become a part of the cultural zeitgeist. The social media app has also been the focus of several significant controversies. You can read about some of these stories in other GKIS blog articles here and here.
Tourette Syndrome vs. Functional Tic Disorder
Tourette Syndrome
Tourette Syndrome aka Tourette’s is a type of neurological disorder that involves the occurrence of uncontrollable movements and unwanted verbal outbursts referred to as tics.
Tourette Syndrome is typically diagnosed in children between the ages of 7 and 10, but symptoms can occur as early 2 years old or as late as 15 years old. Historically, boys are 3-4 times more likely to be diagnosed with the disorder than girls. Individuals with Tourette Syndrome reportedly benefit from treatments that include medication and psychological therapy.[1]
Functional Tic Disorder
Functional Tic Disorder is also a type of neurological disorder. It is characterized by issues with voluntary movement rather than automatic movement.
People with Functional Tic Disorder often experience the interruption of voluntary movements and vocalizations with uncontrollable tics. This disorder is diagnosed later in life than Tourette Syndrome, typically around 18 years old, and occurs more often in women than in men. Individuals with Functional Tic Disorder reportedly benefit from psychological therapy and do not respond to medication.[2]
Tics
The word tic is used to describe a vast array of symptoms that include sudden and repetitive twitches, jolts, and sounds or even complex motor movements and combinations of words. Tics range in severity from symptoms like repetitive eye-blinking, shoulder shrugs, or throat-clearing to more severe and even violent symptoms like punching, hair-pulling, or shouting obscene language.[3].
According to research, Tic Disorders appear to be somewhat heritable. Additionally, the tics seen in Tourette’s and Functional Tic Disorder share several similarities including appearance, suggestibility, distractibility, and increases during periods of stress and anxiety.[4]
Is TikTok really causing tic disorders among teen girls?
As previously mentioned, Tic Disorders like Tourette Syndrome are much more common in boys than in girls. So, many experts were surprised when a recent surge in teenage girls reporting the sudden onset of uncontrollable tics began seeking their help. After conducting extensive medical interviews, doctors started noticing that the patients all shared a common interest in watching Tourette-Syndrome-related content prior to the onset of their tics.
TikTok videos featuring the tag #tourettes have been viewed billions of times, with content creators offering a glimpse into how they navigate their daily lives with the disorder. Some Tourette’s-centered users have millions of followers.[5]
According to research, the number of cases linked to social media has jumped significantly. Interestingly, researchers studying this phenomenon have noticed a “phenomenological similarity” between the tics/tic-like behavior depicted on social media platforms like TikTok and the tic-like behavior demonstrated by this group of patients.[6]
The Role of the Pandemic
Many experts have also claimed that despite the correlation between TikTok use and the onset of symptoms, the true underlying cause is more complex. Research shows that stress and anxiety levels among kids and teens have drastically increased since the start of the pandemic. Since stress and anxiety levels play a significant role in the occurrence and severity of tics related to Tourette’s and other tic disorders, experts suggest that they are likely also playing a significant role in the recent surge of cases.[6]
Additionally, researchers have posited that increased social isolation, the widespread use of social media as an outlet for peer socialization, and consistent exposure to popular Tourette’s-themed TikTok content have primed some of these patients to believe that exhibiting “tics” may serve as a means of peer acceptance and popularity.[6] The similarities between the tics depicted on TikTok and the tics demonstrated in these new cases coupled with this theory regarding a desire for peer acceptance suggest that many of these teens might simply be manufacturing their symptoms. However, more research is needed to determine if a causal link between social media use and the onset of tic disorders truly exists and to what extent the pandemic plays a role in this phenomenon.
Treatment
Further evidence that points to the possible role of TikTok in the development of these new cases include how the patients have been treated. Behavioral treatment plans including personalized psychoeducation strategies that include avoiding triggering exposure to tic-related social media content have been successful. In many cases, patients were encouraged to refrain from using the app for several weeks and instead engage in physical activities that get the mind and body working together. Many of these patients experienced a significant reduction or a complete elimination of the uncontrollable tics that impacted them.[6]
What Parents Can Do
The most important thing that parents can do is be aware of the potential risks and promote an environment of open communication with your children. Dr. B offers a comprehensive family program for fostering this kind of communication in her Screen Safety Essentials Course. With this course, your family will learn tons of information about how to create a safer screen home environment while also connecting and having fun as a family. Armed with the right tools, you and your family can learn how to better thrive in today’s digital era.
Thanks to CSUCI intern, Mackenzie Morrow for researching the role of social media apps among the rise of tic-related disorders and co-authoring this article.
I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.
In recent years, social media influencers and internet celebrities have created a popular niche in pop culture. Some content creators possess a level of fame among their young fans which rivals that of traditional A-list celebrities. In the past, these A-list stars were only accessible to the public through the big screen or tabloid articles. Today’s internet celebrities are virtually accessible to fans 24/7 through social media. A new group of wildly popular content creators on the platform TikTok have pushed the boundaries of celebrity accessibility a step further towards toxicity by creating what they have coined “The Hype House.” If you are worried that your kids are living to watch a hype house instead of living their best lives within their own house, you can benefit from our Screen Safety Essentials Course. It has all the resources you need to best manage screen time while getting closer as a family.
TikTok and the Hype House Explained
TikTok is a social media and video-sharing platform/app that is primarily marketed to kids and teens. Since its launch in 2016, it has become one of the most popular social media sites attracting over 1 billion monthly users.
As you might have learned from Netflix’s recent show, the Hype House is a collective of young TikTok celebrities who live and work together in a large luxury house in Los Angeles, CA. Due to their popularity, the residents of the house get paid to create millions of dollars worth of sponsored content on TikTok. The more popular a content creator is, the more money they earn through ad revenue and branded merchandise.
Typical content created by Hype House residents feature videos of them hanging out, pulling pranks, partying, and (most often) dancing. Each of the Hype House members has a follower count in the hundreds of thousands to millions which illustrates their immense star power. However, there is a flip side. As avid fans discovered the address of the collective, Hype House residents were swarmed with groups of people stationed outside the home hoping to interact with their favorite TikTokers.
Blurred Boundaries
Fans traveled from all over and waited outside the house for hours just to catch a glimpse of the Hype House members. As soon as someone was spotted, a frenzy of excited screams would ensue. Perhaps it’s not surprising that some teens would go to such lengths to be in close proximity to their favorite celebrities and score pics for their own social media pages. What is surprising, however, is that many of the fans who would gather outside the collective were elementary school-aged children with parents.
Oddly enough, many of the parents seemed to be just as swept up in the frenzy as their kids. One video features a mother bragging that her daughter handed a box of donuts to someone affiliated with the house and that “now her donuts are inside the hype house.” A second video features a woman telling a mob of children “remember, you guys made them famous, you guys give them paychecks…” in response to the children being asked to leave the front doorstep they were trespassing on.
On one occasion, in a bid to gain followers, a 13-year-old TikToker allegedly broke into the Hype House along with her mother and a few friends while the residents weren’t home. The group filmed themselves going through the house and even wearing and stealing the famous housemates’ clothes. The 13-year-old’s mother even uploaded a video to TikTok saying, “We are currently in the Hype House. We’re gonna have amazing content.”
Despite some extreme (and illegal) instances like this, the residents of the Hype House typically accept the mobs of fans and do their best to have positive interactions with them because the fans’ support ultimately translates to more money in the bank. Unfortunately, access to the Hype House has led to the victimization of some young fans rather than the house members themselves.
Appeal to Emotion and the Illusion of Intimacy
The hordes of fans who habitually gathered in front of the Hype House weren’t actually all that bad for the famous TikTokers who lived there. In fact, this situation went on uninhibited by security enforcement or calls to the police for a long time. This is because it was a reciprocal interaction between the famous TikTokers and their fans. The fans got to interact with their idols, take photographs, and hear a celebrity say “I love you” to them in real life. In return, Hype House members gain increased loyalty, views, and support which ensures the longevity of their success as TikTok stars.
When kids and teens feel acknowledged by a person they look up to, it can have a powerful effect. An interaction where a celebrity appeals to the emotions of a fan creates an illusion of intimacy. This makes the relationship feel real and can lead to personal exploitation.
Hype House Star Tony Lopez: Sexual Misconduct
TikTok has a feature called Duet that allows users to build on another user’s video by recording and then placing their own videos next to the original to create a sort of split-screen duet. The troublesome aspect of this feature is that, despite the minimum age of use for TikTok being 12 years old, the music and dance moves in popular videos are often sexually suggestive and explicit. Duet videos are wildly popular on the app.
Tony Lopez is a 21-year-old TikTok celebrity and an original member of the Hype House who is known to post sexually explicit videos. He’s been accused of committing multiple acts of sexual misconduct by several young girls. Lopez, who has over 22 million followers on TikTok alone, is alleged to have used his status as an internet celebrity to coerce underaged female fans into engaging in sexually inappropriate exchanges with him. According to these young fans, Tony Lopez employed various forms of emotional manipulation, preying upon their admiration of him as well as their desire to feel a unique and personal connection with him.
The Graphic Video
In 2020, a video of Tony Lopez surfaced on various social media platforms showing him standing nude in front of a mirror while gyrating the lower half of his body. The video was apparently leaked by Twitter users via direct message. After going viral, TikTok parody videos were posted by clothed minors. In response, Tony posted videos laughing along with the caption, “Oops. Lol.”
Solicitation of Child Pornography
During the same year, several underage girls came forward stating that Tony Lopez had either requested or received nude photographs from them or sent them nude photographs of himself. Tony Lopez would use his private Snapchat account to add young female fans and interact with them in an exclusive forum.
Lopez would use the promise of access to his private account by telling girls that he would only add them if they sent him “sexy pics.” A series of screenshots featuring conversations between Tony and the victims on his private Snapchat were posted online by some of the girls themselves. The screenshots show crude attempts by Tony to solicit nude photos as well as his reactions when they refused. When a young fan turned down Tony’s request for nude photos, he blocked her from his private account as punishment. After these allegations came out, Tony Lopez officially separated from the Hype House brand.
Sexual Battery
In January 2021, Tony Lopez was served with a civil lawsuit on behalf of two minors accusing Lopez of sexual battery and emotional distress. Both girls claim that Tony used his fame to groom and coerce them into engaging in sexual acts with him and to solicit nude photographs of them despite being aware that they were underaged. According to the victims, Tony, who was 20 years old at the time, emotionally manipulated the two via text and direct messaging by saying things like, “I’m tryna marry you.” He would ask the girls to sneak out of their homes at night to meet up with him.
One of the girls originally met Lopez when she was invited to the Hype House by founding member Thomas Petrou, who is also named in the lawsuit for negligent hiring of Lopez. After coming forward, Tony’s accusers were cyberstalked, harassed, and threatened with violence by Tony’s avid fans. Tony has publicly denied these allegations stating that the victims’ motivations are to make money.
Why are fans so easily victimized?
The fascination with celebrities that sees young fans either trespassing onto private property or becoming victimized themselves can be explained by a psychological phenomenon referred to as parasocial relationships. A parasocial relationship is characterized as a one-sided emotional attachment to a media persona that can lead to strong feelings of familiarity, intimacy, friendship, and romance.
For the most part, fans realize that the relationship does not actually exist. Yet the intensity of their feelings causes them to react as if it does. This is manifested as investments of time, energy, and emotion just as in real-world relationships. Except, with parasocial relationships, none of these things are reciprocated by the celebrity.
How Parents Can Help
While understanding this phenomenon can help to keep you aware of some of social media’s pitfalls, Dr. Bennett has also created and compiled a series of valuable tools and guidelines to help you equip your family with the knowledge and strategies needed to safely navigate today’s technological world.
To avoid the kinds of negative outcomes addressed in this article, check out Dr. B’s tried and true GKIS Social Media Readiness Course. Our course is a valuable tool that teaches tweens and teens about the inherent risks of social media and ways to be prepared when encountering them. Additionally, parent-child communication and parental oversight are key. Dr. B offers essential tips for fostering this kind of communication in her GKIS Connected Family Course. With this online course, you will learn how to create a safer screen home environment through fun parenting techniques designed to guide sensible screen management.
Thanks to CSUCI intern, Mackenzie Morrow for researching accusations of inappropriate behavior concerning Hype House influencers and co-authoring this article.
I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.
With COVID-19 quarantine guidelines and stay-at-home orders, many aspects of our daily lives have transitioned into virtual worlds. Online school, work, communication, socialization, and even grocery shopping are accessible from the safety of our homes. Mental health services are no exception to this virtual transition. With face-to-face meetings impossible, telehealth psychology services became the only viable option. As a result, state and federal regulatory agencies and insurance companies temporarily relaxed rules and regulations to ensure that more people could receive the services they need. Today’s GKIS article covers the critical issues you need to know about teletherapy.
What is teletherapy?
Teletherapy is a branch of the broader service of telehealth (or telemedicine). Generally, teletherapy facilitates remote mental health services through technology. In other words, teletherapy allows clients to receive therapeutic or psychiatric treatment from practitioners over the phone, through video chat, or even text message.[1]
How does it work?
Teletherapy involves entirely virtual interactions between mental health experts and clients through the use of smartphones, computers, or tablets. In general, teletherapy sessions are supposed to work in the same way that traditional therapy sessions work. Therapists work with clients remotely to provide talk therapy, teach therapeutic techniques, and develop coping strategies. Teletherapy can be used for one-on-one, family, marriage, and group counseling.[1]
Who offers teletherapy services?
Teletherapy services are offered by licensed mental health professionals.[1] Many of us have recently seen an increase in advertisements for teletherapy services from companies such as Talkspace and BetterHelp. These companies are online therapy platforms that hire clinicians to work for them in exchange for a steady number of clients. To apply, clinicians must provide proof of credentials, proof of competence in therapeutic treatment, and undergo a rigorous screening process.[2] Unfortunately, it is impossible to ensure that this standard of hiring and assessment is upheld by every online therapy company.
What are the potential benefits/risks of teletherapy?
Potential Benefits for Clients:
Increased Access to Mental Health Services
Telehealth can be very convenient. It alleviates travel restrictions, time constraints, and other barriers like childcare needs.
Greater Sense Of Security
Many people feel more comfortable in their homes, which allows clients to relax and be more willing to share their thoughts and feelings.
Public Health Concerns
The primary factor responsible for this shift to teletherapy is concern over public health during the global pandemic. Telehealth allows clients and experts to abide by stay-at-home safety protocols.
Economic Advantages
Teletherapy alleviates costs associated with travel and childcare.
Client Control
It’s much easier for a client to move to another therapist when using teletherapy because factors regarding commute and location of the new therapist are removed.[3]
Potential Benefits for Mental Health Practitioners:
Greater Access to Clients
Teletherapy allows therapists to meet with clients who may be unable or unwilling to travel. Many people find the prospect of meeting with a therapist in a clinical setting intimidating. For people who feel more comfortable at home, teletherapy may increase their likelihood of seeking out therapeutic treatment.
Economic Advantages
Teletherapy alleviates costs associated with travel, business expenses such as rent for office space, and allows practitioners to meet with more clients.
Time
With less time spent commuting from home to work, practitioners have greater flexibility regarding scheduling appointments with more clients.
Efficiency
Sessions conducted via chat or messaging automatically generate a record of the session, and video-conferencing allows the opportunity for sessions to be recorded.[3]
Potential Risks and Limitations for Clients:
Privacy
There are several potential risks to client privacy associated with teletherapy services.
It’s possible for hackers to access private data from a client’s device. Files containing sensitive client information that are unsecured may be accessed by an unwanted third party.
Even HIPAA compliant teletherapy services may be subject to data breaches that put client confidentiality at risk.
Unsecure chat and conferencing programs may expose sensitive client data, so clients should only work with therapists who have the tools and knowledge to encrypt data.
Some people lack access to private environments even within their own homes, this can make it difficult to protect client confidentiality as people may overhear or listen in on a private session.
Competence of the therapist
Therapists who are not competent regarding the use of technology and commercial software put their clients at significantly greater risk of breaches in confidentiality
Environment
Some people may prefer the security, and calm of a clinical office setting and have difficulty accessing a comfortable and private environment to facilitate their session.
Distractions
It is very easy for people to become distracted by things like notifications, emails, and text messages when using their devices and these distractions may impede upon the therapy session.[3]
Potential Risks and Limitations for Mental Health Practitioners:
Privacy
It is the responsibility of the clinician to protect client data, ensuring this protection is much more complex when relying on online/virtual programs than it is for clinicians in a traditional therapy setting.
Legal and ethical concerns
Therapists must comply with state licensing board regulations in both the state where they practice and where the client is located. Following the proper rules and regulations requires special knowledge and legal understanding which can be difficult to keep up with.
Communication
With the absence of face-to-face interaction comes the loss of many non-verbal cues and paralanguage that enhance overall communication among clients and clinicians. It can also be more difficult to establish a comfortable rapport with a client in a virtual setting where people feel distanced. In other words, the physical separation may impede the therapeutic dynamic.
Anonymity and client safety concerns
Clients can easily hide their identities online. This can make it much more difficult for clinicians who have a responsibility to report clients who may harm themselves or others to the proper authorities.[3]
Is teletherapy comparable to traditional therapy?
There is a lot of debate as to whether teletherapy is truly comparable to traditional therapeutic treatments. Some experts claim that there is a lack of research or evidence regarding teletherapy including its efficacy and effectiveness with long-term outcomes. Other experts claim that there is no significant difference between teletherapy and traditional therapy regarding the practices used and their efficacy. Some clients have reported great experiences with teletherapy, and others have expressed the opposite. As with traditional therapy, what seems to matter most is the compatibility of the client and the therapist. As of now, it seems difficult to definitively say which avenue of mental health care is superior. The bottom line is, whether it’s teletherapy or traditional, it is up to the client to decide what avenue best suits their needs.
Dr. Bennett has been practicing teletherapy with her child, teen, and adult clients since the beginning of the pandemic. She says she’s had to get creative figuring out how to keep kids focused with fun games and skill-training strategies. She says she does miss the natural comfort and improved intimacy of face-to-face therapy. But she suspects that over half of her clients will opt for telehealth services in the future. She says it’s particularly convenient for busy families who have multiple children in sporting and learning activities. She even got licensed in Hawaii and Idaho so she can work remotely while she is on vacation!
GKIS Services
Screen Safety Essentials Course offers a comprehensive family program with tools for fostering open communication and creating safer home screen environments.
Screen Time in the Mean Time is the parenting guide needed in this digital age. Dr. B’s book posits tangible ways to keep your family safe and connected while utilizing technology.
Thanks to CSUCI intern, Mackenzie Morrow for researching Teletherapy mental health services and co-authoring this article.
I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.
Dangerous TikTok trends have previously sent kids to the hospital, now a new trend is sending them to jail. The forever infamous “Tide Pod challenge,” which spawned from an internet meme, gained huge traction among young users on the platform TikTok after videos of kids eating the toxic laundry detergent went viral. These videos resulted in thousands of calls to poison control, and hundreds of trips to the emergency room. While this shocking TikTok trend faded away in early 2018, a new trend dubbed “Devious Licks” has rocked schools across the nation and lead to the arrests of several students.
What is TikTok?
TikTok is a social media and video-sharing platform that is primarily marketed to kids and teens. Since its launch in 2016, it has become one of the most popular social media sites attracting over 1 billion monthly users. What drives the popularity of this platform is that it offers millions of short user-created videos that feature an enormous variety of content. Through the use of hashtags, TikTok users can see which viral videos are attracting the largest number of views from fellow TikTokers. The most popular videos are re-created or copied by other users to increase their chances of having their videos viewed which is essentially how TikTok trends get started. With so many users competing for likes and attention, these viral trend videos spread like wildfire.
TikTok has previously come under fire for its initial lack of action in response to the posting of “Tide Pod challenge” videos. CBS reports that there were at least ten deaths related to this challenge. Unfortunately, TikTok failed to promptly block uploads to their platform that featured the hashtag “Tide Pod challenge” which ultimately would have prevented this trend from getting the amount of exposure that it did.
The New Dangerous Trend: “Devious Licks”
Early September 2021, when kids across the nation finally began going back to school after a year of COVID19-required virtual learning, videos featuring the hashtag “DeviousLicks” swept through TikTok. Unlike the name suggests, this newest trend does not actually involve physically licking dangerous objects. According to UrbanDictionary.com the word lick is slang for an illegal way to quickly get money, primarily through the theft of property. The “Devious Licks” trend is a competition among kids and teens to see who can film themselves while stealing the riskiest or most important objects without getting caught and then subsequently uploading the video onto TikTok as proof of participation. While this trend has reportedly spanned schools across the nation, these videos are most often shot in middle and high schools.
How did it start?
This viral video trend allegedly began when one student posted a video to TikTok featuring a box of disposable face masks they purported to have stolen from the campus. The viral video, which received almost half a million views, was captioned, “A month into school and got this absolutely devious lick… Should’ve brought a mask from home. Now look at you walkin round campus maskless you dirty dog.” Since this first video was posted, things escalated drastically.
A list of some of the stolen items featured in devious licks videos include:
Fire extinguishers
Fire Alarms
Exit Signs
Bathroom Supplies
soap dispensers and paper towel/toilet paper dispensers, urinal cakes
Classroom Supplies:
lab materials, computers, books, a class pet, pencil sharpeners, projectors
Physical Property:
sinks, toilets, stall walls, a principal’s car parts, locker doors, cellphones, SMART boards, desks/chairs, clocks
One video even shows a shoe being stolen off the foot of a student who was sitting in a bathroom stall. Other videos show student restrooms that have been completely vandalized and rendered almost useless. Parents at a middle school in Texas have been asked to send their kids to school with their own hand soap due to the dispensers having all been stolen from the restrooms.
Police Are Stepping In
To stop this trend from continuing, law enforcement officials have begun arresting students across several different states. In Kentucky, eight students have been arrested due to their participation in the “Devious Licks” challenge. Four of the students were charged with theft while the remaining four were charged with vandalism. Five more students were charged in Florida, one student charged in Arizona, and one student charged in Alabama.
TikTok’s Response
While it is obvious that a lot of damage has occurred across many different schools that are already struggling amidst the global pandemic, TikTok has responded to this phenomenon by continually blocking all “Devious Licks”- related content from being uploaded onto their site to prevent more damage. Unfortunately, the criminal records of the students who were arrested in connection with this trend cannot be fixed as easily as soap dispensers.
Why is this happening?
Today’s kids and teens spend so much of their time in virtual neighborhoods. Social media platforms are where our kids go to socialize, meet new people, make impressions, and try to fit in. Adolescence is a time when we constantly crave feelings of validation and social media platforms like TikTok can be a powerful avenue for seeking validation through attention. Kids will strive for popularity on TikTok by participating in potentially (and sometimes obviously) dangerous trends such as the “Devious Licks” challenge because the validation they receive from others feels good. Their brains are wired with a powerful reward system that can make their better judgment take a back seat to their need to feel embraced, even if it seems artificial to us.
What Kids Need from Their Parents
The negative implications of this newest TikTok trend are obvious. Aside from the damage to school property and the loss of personal property from other students, the potential loss of future opportunities due to a permanent criminal record because of participating in a fleeting internet trend is tragic.
To avoid these kinds of negative outcomes, parent-child communication and parental oversight are key. Dr. B offers essential tips for fostering this kind of communication in her GKIS Connected Family Course. With this online course, you will learn how to create a safer screen home environment through fun parenting techniques designed to guide sensible screen management.
Additionally, Dr. B’s tried and true GKIS Social Media Readiness Training is a valuable tool that teaches tweens and teens about the inherent risks of social media and ways to be prepared when encountering them. Remember to be kind, create an environment that allows for open dialogue between you and your kids, and rest assured that you have provided your family with the tools to facilitate safe and healthy internet practices. You can also stay up to date on relevant internet/gaming topics with our free articles on the GKIS Blog.
Thanks to CSUCI intern, Mackenzie Morrow for researching TikTok’s newest dangerous “Devious Licks” trend and co-authoring this article.
I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.
Is it possible that your child is being encouraged to fake a mental health illness because of YouTube celebrities? It is no secret that today’s children and teens practically live their lives through the internet. Social media platforms and entertainment sites like YouTube are where our kids go to seek out information, make friends, and build their budding identities. One aspect that makes these sites so attractive is that they provide a space for kids and teens to experiment with their identities by trying on different personas in accordance with what is trending online. This phenomenon gives the content creators of platforms like YouTube enormous influence over what our kids see as socially desirable traits and behaviors. The reality is that these content creators are some of our kids’ biggest role models and some of the biggest content creators on YouTube are featuring videos about their mental health disorders. To help ensure your family has the tools to safely navigate the online world, check out our Screen Safety Essentials Course.
So, what is trending online?
Mental health issues and disorders are far less stigmatizing among today’s children and teens than they were in previous generations. This is due to increased awareness, social progressiveness, and a cultural shift that embraces individualism. In other words, being different is now something to be celebrated rather than something to be avoided at all costs.
As a result, popularity today looks a lot different than it used to. Cheerleaders and football jocks are no longer the end-all-be-all of popularity and coolness. For our kids, to be seen as fundamentally different from everyone else or misunderstood by their peers is to be seen as unique and uniqueness is the ultimate attention attracter. Oddly enough, teens today must stand out to fit in. This trend can be seen online by the enormous popularity of YouTube channels that feature content related to mental health disorders.
YouTubers Are Sensationalizing Mental Illness for Views
It is inappropriate for an unqualified person to make judgment calls regarding the validity of someone’s mental health diagnosis. Exercising informed and critical thinking when evaluating claims made by people online is important. Especially, when it is your child who is being exposed to these claims.
Content creators on YouTube get paid to make videos that attract attention from viewers. One way these content creators ensure that their videos are viewed out of thousands of others is to make them as sensational as possible. Frequently, truth is secondary to entertainment which is incredibly dangerous in this context because the implications of serious mental health disorders are far too significant to be trivialized.[1] Currently, content creators who purport to have multiple personality disorders (also referred to as dissociative identity disorder or DID) are skyrocketing as YouTube channel celebrities.
What Is multiple personality disorder?
Multiple personality disorder is a type of dissociative disorder characterized by the presence of multiple personalities or identities that coexist within one person’s mind. The personalities are distinct, completely separate from, and unaware of one another. Each personality has its own identity, complete life history, personal traits, preferences, attitudes, etc., and exerts control over the individual at different times.
The cause of this disorder is usually related to severe trauma and can be seen as a coping mechanism that protects a person from facing painful memories. The original personality is called the host and is often the most dominant identity. Additional identities are called alters. People with DID switch between personalities, with the current personality taking control over the body (referred to as “fronting”) and thus shielding the person from distressful or alarming situations.[2]
Multiple personality disorder is an incredibly rare diagnosis affecting only .01 to 1% of the population.[3] Additionally, there is considerable debate among psychologists as to whether or not the disorder truly exists.[4] Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation about the disorder being broadcast by YouTubers who claim to have it.
Who Are These DID Content Creators?
Some of the most popular YouTube channels whose creators purport to have multiple personality disorder include MultiplicityAndMe, The Entropy system, Fragmented Psyche, Trisha Paytas, and DissociaDID. Each of these channels is enormously popular with DissociaDID having over 1.9 million subscribers.
These content creators capitalize on the mystery surrounding the disorder and typically play the role of educating their viewers. Each of these channels has videos with clickbait-worthy titles such as “Switching Caught on Camera” and “Meet the Alters.” These content creators have branded themselves as leaders of the DID community and have created a culture of exclusivity.
Us Vs. Them
For kids who may have difficulties making friends, belonging to this kind of exclusive community is very attractive. As I mentioned earlier, kids today have to stand out to fit in. Belonging to such an exclusive group allows them to feel unique while also being accepted by others. The comments sections under these videos are filled with DID-related memes, inside jokes, and special insight-fueled communication that fosters an “us versus them” mentality.
The Dangers of The Mental Illness Trend on YouTube
While having a mental disorder is nothing to be ashamed of, the act of faking a mental illness or claiming to have one when one doesn’t is dangerous. First and foremost, living with a dissociative disorder such as DID is not as glamorous as it is portrayed to be by these YouTube content creators. It is distressing, impairing, and often overwhelming with far-reaching implications across a variety of aspects of a person’s life. Here are some dangers:
Kids who claim to have the disorder as a means of making friends online can ultimately end up isolating themselves from others in real life even further.
People who fake a mental disorder can become convinced that they genuinely do have the disorder.[5]
People who claim to have a mental health disorder that they really do not have may end up taking away valuable resources that people with true diagnoses desperately need.
What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids
Parental oversight regarding their kids’ exposure to content online is the most important thing. One way to do this is by monitoring your kid’s online activity such as the sites they visit, the content they feature, and how much time they spend online. Thankfully, Dr. B has a variety of useful strategies designed to help families navigate the various pitfalls of internet exposure and prevent digital injury.
The GKIS Social Media Readiness Training is a valuable tool that teaches teens about the inherent risks of social media and ways to be prepared when encountering them.
The Screen Safety Toolkit is a family-tested, outcome-based resource guide with our best recommendations, how-to information, and links to our favorite easy-to-onboard parental control systems.
The GKIS Connected Family Course will provide parents and families with tips for creating a safe screen home environment through fun parenting techniques that are designed to guide sensible screen management.
The Screen Safety Essentials Course provides weekly parenting and family coaching videos, engaging family activities, and other valuable information such as selected readings from our GKIS blog articles and Dr. Bennett’s expert book, Screen Time in the Mean Time.
Thanks to CSUCI intern, Mackenzie Morrow for researching the risk of digital injury to kids who are exposed to sensationalized mental health content on YouTube and co-authoring this article.
I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.
[1] Mayo Clinic. (2019). Factitious disorder. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/factitious-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20356028
[2] Waugaman, R. M., & Korn, M. (2012). Review of Understanding and treating dissociative identity disorder: A relational approach. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 60(3), 626–631. https://doi-org.ezproxy.csuci.edu/10.1177/0003065112447105
[3] Brand, B. L., Sar, V., Stavropoulos, P., Krüger, C., Korzekwa, M., Martínez-Taboas, A., & Middleton, W. (2016). Separating fact from fiction: An empirical examination of six myths about Dissociative Identity Disorder. Harvard review of psychiatry, 24(4), 257–270. https://doi.org/10.1097/HRP.0000000000000100
[4] Dorahy, M. J., Brand, B. L., Sar, V., Krüger, C., Stavropoulos, P., Martínez-Taboas, A., Lewis-Fernández, R., & Middleton, W. (2014). Dissociative identity disorder: An empirical overview. The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry, 48(5), 402–417. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004867414527523
[5] Merckelbach, H., Jelicic, M., & Pieters, M. (2011). The residual effect of feigning: how intentional faking may evolve into a less conscious form of symptom reporting. Journal of clinical and experimental neuropsychology, 33(1), 131–139
Socialization is a critical aspect to good health for kids and adults.[1][2] That’s why constant connection through social media, chatrooms, texting, and online gaming has become irresistible to us. For help managing in the online world and avoiding costly digital injuries, check out Dr. Bennett’s positive parenting and family coaching videos in our Screen Safety Essentials Course. We all need each other online and off. Afterall, the early people of our species were hunters and gatherers. Having a tribe was critical for our survival. In modern times, with many families living away from extended families and our lives as busy as ever, it’s often hard for adults to make friends. Today’s GKIS article covers the costly results of loneliness and offers suggestions for how to break out of our loneliness and enter the realm of meaningful connectedness.
The Prevalence of Loneliness
Higher rates of loneliness are found among young adults, seniors, those who are visually impaired, victims of abuse, and the unemployed.[3] Due to its prevalence, numerous outlets including Time, Forbes, US News, Cigna Insurance, and the Health Resources & Services Administration have referred to loneliness as an epidemic in the last decade.
Feelings of loneliness can result from a lack of friendships, intimacy, or emotional connection.[4] The long-term impacts of loneliness include poor sleep, depression, suicidal ideation, increases in cortisol (a stress hormone), compromised immune responses, and inflammation. Chronic loneliness has also been linked to the progression of Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic diseases. Further, loneliness is associated with poor lifestyle habits which include sedentariness and smoking.[5]
To avoid unfortunate outcomes, we must carve out the time to hang out with friends and family. For kids and teens, school is an easy resource to draw from. But for adults, social resources can be hard to find. To help you reach out and find more connection and community in your life, we’ve uncovered some novel ideas and resources!
Finding Community in Person
Volunteer
Volunteering is a fantastic way to meet friends, give back, and cultivate a sense of belonging. Research has found that volunteering is particularly helpful for those who have recently lost a loved one. In a study by Dawn Carr and colleagues observing over 5,000 recently widowed spouses, subjects who volunteered two or more hours per week had lower rates of loneliness than those who did not volunteer at all.[6]
Volunteering also has benefits for the whole family. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension notes that youth volunteerism can help with the development of identity, empathy, skill-building, self-esteem, and relationships with like-minded people.[7] A study by Sandi Nenga from Southwestern University notes similar improvements in youth volunteerism. But Nenga also emphasizes that volunteering can connect multiple, diverse communities, creating better outcomes in future civic roles for youth volunteers.[8]
Join a gym
Many gyms offer classes like Zumba, pilates, yoga, kickboxing, and barre. Attending exercise classes provides opportunities to talk with others and explore your workout journeys together!
Exercise is associated with decreases in stress hormones including cortisol and adrenaline, and promotes the production of mood-enhancing endorphins.[9] For those who have social anxiety, these feel-good-feelings can help you gain confidence in seeking and maintaining new relationships.
Join a club or team
Clubs and teams offer great opportunities to make new friends and work together. Bulletins for clubs and teams may be found at your local college campus or community recreation center. A study by Scott Graupensperger and colleagues notes that being on a club sports team results in greater prosocial behaviors. Additionally, being on a team creates a strong sense of community and bonds, thus enhancing identification with others. A greater sense of identification can improve one’s mental health, social life, and well-being.[10]
Find Community Online
Online resources have made meeting like-minded people easier than ever. Today’s platforms allow us to connect with a host of individuals and groups that offer various forms of entertainment whether it is sushi classes, book clubs, or family potlucks! Of course, proper cautions are necessary when meeting people online. To help tweens and teens prepare for the potential hazards that await them on social media, we recommend they take our Social Media Readiness Course. This online course not only offers the information they need to stay safe, Dr. Bennett also shares critical wellness strategies she’s developed in over 25 years of clinical practice! Here are 4 GKIS recommended online platforms to help you connect with others
Meetup
Meetup.com is a great website to start your search for like-minded people. The groups available are diverse and range from substance abuse support groups to groups for beginner hikers! Some groups are also geared towards entire families and may host events to bring families together. You can also create your own group, however, a monthly charge to Meetup is needed to keep your group active.
Hey! VINA
Hey! VINA is a free new app with a design similar to the dating app Tinder. Hey! Vina is geared toward women and nonbinary people looking to make friends with other women and nonbinary people. The VIP membership gives users special access to certain features including faster matches, seeing who swiped right on (liked) your profile, and more.
The Dinner Party
The Dinner Party is an organization founded in 2018. The purpose of this organization is to bring grieving individuals who are between the ages 20 to 39 together. The intent is to connect and provide support for each other over dinner. They also expanded to create dinner parties for a wider audience of individuals who may be dealing with a different type of issue and would like a companion to talk to. To accommodate the recent COVID-19 guidelines, individuals are currently hosting Zoom dinner parties as a safer way to get together.
Eventbrite
Eventbrite is a popular platform used to get tickets for live events ranging from stadium concerts to yoga meetups at the park. While the service is free, the organizer of the event may require a small fee to attend while others offer their events for free.
Thanks to CSUCI intern, Avery Flower for researching ways to battle loneliness, and for co-authoring this article.
I’m the mom psychologist who will help you GetKidsInternetSafe.
[1] Williams, C. Y. K., Townson, A. T., Kapur, M., Ferreira, A. F., Nunn, R., Galante, J., Phillips, V., Gentry, S., & Usher-Smith, J. A. (2021). Interventions to reduce social isolation and loneliness during COVID-19 physical distancing measures: A rapid systematic review. PLoS ONE, 16(2). https://doi-org.ezproxy.csuci.edu/10.1371/journal.pone.0247139
[2] Lun, V. M.-C., & Bond, M. H. (2016). Achieving subjective well-being around the world: The moderating influence of gender, age and national goals for socializing children. Journal of Happiness Studies: An Interdisciplinary Forum on Subjective Well-Being, 17(2), 587–608. https://doi-org.ezproxy.csuci.edu/10.1007/s10902-015-9614-z
[3]Brunes, A., Hansen, M. B., & Heir, T. (2019). Loneliness among adults with visual impairment: Prevalence, associated factors, and relationship to life satisfaction. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 17. https://doi-org.ezproxy.csuci.edu/10.1186/s12955-019-1096-y
[4] Tiwari, S. (2013). Loneliness: A disease? Indian Journal of Psychiatry,55(4), 320. doi:10.4103/0019-5545.120536
[5] Beutel, M. E., Klein, E. M., Brähler, E., Reiner, I., Jünger, C., Michal, M., Wiltink, J., Wild, P. S., Münzel, T., Lackner, K. J., & Tibubos, A. N. (2017). Loneliness in the general population: Prevalence, determinants and relations to mental health. BMC Psychiatry, 17.
[6]Carr, D. C., Kail, B. L., Matz-Costa, C., & Shavit, Y. Z. (2018). Does becoming a volunteer attenuate loneliness among recently widowed older adults? The Journals of Gerontology: Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 73(3), 501–510. https://doi-org.ezproxy.csuci.edu/10.1093/geronb/gbx092
[10]Graupensperger, S., Panza, M., & Evans, M. B. (2020). Network centrality, group density, and strength of social identification in college club sport teams. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 24(2), 59–73. https://doi-org.ezproxy.csuci.edu/10.1037/gdn0000106
