Is TikTok Creating Shopping Addiction in Teens?
The first thing you notice when scrolling on TikTok’s shop feature is the shockingly low price of the items. After scrolling for a few minutes, there seemed to be nothing that cost more than a couple of pounds. Although great for bargain hunters and people on a budget, it made me question how this influences users behaviour, especially as the app is predominantly targeted to younger audiences.
Figures suggest that in the UK, 76% of 15-24 year olds that are active online are using the video-sharing app. Across the pond, it's thought that 25% of US users are under 19 years old. Evidently a huge market for retailers to target.
Anyone who has used TikTok is likely to have come across #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt, a clever promotional hashtag that allows users to see the content created using various products available to purchase on the app.
Pair this with the brands that use clever viral marketing campaigns, commission paid content, and ads that appear after every second video you watch and you’re left with an app that is consistently persuading users to consume products.
Although some are able to scroll past these videos and feel little more than irritation at seeing content they aren’t interested in, many people will engage with the products or services being sold. They may even feel compelled to make a purchase, especially with such low prices. What's the harm in treating yourself, just this once?
What many of us fail to consider is that making a purchase on or offline triggers the release of dopamine and endorphins in the brain, giving us a rush of pleasure for a few minutes; similarly to eating a great pastry or having an alcoholic drink.
This is particularly relevant when you consider the ages of the users. The prefrontal cortex, often referred to as the ‘decision making centre’ of the brain doesn’t fully develop until the age of 25 therefore the ability to control impulses and weigh-up decisions isn’t as well regulated during adolescence.
These releases of dopamine and endorphins may encourage young people to engage in riskier behaviours, meaning that a few one off purchases have a greater chance of becoming a much more regular habit.
Statistics show that approximately one in three people who fall into the Gen Z/Millennial demographic admit to having a shopping addiction. Granted, shopping addictions existed well before the time of social media however it’s never been easier to ‘go’ shopping. Within a few taps, you can have anything you want delivered to your home.
So when young people are spending hours of their day online with easy access to the purchase of goods through social media, it’s hard not to be concerned. Research has found that those aged 11-17 are spending roughly two hours of their day on the app, which is ample time for sales to be made.
Retailers such as Temu and AliExpress also have extremely low price points, so why aren’t they being mentioned here? Despite finding them problematic from a personal point of view, they don’t concern me as much as TikTok due to its main functionality being a social media site that just so happens to have an integrated shopping feature.
People mostly come to apps to connect with friends, look at videos of dogs, and learn silly dances - not buy things.
When asking a group of fourteen year old girls about their shopping habits, all of them stated they had bought something from a TikTok ad and said they ‘often consider’ buying things from the ads that come up on their phones. Another influential factor of their purchases was what their friends were buying.
No matter our age, we’ve all been guilty of buying a product or hopping on a trend to fit in at some point. However, it’s most commonly seen during adolescence as we're still figuring out who we are and essentially want to increase our social standing by following the crowd. This could mean listening to the same music as our friends, watching the same shows or wearing the same clothes.
It’s natural to want to fit in with your friends, so if you see Regina George buying army pants and flip flops from TikTok shop, you bet you’re going to want to buy army pants and flip flops too.
Bringing all of these elements together; an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex, two hours of daily exposure to ads, and a natural desire to fit in and we have a whole generation of people who are susceptible to developing an unhealthy relationship with buying things.
TikTok shop isn’t going anywhere, well not in the UK anyway. Therefore education is a valuable tool we can utilise to help solve this problem. Although financial education is mandatory in secondary schools across the UK, only a small fraction of the curriculum is set aside to teach kids about budgeting and debt.
Shockingly, a research study conducted by Compare the Market and MyBnk in 2023 found that 61% of the young adults questioned couldn’t recall receiving any financial education at all. There is a certain level of expectation that we place on the school system, but perhaps we must put a stronger emphasis on educating the young people in our lives at home.
Teaching children the value of money and the importance of looking after what we have, no matter how large or small the sum, is imperative if we want them to grow up to be sensible with their finances. It’s important to emphasise that spending a few pounds here and there can quickly add up over a month - and are you really happy with what you have to show for it?
Written by Kelsey Goldstein
Kelsey is passionate about animals and nature. She also loves travelling and cooking.
