THE EFFECTS OF TIKTOK USE ON MENTAL HEALTH OUTCOMES AND STIGMA

The present study aimed to examine the relationship between TikTok use, mental health, and mental health stigma. There were three hypotheses for this study: TikTok use would be associated with decreased mental health stigma, TikTok use would be associated with increased anxiety, and TikTok use would be associated with increased depression. A total of 115 participants were recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk), and they completed an online Qualtrics survey. Regression analyses were conducted to determine the relationship between TikTok use and anxiety, depression, and mental health stigma. Results indicated that increased time spent on TikTok was associated with an increase in anxiety and depression symptoms. Overall TikTok use and frequency of mental health content seen on TikTok was associated with an increase in mental health stigma; however, the number of mental health disorders seen on TikTok was associated with a decrease in mental health stigma. This study has implications for TikTok users, mental health professionals, and the ways in which we approach destigmatizing mental health disorders.