Politicians from both major political parties in the United States have been raising concerns about the rise of TikTok, a popular social media platform founded by Chinese entrepreneurs, with some calling for stricter regulation or even banning the platform. One aspect of opposition to TikTok is its growth as a news source among young adults. This is concerning because TikTok relies on short videos that can spur strong emotional responses in young adults who are still undergoing substantial cognitive development. To test the effect of watching TikTok political influencers on young adults’ emotional response and political attitudes, we conducted a field experiment at a large American public university. Using survey data and video content analysis, we found that consuming political content on TikTok increased negative emotional affect but had seemingly no effect on political attitudes. We urge further studies to verify the negative effect of TikTok on emotional affect and to test potential mitigating interventions to reduce this adverse effect. While we strongly urge further study, we advise policymakers to place additional scrutiny on the effect of social media platforms like TikTok on emotional wellbeing.
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