Health

HE A LTH • Fall 2020 17 sponsored Instagram post, those disclaimers are inconsistent and vary in substance. In that vein, Sarah Cavanagh, associate professor of psychology at Assumption University in Worcester, wrote in her recent book "Hivemind" about how, in her words, social technology like smartphones and social media have amplified both the positives and negatives of people's ultrasocial selves. "I sum up my conclusions with a principle I call, 'Enhance, don't eclipse.' That is, the healthiest outcomes are predicted when you use your smartphone in order to enhance or augment your existing social relationships, and the unhealthiest outcomes are predicted when you use these technologies in ways that interfere with or replace said face-to- face connections," Cavanagh said in an email interview. Similarly, Sachs referenced a comedy sketch he'd seen about at-home dentistry, wherein patients might learn how to fill their own cavities. It's one thing, he said, to learn to recognize signs you might need help from a trained professional. The same is true for mental health care. "This is not something you really can do yourself," he said. Safety is a concern, too When it comes to mental health advice shilled out on TikTok and other social media apps, safety can be a concern. There's the slightly more obvious aspect of that – taking misinformed advice from a stranger – but for young users, especially, there's also a real risk of oversharing into a space where, as cliche as it sounds, no one is anonymous and digital footprints last virtually forever. It's not uncommon for a high- school-aged user to post a video lamenting their schoolmates had come across their account, hence gaining access to whatever vulnerable information they'd posted to their pages under a false assumption of anonymity. At the end of the day, especially with people's public accounts, it's really impossible to know who is viewing your content, let alone saving it or sharing it. "That's where it's important to start having these conversations as early as possible and in giving the kids the tools in order to have some understanding about what they're putting out there and why that might be of a concern, that would be a risk for adolescents," said Dr. Wynne Morgan, who works in the pediatric and adolescent psychiatry department UMass Memorial Health Care in Worcester. Platforms like TikTok are certainly not negative across the board, however. They provide opportunities for people around the world to share their experiences, find commonalities, even commiserate about life's challenges or indulge in self-deprecating jokes – to confirm they are not alone, and perhaps grow more comfortable talking about what has long been stigmatized and relegated to quiet, private conversations. However, if care is needed, it's the in-person (or telehealth) follow- through that makes the difference. "I have seen this transformation in my own classrooms, where in recent years many students openly discuss their anxiety with me, for instance," Cavanagh, from Assumption, said. "I would hope that this translates into them being more able to access services to help them." 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 27% 42% 16% 8% 3% 4% Percentage of users Ages 13-17 Ages 18-24 Ages 25-34 Ages 35-44 Ages 45-54 Ages 55+ Ages of TikTok users According to the social media management website Hootsuite, TikTok is the No. 1 most downloaded app of 2020. Source: HootSuite H

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