Caitlin did not mince her words. "I personally think social media's pretty dangerous." Only the day before, she had seen TikTok challenges which could lead to eating disorders. But, she complained, the reporting process took much too long: "By the time they are taken down, the harm's already been made."

Caitlin was one of a group of students from PontypriddA town in south Wales whose wealth originally derived from mining coal and iron. High School talking to executives from TikTok and MetaThe new name of the company which owns Facebook and Instagram.. The discussion was organised by their local MPMember of Parliament. There are 650 MPs representing people in different areas of the UK., Alex Davies-Jones, who supports an online safety billCompanies will be expected to deal with dangerous posts actively, rather than just waiting for them to be reported. going through Parliament. It will make companies who fail to deal with dangerous posts liable to heavy fines.

The issue has been further highlighted by a shocking lawsuit in the US. TikTok is being sued by the families of two girls who died last year in a "blackout challenge".

Arriani Arroyo from MilwaukeeA city on the shore of Lake Michigan, and the biggest in the state of Wisconsin. and Lalani Walton from Texas were aged just nine and eight respectively. Both took part in the challenge, hoping that they would become TikTok stars.

Their families argue that TikTok's "dangerous" algorithm "intentionally and repeatedly" pushed videos of the challenge into the girls' feeds. They say that it allows underage users to have access to the app, and fails to warn people of how addictive it is.

The blackout challenge is not the only one that has led to death or injury. In 2020, 15-year-old Chloe Marie Phillips from Oklahoma died after taking an overdose of an anti-allergy drug.

The same year, two teenagers were charged with assault after a playing a TikTok prank on a schoolmate which caused an epileptic fitEpilepsy affects the brain and can cause bouts of violent, uncontrollable shaking.. Last year, a challenge involving climbing on milk crates resulted in a large number of back and shoulder injuries.  

A report by the Education Policy InstituteA research organisation which aims to improve standards in education. and The Prince's TrustA charity set up by the Prince of Wales to help young people. found that teenagers' mental health was being damaged by heavy use of social media. This was partly because they were encouraged to feel unhappy about their lives and insecure about their appearance, and partly because they were taking less exercise.

The social-media companies insist that they are doing their best to deal with the problem. A spokesperson for Meta said that it was developing new features "designed to help prevent people from having to experience any kind of harmful content".

Alexandra Evans, TikTok's European head of safety, pointed to the app's blocking functions: "If you don't like the word 'hate' or 'loser', whatever it may be, you can set a list of words that you will always get filtered from your comments."

But lawyers from the Social Media Victims Law Centre, which is representing the Arroyo and Walton families, are not convinced: "TikTok prioritised greater corporate profits over the health and safety of its users and, specifically, over the health and safety of vulnerable children."

Yes: TikTok and other social media dominate our lives to a troubling extent. They are full of dangerous posts which their owners do much too little to combat. We need to break our addiction.

No: TikTok has many benefits, particularly for people who lead isolated lives. It is a wonderful source of entertainment - the summer holidays would be incredibly boring without it.   

Or... Given its prevalence, it is too much to expect people to do without any social media. But we could all take part in our own TikTok challenge - not to spend more than 15 minutes a day on it.

Pontypridd - A town in south Wales whose wealth originally derived from mining coal and iron.

Meta - The new name of the company which owns Facebook and Instagram.

MP - Member of Parliament. There are 650 MPs representing people in different areas of the UK.

Online safety bill - Companies will be expected to deal with dangerous posts actively, rather than just waiting for them to be reported.

Milwaukee - A city on the shore of Lake Michigan, and the biggest in the state of Wisconsin.

Epileptic fit - Epilepsy affects the brain and can cause bouts of violent, uncontrollable shaking.

Education Policy Institute - A research organisation which aims to improve standards in education.

The Prince's Trust - A charity set up by the Prince of Wales to help young people.