Beat the tok Beat the tok

TIKTOK HAS GUIDELINES THAT ARE VERY UNSAFE FOR ITS USERS.

by Lucy Dempsey Opinions Staff

Imagine you open your phone at a family event with people all around you and the last thing you went on was TikTok. As you unlock your phone, the app immediately opens to your “For You” page. Someone posted a visually explicit video, and your whole family just saw it on your phone.

Many think that TikTok is a place to express yourself, but hidden deep there are gross videos and things nobody would want to see. TikTok’s guidelines control what stays on and off of the app. Since the app is so large and there are people of all ages using it on a daily basis, the guidelines need to be more intelligent in order to keep users safe, while also being able to be and express themselves.

As predicted by “Insider Intelligence,” there are approximately 834.4 million monthly TikTok users. A little over 8% of the users on TikTok are under 13 years old. The minimum age for TikTok is 12, but there are no restrictions to people under 12, meaning kids under 12 are still able to download TikTok. No warnings. No restrictions. There are many videos online that should not be visible to younger children, or children at all.

From personal experience, I have seen so many things on TikTok that have made me want to puke. Sometimes, there are sensitive content warnings that will give the user the option to watch anyway or skip. I would say these are fairly helpful; however, they aren’t on a lot of the videos that contain worse things. As a 15 year old, I’d say it’s definitely not fit for people under the age of 13.

If TikTok will allow little 12 year olds to roam around on the app, then the guidelines should be more intelligent as to what stays and goes. Since it’s obvious they have the technological experience to add new features and be able to “improve” the app, they should use that ability and work into creating guidelines to better fit the age group. If TikTok allows 12 year olds to be on the app, then the guidelines should be more intelligent for the kids. It may be an idea to some to just raise the age you have to be to be on the app, but there is nothing that restricts a child younger than the required age from going on TikTok. The rules and guidelines on TikTok should be improved so that they fit the ages that are allowed to be on the app.

By Kayla Chan SPORTS

see ya later Seniors

The varsity tennis team celebrates after defeating Marquette on April 24 at Ladue Middle school. Walsh is the team's manager and was a witness to the team's victory in Springfield, Mo. "I love the atmosphere of this team," Walsh said. "The guys are pretty cool." (Photo submitted by Sawyer Bland)