How TikTok and AI Shapes Kid's Minds and Behavior
How TikTok and AI Shapes Kid's Minds and Behavior
Embedded Files
Natalie S. | Londyn M.
26 February
2026
Technology is a big and growing thing in everyday life, and with every change there will be effects. Two main parts in teenage life right now are Tiktok and AI.
High school student Devi Harris believes TikTok has a powerful impact on children and teenagers today. Harris says the app can make young people feel depressed and insecure, and when they constantly see “perfect” images they start to think they are not good enough. Depression can end up making kids interact less in school settings and have them lose motivation to actually do anything that's higher effort than just scrolling. Depression can come from many things and the comparisons that's displayed on TikTok worsens it.
She also notes that TikTok can sometimes help kids focus, since some feel more comfortable watching videos than interacting with peers face-to-face. Because so many people use the platform, trends that go viral appear especially popular and important, which can lead kids to value online popularity more than real-life priorities.
Harris adds that TikTok can be educational, as some creators are professionals who teach useful skills and explain concepts in simple ways. Still, she says the app also changes how kids act and speak. It encourages some to curse more often, and she believes cursing is “really bad” and unnecessary.
Overall, Harris argues that TikTok can make kids feel bad about themselves and teach them harmful behaviors, including exposing them to adult content that is not appropriate for children.
TikTok isn't the only harmful thing to children. AI has various effects on the teenage brain and school, such as how children think and perform. AI can affect how teachers teach and try to encourage kids to use their own creativity.
Since AI does affect school life students have opinions on it. Laila Berumen, a student at South CTA, says that AI shouldn't be used and our brain is what we need to use instead of AI for the majority of things AI is used for. The MIT Media Lab Study taken in 2025 shows that there is a 47% to 55% decrease in brain activity. AI makes you dependent on it and not your own thoughts or opinions. Berumen says “I think students have become way more dependent on AI which lowers the IQ a lot.”
Berumen also says that she sees AI most used on school assignments, students using AI to finish assignments are even teachers creating assignments with AI. In math it's most commonly used to solve quick questions for a decent grade and in English it can be used to write essays to save time.
The problem is school assignments are made so students could consume certain material and get to know how to work with it while getting better at doing work overall so they can apply it to real world situations. AI reduces this and takes away from the teachers' efforts.
AI and TikTok cause an abundance of issues within the school environment and it's insanely important we know why and the major effects of these technologies. If we know the effects and what it's doing to our brains then we can further work to reduce AI and TikTok use.
Page updated
Report abuse