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TikTok's Algorithm and How It Affects Your Viewing Experience

TikTok's algorithm may bring you content you enjoy, but viewers, beware: The algorithm may show you content that can negatively impact your mental health.

Sara Novak
BySara Novak
Credit:Ti Vla/Shutterstsock

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If you haven't jumped on the TikTok bandwagon, you're one of the few, considering that the mega app now has a reported 150 million American users, and that number is growing. And those who get on TikTok can't seem to put it down, thanks to the app's innate ability to seemingly read its subscribers' minds. Its subtle understanding of a user's preferences has made it addictive, which begs the question: How is this app so apt at diving into its users' deepest desires?

You wouldn't keep scrolling if you didn't see videos that interested you. That's why TikTok does everything possible to present you with content that it thinks will reel you in.

The TikTok algorithm is a stream of videos that it thinks will fan your highly personalized interests. This means that each algorithm is different, based on several factors used to gauge your interests - for example, if ...

  • Sara Novak

    Sara Novak

    Sara Novak is a science journalist and contributing writer for Discover Magazine, who covers new scientific research on the climate, mental health, and paleontology.

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