How hypersexualisation is taking over TikTok

When Powell Njenga, a 19-year-old student at Technical University of Kenya, joined TikTok in 2019, his intention was to grow his following and expand his reach and hence, make some money. His dance videos, which he did mostly alone and sometimes with friends, did get him the attention he wanted. But he was soon to find out that there was another side to the platform, which he was very naïve about. 

People started reaching out to him requesting to partner on content creation. Others posed as serious business people with promises of growth, while others were simply unexpected sexual predators.

“People usually collaborate on some of the videos. The problem is that there are a lot of gay people online too and they make advances at anyone and everyone. So, there is this one time a guy on TikTok reached out to me, with a message that seemed official including who he is, where he works, and interest to meet up to discuss business. I agreed on the meet up. I thought it would open doors for me. When I got there…all this person wanted was a sexual relationship with me. I was not prepared for that; I am very straight,” narrates Powell, popularly known by his TikTok handle- @marrenswrld.

While he has come to accept the platform might not be easy as he had hoped it would, it has been almost impossible to speak to his parents about some of the dark sides of that world.

Prying on young, innocent people

“I can’t’t talk to my parents about it because they would talk me out of the platform. But I have learned that monetary gains can be such bait, and many people will easily go for it. I mean, I was also fascinated, but I had self-awareness as well,” he says. 

While she has also been a victim of some of these sexual predators on the platform, Nikita Diana, popularly known on TikTok as @Ianitadiana has learned to turn even the sex predators to simply fans.

“It is fun gaining more following and knowing that people love what you’re doing. It gives me morale to do more. There are a lot of sex predators also; guys approaching me and making unrealistic promises as a way of winning me sexually, but I just turn them down because I believe through hard work and earning genuine following, I win my reputation and stay sane. And that’s how I have been able to gain over 3,000 following and counting,” shares the TikToker.

Talking to her parents about some of the online threats has also gone a long way in providing clear guidance on how to navigate the platform. 

“They do guide me. Overtime I have grown a thick skin because the internet interaction is full of both good and bad vibes, so each and every day is a new experience and we soldier on,” shares Diana. 

Unexpected dark turn

When the platform initially began, a lot of young entertainers turned to it as an opportunity to expand their reach, have fun and definitely a source of income. Unfortunately, things are slowly taking a dark turn. There is a lot of fear of sexual exploitation of young innocent content creators, talks about devil worshippers equally making a feast of the platform… and the ungoldly hours of the night have seen some explicit and inappropriate sexual materials go live. 

An extensive report from Forbes chronicles a terrifying reality: child pornography—legally known as child sexual abuse material—is easy to come by on TikTok.

Recently, media personality Ciku Muiruri raised alarm that TikTok is not the harmless place it once was with mothers asking for pay to get their underage daughters do questionable sexually explicit dance moves around 2am-3am.

Certain TikTok hashtags such as #usherati are being used to increase the visibility of nude, provocative and sexually suggestive content.  Others have live sessions where users dress and dance provocatively if not being strategically nude and simulating sexual acts. Content consumers have idolised sexualisation to an extent that it has been over glorified. While the sex culture seems to be thriving in the market, it is starting to affect the upbringing of children while exposing some to sexual exploitation. On the same, there are children who have literally been groomed online for sexual exploitation.

As family sex educator and founder, Teentalk Table, Akinyi Ochieng’ says, the digital citizen is responsible for the over glorification of sexual content on the social platforms. “We have allowed a lot of bad content simply because ‘it doesn’t bother you’ or you can simply unfollow the pages. While in Kenya the adult age is 18 years, we are forgetting that social media doesn’t ask for Identification Cards. This means children as young as 13 years old are accessing these uncensored content. Instead of doing something about it, most parents will take to WhatsApp groups to complain instead of taking the necessary action,” shares the sex educator. 

Sex sells

As Akinyi breaks it down,a lot of parents and adults are unbothered about who does what on social media platforms, and as a nation, we have also geared ourselves towards this kind of sexual production. 

“Unfortunately though, sex sells. So, instead of being responsible content consumers, a lot of people will use ‘I am liberal’ to avoid holding certain values. Some people call it conscious parenting, but remember as a parent, you have a mandate to raise your children. You cannot assume that you are not affected. If you say that you can consume anything as a parent, then you have to know that you are unconsciously creating a path for your child,” shares Akinyi. 

As an expert, she cautions parents against giving children gadgets without talking to them about responsible content consumption. 

“Technology is good, and it is a powerful tool, but it is also bad. Before giving your child a phone, sit down with them and talk to them about content consumption for positive growth. As a parent, also follow up what happens when your child misbehaves online? If you have an understanding of adolescent development, then you know that whatever they are exposed to, their brain is already wired towards it.  So, even as you monitor what they are doing, gear your child to be the one to make the decision on what to do,” she says. 

She also advises parents to have tech control in their houses and be intentional about tech as it is hard to rely on policies. 

“Policies of these platforms are global. And they are not able to sensor some content depending on how other people treat it. At the same time, the government might not be able to take much action on all of it. It is up to us to be active citizens and to follow up on implementation of some of the laws. Even if government was to try, they cannot be able to take action on all of these issues. It starts with me and you,” she says.