TikTok like cocaine, could ‘ruin’ internet, Wall Street analysts warn

So can we all finally agree that listening to sped-up ABBA songs is as bad as using crack?

Wall Street analysts released a detailed report on the ever-so-popular video app TikTok and its effects on users. The results are in: TikTok’s addictiveness is comparable to that of the heavy stimulant, Business Insider reported.

Analysts at Bernstein Research wrote that TikTok gives a “sensory rush” as “the algorithm pushed the most viral content directly to the user delivering endorphin hit after hit with each swipe.”

The report went on: “Cocaine’s effects take time to set in, while crack’s effect is instantaneous but wears off quickly, driving the user to seek another ‘hit.’ Crack is incredibly addictive.”

The metaphorical cocaine — which comes from other platforms such as Facebook — is “the friction of deciding what to watch and ‘boring’ status update images,” according to the analysis.

Along with the addictive analogy, the Wall Streeters put out a research note titled “Has TikTok Ruined the Internet?” It was in reference to the many quick vertical video copycats to launch in recent years, such as Instagram’s Reels — a platform that caught backlash from users and celebrities.

TikTok can be addictive like drugs, researchers warn. Getty Images

Amazon is also testing out a TikTok-style feed, TechCrunch reported.

While the Bernstein crew did note they don’t sincerely believe TikTok will become fatal like crack, they did emphasize that the comparison to its addictiveness is an apt one that shows the major success of the app and how it can affect the digital world financially.

Although Business Insider reports that short-form video has had limited success with monetization, there is substantial user attention being captured.

TikTok is predicted to take 16% of global digital spending, and Meta (Facebook and Instagram’s parent company) is reporting that Reels makes up a quarter of total time spent on the app, according to the outlet.

TikTok has set a course being modeled by many other social media sites. dpa/picture alliance via Getty I

In YouTube’s case, it implemented the quick-form style under the name Shorts in 2020 and now has 1.5 billion viewers watching 30 billion Shorts monthly.

But analysts warn of a downside as well, because of the internet’s “evolve or die” ways. Further losses in viewers’ attention spans may “structurally dilute the monetization of user time across the digital ads industry” moving forward.

If the tech titans can’t figure out how to make users directly engage more on the advertorial side of short form, “the consequences could be severe.”

Until then, though, Bernstein is anticipating much of social media to convert to short-form video — even conventional news feed sites such as Facebook.