TikTok overuse: Unveiling the intersection of personality, depression, and social media

by Eric W. Dolan
March 7, 2024

(Photo credit: Adobe Stock)

A new study published in BMC Psychology sheds light on the psychological dynamics of TikTok overuse, revealing how personality traits and depressive tendencies intertwine, potentially leading to what has been termed TikTok Use Disorder (TTUD). The study found that individuals with higher levels of negative emotions and lower self-discipline are more likely to develop an unhealthy dependence on TikTok, with this relationship significantly influenced by depressive symptoms.

TikTok, a social media platform operated by ByteDance, has rapidly ascended to global prominence, distinguished by its short video sharing format. Unlike traditional social media platforms that may prioritize text-based posts or photos, TikTok’s emphasis on brief, engaging videos offers a unique user experience, which quickly propelled it to the forefront of digital culture.

But there are burgeoning concerns over the potential adverse effects of social media overuse, with TikTok’s influence being somewhat underexplored in existing research. While the advantages of social media, such as enhancing social capital, are well-documented, the escalation of use to the point of dependency — bearing resemblance to behavioral addiction — poses significant questions. Given TikTok’s unique design and massive appeal, the researchers sought to better understand the platform’s specific impact on mental health.

“Overuse of social media is currently not recognized as an official diagnosis,” wrote the researchers, Christian Montag and Sebastian Markett. “This field remains a subject of ongoing and controversial discussion [13, 14]. On the other hand, it’s worth noting that Gaming Disorder and Gambling Disorder are both included in the current International Classification of Diseases-11 (ICD-11) issued by the World Health Organization (WHO). Therefore, these established disorders could potentially serve as a model for examining disordered social media use and may offer valuable insights into this emerging area of study.”

For their study, the researchers initially screened a large pool of 7,111 individuals, narrow the sample down to 383 participants who affirmed their use of both social media and TikTok, were at least 18 years old, and thus met the criteria for inclusion. This selection process ensured that the study focused on an adult population actively engaged with TikTok.

Participants were administered a series of questionnaires, crucial among them being the TikTok Use Disorder-Questionnaire (TTUD-Q), which the researchers adapted from the Gaming Disorder Test to assess symptoms related to Gaming Disorder as outlined by the World Health Organization. This approach involved rephrasing items to focus on TikTok use, capturing elements such as loss of control, prioritization of TikTok over other daily activities, continuation despite negative consequences, and functional impairments over a twelve-month period. The study also employed the Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8) to gauge depressive tendencies and the Big Five Inventory-10 (BFI-10) to assess personality traits.

The examination of the TTUD-Q scores revealed that the majority of participants’ scores were concentrated in the lower range, suggesting that while TTUD tendencies exist within the sample, extreme cases were not prevalent.

The researchers found a significant association between specific personality traits — namely high neuroticism and low conscientiousness — and heightened tendencies towards TTUD. This suggests that individuals who are more prone to experiencing negative emotions and exhibit less discipline and organization in their lives are more likely to develop unhealthy patterns of TikTok usage.

Depressive tendencies played a crucial mediating role in this relationship, indicating that the pathway from these personality traits to TTUD is significantly influenced by the presence of depressive symptoms. This finding aligns with the hypothesis that individuals with higher levels of neuroticism may use TikTok excessively as a coping mechanism to alleviate their depressive symptoms, inadvertently reinforcing a cycle of dependency on the platform.

Gender and age emerged as important variables in understanding TTUD tendencies. The study found that, on average, females exhibited higher scores on TTUD, neuroticism, and depressive tendencies, while older participants showed lower TTUD tendencies. This suggests that demographic factors can influence how individuals interact with and are affected by platforms like TikTok.

Specifically, the negative association between age and TTUD tendencies might reflect differences in how various age groups use and engage with social media, with younger users possibly being more susceptible to developing disorderly usage patterns.

But the study, like all research, includes limitations. Its cross-sectional design restricts the ability to establish causal relationships between the investigated variables and its reliance on a convenience sample may affect the generalizability of the findings. Moreover, the unique demographic profile of the participants, skewing older than the average TikTok user, might color the outcomes, necessitating further research with younger cohorts.


“The current study suggests that the framework proposed by the WHO for diagnosing Gaming Disorder may be suitable for diagnosing [TikTok Use Disorder],” the researchers concluded. “However, we exercise caution in not overinterpreting our data at this point. As we conclude this work, we encourage other researchers to further investigate and scrutinize the WHO framework for Gaming Disorder in the context of social media overuse. This exploration should extend to the examination of specific platforms, considering their distinct designs and potential to instigate addictive behaviors.”

The study, “Depressive inclinations mediate the association between personality (neuroticism/conscientiousness) and TikTok Use Disorder tendencies,” was published February 17, 2024.