Citation

Bohler F, Peters GW, Aggarwal ND. J. Rural Ment. Health 2023; 47(3): 199-200.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, National Association for Rural Mental Health, Publisher American Psychological Association)

DOI

10.1037/rmh0000234

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This letter to the editor discusses the video-sharing mobile application TikTok and its potential role in racism in rural communities. The primary way in which users view content on the application is through its For You Page (FYP). The FYP is designed to automatically curate a stream of videos from creators that the TikTok algorithm calculates will be enjoyed by the user. While this algorithm may seem benign in nature, under certain circumstances, it could be a driving factor for racism and domestic terrorism in rural communities. Parents can play a crucial role in the education of their children to become critical consumers of information to better equip them to identify false or misleading information. These types of parenting strategies can help adolescents, especially those in rural communities, combat hateful content present on social media platforms, leaving them less likely to fall victim to the issues related to TikTok and racist behaviors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Language: en