By Bilesanmi Abayomi
As Mental Health Awareness Month continues, a young activist from Nepal is drawing global attention to the mental health risks facing young users on TikTok, one of the world’s most widely used social media platforms.
Rachana, a member of Amnesty International’s Digital Rights Champions group, has issued a public appeal urging TikTok to strengthen its safety measures and prioritise the mental wellbeing of children and teenagers. In an open letter shared with KosofePost, the teenage campaigner expressed concern over how the platform’s content algorithm can promote harmful or overwhelming material under the guise of entertainment or relatability.
“TikTok has become a space where I express myself and sometimes escape,” Rachana wrote. “But for young people, especially those exploring sensitive topics like mental health, this can become dangerous.”
Her appeal focuses on the need for TikTok to be more transparent about how its recommendation system works. She argues that by tracking user behaviour and feeding them similar content, the platform can unknowingly reinforce negative emotions or troubling themes—particularly for vulnerable young users.
Rachana is calling on TikTok to take three key steps:
- Give users more control over the content they see.
- Clearly explain how its algorithm works using child-friendly language.
- Prioritise safety and mental health in the platform’s overall design and content policies.
She is also rallying public support for a petition demanding these changes, urging users around the world to sign and stand up for a safer digital space.
Sign the petition and help Make TikTok safer for children and young people.
“Now is the time to act,” she said. “Social media should be a space of creativity and connection, not a source of harm.”
Her campaign comes amid growing global concern over digital rights, online safety, and the rising mental health challenges faced by young people in the digital age.