TikTok use in psychiatric wards undermines youth recovery, professor warns
Saturday 27th June 2026 on 08:00 in
Finland
Finnish youth psychiatry professor Anu Raevuori has described TikTok as a “cynical and effective sabotage tool” that disrupts the treatment of young patients in psychiatric care, according to a report by Yle.
Raevuori, who works at HUS and the University of Helsinki, stated that the platform’s algorithm often pushes self-harm and pro-anorexia content to vulnerable users—even when they have not actively searched for it. Nearly 90% of Finnish youth use TikTok.
“TikTok quickly learns a user’s interests and exploits them in a nihilistic, dark way,” she said. “It has a cruel side that pulls young people toward destructive content. The addiction deepens, and a spiral forms—use continues day and night, crowding out everything else.”
Current Finnish law protects patients’ right to self-determination, meaning phones cannot be confiscated even in inpatient psychiatric care. Raevuori argued this enables continued exposure to harmful content, sabotaging recovery.
A recent Yle MOT investigation featured an 18-year-old Finnish patient who, while in closed psychiatric care, continued posting depressive videos on TikTok. The youth, identified as Lilly, had previously attempted suicide multiple times after consuming content glorifying self-harm and eating disorders. She questioned why phone use was permitted in her room during treatment.
Raevuori noted that such behavior reinforces a “sick identity” and exposes both the poster and viewers to harmful material. “It’s an insane situation that we can’t properly intervene,” she said.
HUS youth psychiatry chief physician Hannu Mogk acknowledged the severity of the issue, calling content production in wards “highly problematic” if it encourages continued harmful behavior.
While TikTok also hosts supportive mental health content, Raevuori emphasized the difficulty of regulation due to the mix of beneficial and harmful material. She urged lawmakers to implement age restrictions and other measures to address social media’s mental health risks.