GILBERT, Ariz. — Editor's note: As of 10 p.m. Thursday, it appears the term is again searchable on TikTok's mobile app and desktop website.
TikTok is one social media platform that concerned community advocates in light of Queen Creek teen Preston Lord’s death and other teen violence cases in the East Valley.
“It’s a trend on TikTok, it’s a trend on social media,” Katey McPherson said.
It appeared TikTok temporarily took action as “Gilbert Goons,” a name associated with a group of teens that attack other teens, was no longer searchable on the mobile app for a period of time.
When a user searched the term early Thursday, no content displayed and instead this message popped up:
This phrase may be associated with behavior or content that violates our guidelines. Promoting a safe and positive experience is TikTok’s top priority. For more information we invite you review our Community Guidelines.
A TikTok spokesperson told 12News early Thursday that the company was looking into why “Gilbert Goons” was not searchable on the app. Later Thursday, the term appeared to bring up related content.
McPherson, a community mental health advocate, said she first heard of the Gilbert Goons a year ago.
“What's not typical is the aggression and the violence and the physical assaults. But again, social media is teaching our children this. And so that piece I haven't heard a whole lot about in the media is like, how has social media given them the traction to be able to do this? And so the viral humiliation is a piece of what they really enjoy,” McPherson said.
In response to 12News’ questions on how TikTok monitors content, the spokesperson directed us to a page on TikTok’s website.
Parents should do more to monitor social media usage in kids, experts say
Ilana Lowery, Arizona Director of Common Sense Media, said there could be a lot of reasons why the hashtag wasn't searchable, noting tech companies are facing lawsuits for their practices.
“The fact is, is that when a big tech company knows that they can be hurt in the pocketbook, so to speak, I think they're going to have a very different response,” Lowery said.
While parents and schools can try and monitor content, Lowery said it comes back to the way social media apps are designed.
“If companies can’t collect online data from minors and store it, share it and all of that - there’s really less opportunity for kids to be hurt by the things that they’re seeing and things that are coming across their social media platforms,” Lowery said.
Joris Van Ouytsel, an associate professor at ASU, said teens have been posting content of beating peers up on the internet for nearly 20 years.
“Thrill-seeking and boundary crossing are important reasons for why teenagers are doing it,” Van Ouytsel said.
Lowery, Van Ouytsel and Chandler Vice Mayor OD Harris all agree parents can take action.
“Now, we lean to the parents and say, ‘Parents: Whatever you are doing with your teens we need you to spend a little bit more time with them, because what they could be doing could have long term impacts on our community,” Harris said.
The experts recommend parents talk to their kids about social media, be on social media with their teens and improve media literacy to help teens stop sharing and engaging with the content.
But still, Lowery compares social media safety to car seat safety. Parents aren’t responsible for how a car seat is designed, they’re responsible for how the car seat is used.
“To a certain degree, I think, you know, parents can try to do what they can, but they can't be accountable for how these products are designed,” Lowery said.
Teen violence plagues East Valley
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