Emerging from China and taking over the world, it’s not just the Corona virus but also the short-video application named TikTok. The application allows users to act, sing or showcase any other talent in a 60-second video. Many people in the world have earned their right to fame through the platform, including Pakistani duo Hareem Shah & Sundal Khattak.
Since it’s release in September 2016, TikTok has become the third-most downloaded application. Despite the popularity, the causes of the app are not so pleasurable for society as the app became the reason of 38 young people’s death across the world. Following the TikTok craze among teenagers and its negative social impacts, governments have imposed a ban on it. In addition, Pakistan had also submitted a petition in high court to ban the app across the country.
University administration orders students to delete TikTok accounts
In a similar account, The administration of Islamia College University Peshawar has forced its five students to delete their TikTok accounts after receiving complaints against them. Certainly, the decision was taken after analyzing the students’ constant use of Tik Tok during varsity hours.
According to ARY News, the varsity administration forced the five students to delete their profiles on the video-sharing app after receiving complaints against them. The decision came in as the addictive usage of the app can easily divert the students’ focus towards a naive platform.
Apparently, a student has also registered a complaint to Prime Minister’s complaint cell against the usage of TikTok. The student reportedly wrote in his complaint that the mobile app is being used excessively in the university which could create problems for the female students within the varsity and create educational barriers. Moreover, the complaint focused on the problems related to the social application that can affect the female students of the university.
While most educational institutes have a strict no-cellphone-use policy during classes or within the institute premises, they cannot practically deprive students of their personal choices to use a specific social networking app or any other e-service.
The TikTok craze and its severe consequences
TikTok has over 500 million active users globally. The short video app had already crossed a whooping one billion downloads from the PlaysSore as of last year. According to Sensor Tower, a US-based agency, Tik-Tok has officially overtaken Facebook for the number of global downloads.
TikTok now only stands behind a firm WhatsApp (which too is a Facebook product) on the number of unique downloads. TikTok which launched in 2017, since inception, has been downloaded 1.5 billion times. Instagram and Facebook now do not stand a chance in front of the ‘star-making’ TikTok.
There’s no deniability of the massive usage of Tik Tok but the life-taking risks individuals take for entertainment aren’t acceptable. According to multiple sources, there have been at least 40 reported deaths of young people across the world who lost their lives while making TikTok videos . The highest number of cases has been reported in India.
In Pakistan, the TikTok fever has been real. It became the most downloaded application in Pakistan last year. With the news that it has taken over Facebook’s download numbers, there is no stopping the blockbuster application. However, the advancements in technology sure ease human life but putting your academic career and dying for such mediums is definitely not an option, ever.
