(Pixabay)
As the spread of the novel coronavirus forces people indoors, some have turned to recreating viral dance challenges on TikTok. The TikTok website says their mission is “to inspire creativity and bring joy.”
After conducting a five-year study with young people in Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom, York University Faculty of Education Professor Kate Tilleczek found that there was a deep love-hate paradox of digital media consumption. She has studied the lives of youth and children for nearly three decades. Now the Canada Research Chair in Young Lives, Education and Global Good and the director of Young Lives Research Laboratory, Tilleczek researches challenges and opportunities for social development in youth.
“What I’m concerned about is having people, particularly young people, start to think meaningfully about not just the number of hours they’re spending online but the quality of that time,” she says. Now more than ever, Tilleczek says people should consider whether or not technology is serving us. “When we start to get anxious or depressed, or we know we’re on there too long and weird stuff is happening, we need to be aware and to really manage, navigate and negotiate what’s going on,” she says.