Teens have historically been a particularly vulnerable group to addiction. Many in this current generation have been hospitalized or put in rehabilitation for addiction to nicotine, marijuana, and even opioids. However, more and more innocent teens have fallen to the far more dangerous and addictive phenomena of the crazed app TIK TOK, especially the most popular dance- The “renegade”.

Alaina Ebert,@horsegirl2004 age 15, was hospitalized Friday for renegading too hard, but is currently stable. “It was totally worth it. You see, it’s all about the hype,” Ebert said when asked if she will continue pursuing her tik tok career post incident. She later said, “And now that I’m in the hospital I’ll get even more views and likes.” Ebert’s case is not unlike many others. Already 231 tik tok users have been wounded attempting to renegade 100%, ranging in severity of injury. 

Although a minority of Tik Tok users are addicted to the point of seeking medical care, experts say since the app started gaining fame, the attention span of Gen Z has decreased by nearly 60%. “I can’t even watch movies or youtube videos anymore. Anything longer than 30 seconds and I lose my ability to pay attention,” Tik Tok user @user93583890 said. With a variety of opportunities to learn dances, prank friends, and post their funny moments all with the chance of going viral, teens can’t peel their eyes away from this app. 

However, as the average amount of time teens are spending on this app increases and grades fall, experts are urging teens to limit their time or even try to quit Tik Tok for their own safety. “I don’t even do homework anymore, I just watch Tik Tok and eat hot chips when I get home,” says @juicylips21 averaging 5 hours a day on Tik Tok. Long term effects of addiction to Tik Tok have been undetermined, as the app has only started reaching teens in the last year. Although, based on current predictions, Teens and parents should start to tackle this addiction sooner rather than later.