‘Dark and Despairing’—How TikTok Exploits the Minds of American Teens

Contact Your Elected Officials
The Epoch Times Header

‘The target of cognitive warfare is people; the battlefield is the entire human society,’ stated the CCP military mouthpiece.

A four-hour drive home in November 2020 was harrowing for the Schotts.

They had just learned that their 18-year-old daughter, Annalee, had taken her own life at the family farm in Colorado.

Everything seemed fine when they FaceTimed her that morning to let her know they’d be home from visiting family in Texas at about 11 p.m. Now, they wanted to be with her instantly but still had four hours to go.

“It was the longest, most hellacious drive we’ve ever done,” Lori Schott told The Epoch Times. “It was just like a horrible dream.”

“I was in the car for hours, trying to process this. I remember I told my son: ‘It’s not true. She’s in the barn. She’s with animals. This can’t be true. She couldn’t have done that.’”

For months, Ms. Lori Schott wondered why her daughter chose to end her own life and what she could have done as a mother so things might have turned out differently.

After 1 1/2 years, she finally found the strength to browse Ms. Annalee Schott’s journals. On a page titled “TikTok,” her daughter wrote, “Technically if I kill myself, the problem would be gone.” Ms. Lori Schott believed that the page contained quotes from the app.

A few months later, Ms. Lori Schott hired a company to break into her daughter’s phone.

The mother then found the answer: “I can open her TikTok page, and I would feel the same way.” Even two years after Ms. Annalee Schott’s passing, her TikTok feed was still saturated with depression-related and suicide-suggestive content.

TikTok has specific policies against content that may lead to self-harm or suicide.

But, when one of Annalle’s friends came home from college and visited Ms. Schott in 2022, she revealed to Ms. Schott that both she and Annalee had watched a live-streamed suicide on TikTok. They decided to delete the app afterward, only to download it again about a week later.

By Terri Wu

Read Full Article on TheEpochTimes.com

The Epoch Times
The Epoch Timeshttps://www.theepochtimes.com/
Tired of biased news? The Epoch Times is truthful, factual news that other media outlets don't report. No spin. No agenda. Just honest journalism like it used to be.

Rise by the Conspiracy Theory, Fall by the Conspiracy Theory

The uproar in the MAGA world over the failure to release the Jeffrey Epstein client list should be a cause for serious concern for President Trump.

Liberal Democrat Content Creators are Despicable Defamationers

What should Christian conservatives do when confronted with false information to the point of bearing false witness against someone like President Trump?

Ben Shapiro Warning Me Not to Listen to InfoWars Makes Me Want to Listen 10x Harder

This rant from Ben Shapiro reveals more about him and his low opinion of his audience to whom he peddles his slop than it does about its target, Alex Jones.

Epstein’s Aftermath: Planes, Blames, and Autocrats

There are so many real, honest great journalists reporting the news on the internet these days that some really good content gets overlooked.

Why the Trump Administration is Sitting on the Epstein Files

President Trump, AG Bondi, and FBI Dir. Patel have the advantage over us in that they see the big overall picture when it comes to the Epstein List.

TSMC Accelerates US Production to Meet AI and High-Performance Computing Demand

TSMC is accelerating production at its Arizona semiconductor facility, driven by “explosive growth” for AI from U.S. and global customers.

US Retail Sales Show June Rebound as Consumers Shrug Off Tariffs

Retail sales surged at a higher-than-expected pace of 0.6 percent in June, according to Commerce Department data released on July 17.

7.3 Magnitude Earthquake Hits Off Alaska Coast; Tsunami Warning Issued

A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of southern Alaska prompting federal officials to issue a tsunami warning.

European Energy Giants Sign Deals to Buy American LNG

Italian energy company Eni has inked an agreement to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States, the company said in a July 16 statement.

EU’s Trade Chief to Meet With US Officials as EU Braces for Tariff Showdown

The EU’s trade leader is headed to Washington for face-to-face negotiations with the Trump admin, a spokesman for the economic bloc said.

Nvidia’s AI Chip Sales to China Tied to Rare Earths Trade Talks, Says Commerce Secretary

USs’ decision to allow Nvidia to resume selling China AI chips is tied to recent trade negotiations over rare-earth exports, according to Sec Lutnick.

Trump Says US–Vietnam Trade Deal Nearly Complete

President Trump said the trade deal between the United States and Vietnam was nearly complete, the same day he announced a new deal with Indonesia.
spot_img

Related Articles