Posted on 01/19/2025 2:29:35 AM PST by Libloather
TikTok junkies are in for a painful biology lesson.
The controversial app’s imminent removal over Chinese spying concerns — possibly as soon as 12:01 a.m. Sunday — could spark serious physical and psychological withdrawal among serial scrollers, doctors told The Post.
“The universal symptoms of withdrawal from any addictive substance are extreme anxiety, irritability, insomnia, depression and cravings – and people who are addicted to TikTok, if they stop using it abruptly, may experience any or all of these symptoms,” said Stanford psychiatrist Dr. Anna Lembke.
Lembke, who specializes in addiction medicine, also warned of mood swings, panic attacks and dysphoria – a profound negative mood – that could plague TikTok’s faithful after the app’s removal.
On Friday, the US Supreme Court unanimously voted to uphold a law that will ban the social media app nationwide unless the Beijing-based company, ByteDance, sells it to a US-approved buyer.
Without TikTok as a vice, levels of dopamine — a chemical that’s released in the brain when a person does something enjoyable, creating the urge to do it again — will begin to plummet, according to Dr. Victoria Dunckley, author of “Reset Your Child’s Brain.”
With every mind-numbing scroll, users are bombarded with a relentless stream of short videos ranging from dance challenges and make-up tutorials to melodramatic confessionals and absurd stunts.
Desperate TikTokers have been flooding the platform with tearful posts and dramatic pleas – with one user wailing about their “life falling apart.”
“It’s really not fair that, like, they’re banning TikTok, and I know that’s dramatic as hell that I’m crying,” a TikToker named Inzlay said in a Thursday video with tears streaming down her face. “I know it sounds dramatic to say I don’t know what I’m gonna do without TikTok, but like, bro, I really don’t know...
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
and you thought the zombie apocalypse was just a bunch of hooey.
“exercising and protecting our first two unalienable rights is as simple as talking while carrying” L.Star
Good quote...
“This is ridiculous. the whole Internet went down. Sure, I could see it.”
Oh no, it has happened here many times. You would think the stock market crashed because of the mass universal emotional panic that ensues here... It is natural human nature. The Free Republic is the only connection to the outside social world many folks here have. So it is a very serious thing when a whole community and all your friends just disappear. Folks sit right on top of their browser and click away endlessly until it comes finally back up. Then there is always a huge mass rejoicing from those who thought they had lost each other forever.
Hopefully there’s a massive increase in suicide to help cull the herd.
Except the point of contention is that TikTok is subject to the control of the People’s Republic of China.
There’s a lot of attempting to make the US equivalent to the PRC in regards to censorship. I believe that’s a false equivalence especially in regards to TikTok. The legislation signed into law and which pertains to TikTok was debated in Congress, voted on and signed by the President. It had expedited judicial review which culminated in the USSC unanimously upholding the legislation.
The result of this was some posters calling ALL the Supreme Court justices “Deep State”, ignorantly calling the severability portion of the law a means to block sites such as FR, claims that the PRC already has access to all the information that people claim TikTok can access, and the US is no better because they just want to shut down free speech. I have no problem with TikTok exiting and being available as long it has no connection to the PRC. I hope a sale is arranged soon. Because shorting a sale or countering legislation those are the only two remaining options.
I farted like that once.
Still, I can see how the inter web community could be somewhat of a godsend for shut ins who would otherwise have no social interactions. On the other hand, it's downsides have been documented ad nauseam.
If you’re addicted to social media, you need help. Get a life, spend some time outdoors, go fishing, gardening, go to a sports event, try grilling or cooking, anything but sit in front of a screen or with a smart phone all day getting fat or “traumatized” when you can’t get connected. Me, I spend about an hour a day, all together, some here, some other sites. Then I have to get outside or find something to do inside. I spent half my life in front of a computer screen in the IT industry, maybe that’s why I can do without it today.
Addictive behaviour. Sort of. More like a substitute for real , sometimes difficult interactions with the real world. A world of difficult problems and people. Tiktok will be replaced with more subtle spyware. The real problem is that young people are being suckled with little bits of virtual “enjoyment” without tackling big real grownup problems.
Just a thought, but I’m pretty sure that Free Republic withdrawal is 10 times more serious that Tik Tok withdrawal
“Except the point of contention is that TikTok is subject to the control of the People’s Republic of China.”
Respectfully, may I ask why they’re not going after Red Note? That’s Communist. See why it’s named that. You can still download THAT and have it fully functioning. Why?
Try talking about freeing Hong Kong, the Tiananmen Square Massacre, mistreatment of the Uyghurs or a hundred other topics the Chinese don't like and you will be censored or shadow banned. So do you little dance video, monkey, and don't clutter your thoughts with international politics.
TikTok junkies going into DT’s stay clear of them.
I went out to eat yesterday and saw this teeny, tiny girl, not much more than a year old, sitting in a high chair and doing something with some app on a cell phone.
What I’m baffled by is why China (if indeed they are right) would want information on what seems to be mostly millions of young adults and teenagers? Like what kind of information and what would they do with it?
I know FR is social media, I don’t think FR incites the need for mental health professionals as the other do.
“I don’t think FR incites the need for mental health professionals as the other do.”
Have you been here when it finally comes back up after being down for even an hour? You would not be able to say that if you were... And by self admission of the members. But it is human nature and understandable.
No. For me FR has always had 100% up time
Looking at the information in the "Red Note" "Date Used to Track You", "Data Linked to You", and "Data Not Linked to You" sections on the Apple iOS App Store it collects substantially less data to track users and is linked to user vs. TikTok.
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