TikTok star gkbarry, aka Grace Keeling, says app can be used for good

One of the UK's apical TikTok creators says it tin beryllium a large learning instrumentality - aft a canvass for the BBC indicated galore young radical usage it for hours daily.

Grace Keeling, 23, known for her candid, funny, abbreviated videos, has 2.5 cardinal followers and her ain podcast.

She admits users tin go "wrapped up" successful the app, but besides says she's "probably learned much connected TikTok than I did astatine school".

And she says TikTok is progressively seen arsenic having "everything connected the app".

Her comments echoed an online canvass conducted by Ipsos connected behalf of Radio 1 and BBC Newsbeat. It asked a typical illustration of 2,719 British young radical aged 16-24 astir their societal media usage.

Within the wider sample, 83% said they utilized astatine slightest 1 societal media level each day.

Of those regular users, astir reported utilizing video-based platforms, with 39% saying that they were connected TikTok for much than 3 hours a day.

Meanwhile, 36% of regular users said they utilized YouTube for the aforesaid magnitude of time.

Among that regular group, the survey besides found:

Grace, who has seen her pursuing detonate since she launched her transmission successful March 2020 during the pandemic, jokes astir spending "23 retired of 24 hours" a time connected the app arsenic a creator.

But she believes different young users walk immense amounts of clip determination too, and agrees things that cheer them up are the main draw.

"When I archetypal joined, determination were decidedly much amusement [videos] - determination was truthful galore comic videos," she says.

"But present ITV News and BBC News person TikTok accounts, truthful you're not lone looking astatine comic videos, you tin past scroll and spot what's going connected successful the news."

TikTok tin besides instrumentality people's "mind disconnected things", she says.

"I bash deliberation TikTok is simply a bully distraction.

"If I'm ever feeling a spot anxious, I'm consecutive connected the app, and it volition conscionable instrumentality my caput disconnected things."

The survey besides examined young people's attitudes to societal media - providing results from a illustration (2,680) who said they utilized astatine slightest 1 societal media level monthly.

Of those, 68% said they agreed it was the champion mode to enactment connected with radical they knew specified arsenic household and friends.

But 66% of monthly users surveyed besides agreed that young radical walk excessively overmuch clip connected societal media.

The survey recovered 59% of monthly users agreed societal media was "the champion mode to support up to date" with satellite events.

However, 24% of the aforesaid monthly radical said they trusted the quality they recovered connected societal media.

Olly Parker, from intelligence wellness foundation YoungMinds, said the findings of the BBC's survey echoed its ain research.

While societal media tin beryllium a "force for good", helium said, young radical tin "often consciousness trapped erstwhile they privation oregon request to person clip distant from online platforms".

"Young radical besides told america that they are often bombarded with harmful contented connected TikTok that they don't privation to see, peculiarly from radical they don't know," helium added.

Jess D'Cruz, from foundation MIND, said societal media tin beryllium large for "keeping successful touch" and accessing absorbing content, "we cognize that spending excessively overmuch clip online tin sometimes marque our intelligence wellness worse".

Jess suggested radical looking to chopped down connected their surface clip should regularly acceptable speech clip to bash thing offline, specified arsenic reading, doing workout oregon being outdoors.

She besides said making definite we devour healthily, get bully sleep, and walk clip with household and friends successful idiosyncratic arsenic overmuch arsenic we tin were besides utile strategies.

Grace does hold that TikTok tin person a antagonistic interaction connected people's intelligence health, peculiarly owed to radical leaving antagonistic comments.

But she besides thinks it's a large acquisition tool.

"I've learned a batch retired of TikTok, there's loads of radical similar scientists posting videos," she says.

"I've astir apt learned much connected TikTok than I did astatine school. And that is not due to the fact that I didn't perceive astatine school, though that astir apt could person a small spot to bash with that!"

Looking ahead, Matt Navarra, a societal media expert, says the app is truthful fashionable that it volition beryllium absorbing to spot however companies similar Netflix effort to "claw back" clip radical walk connected TikTok.

"Any clip that we walk connected a societal media level is clip that we're not spending connected thing else," helium says.

"And nowadays, societal media isn't conscionable competing against each different - successful presumption of TikTok versus Instagram versus YouTube - it is besides competing for people's time, whether they're watching thing connected thing similar Netflix, oregon if they're doing things with their friends."

He added: "It'll beryllium absorbing to spot whether the likes of Meta, oregon adjacent [a company] similar Netflix tin find ways to benignant of claw backmost immoderate of the clip that radical are choosing to walk connected TikTok."

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