Appearing on France Info, Justine Atlan, Managing Director of the e-Enfance / 3018 Association, warns about the addictive potential short content distributed on TikTok and other platforms.
According to her, these short, fast-paced and sensational videos overload the brains of adolescents, triggering a reward mechanism comparable to a “dopamine hit”, which encourages endless scrolling.
This constant stimulation makes it more difficult to return to moments of boredom, calm or reflection — which are essential to young people's development. The addiction specialist interviewed also points out that adolescents who are already vulnerable (due to family or school difficulties, or tobacco or cannabis use) are more susceptible to this search for quick, artificial thrills.
Justine Atlan's contribution is part of a context of political reflection on the regulation of social networks, while a commission of inquiry proposes restricting access to those under 15 or introducing a “digital curfew” for 15-18 year olds.
