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(Dis)advantages of Tik-Tok

2024-3-HU01-KA152-YOU-0002675072024Mobility of young peopleongoing
Countries: HU|NL|RO|EL|HR|BG|TR|ES|PT · Grant: €74,461
Digital safetyPrevention of bullying

Objectives

We submitted this project last year, got 87 points. Unfortunately, due to the limitations of available resources during the previous call for proposals, we missed out on funding. Based on the experts’ evaluation, we offered a detailed description of facilitators. Besides, we reconsidered the target group of the project, and agreed that to take on such a large number of participants at this age, without experience would risk the success of the project. As a consequence, the target group is young people aged 18-30 who, after the youth exchange, can transfer their knowledge to the younger generation. In this digital environment, a majority of Hungarians advocated for online content regulation to curb hate speech and harmful content in 2023, although 13% opposed this idea. Particularly among the youth aged 15 to 29, TikTok enjoyed robust popularity, with over half using it daily, while only 25% of this demographic didn't use the platform. This scenario underscores Hungary's substantial digital engagement and the pronounced use of platforms like TikTok, amidst calls for regulatory measures on online content. Amid this backdrop of pervasive internet and TikTok usage in Hungary and all over Europe, where the digital sphere significantly influences the daily lives and mental well-being of the youth, it is crucial to critically examine the impact of such platforms. Our aims are to draw attention to the advantages and disadvantages of TikTok, to make young people realize how much it has infiltrated our everyday lives. It influences and determines our present and future. The videos published by algorithms in “For you” can be all scrolled away for hours a day and the opportunities provided by advertising have opened up a successful marketing activity for companies, but also for individuals. The problem with TikTok is not that only bad things can be found on the app, but the ratio of good and bad is unfortunately not equal, because since it is a part of our everyday life, the bad will turn up in our lives more often than the good, so it can lead in a direction that can have a harmful effect on us. If we use TikTok for 2 hours a day, that means 60 hours a month, including 360 videos a day, 10 800 videos a month. Finally our goal is to present TikTok with its advantages and disadvantages, with conscious use and caution in mind. It is crucial to preserve the mental health of young people so that their growth is not hindered from this point of view by an app that is basically designed for entertainment. Overall aim of our project is to help young people better understand how TikTok affects their lives, including both its good and bad sides. We want to encourage responsible use of the platform by providing participants with the knowledge and critical thinking skills they need to make smart choices about how they use TikTok. Our focus is on protecting their mental health and overall well-being in the digital world of 54 participants from 9 countries with culturally diverse backgrounds such as being minorities, including Roma and migrant young people. Each partner will include at least 3 participants with fewer opportunities. Objectives to be fulfilled until the end of the project: Objective 1. To create a secure and inclusive environment for open dialogues about TikTok, enabling 54 participants to freely share their experiences, concerns, and insights. Objective 2. To encourage 54 participants exploring the positive facets of TikTok, including its potential for education, entertainment, and creative expression. Objective 3. To analyze the psychological and emotional impact of TikTok, addressing issues such as body image concerns, self-esteem challenges, and the consequences of cyberbullying based on the experiences of 54 participants from 9 countries. Objective 4. To sensitize 54 participants to the potential dangers associated with TikTok trends and challenges, emphasizing physical and psychological risks to young users. Objective 5. To equip 54 participants with strategies to effectively handle cyberbullying and negative online interactions, fostering emotional resilience and self-care. Objective 6. To develop 54 participants' media literacy skills, enabling them to critically assess the content they encounter on TikTok and other digital platforms. Objective 7. To motivate 54 participants to initiate educational campaigns within their 9 communities, schools, or online networks, to promote responsible TikTok usage.

Project partners (9)