Executive Function in the Age of TikTok
I have had a longstanding interest in education which I was able to apply to completing an MEd at Imperial College London last year. Increasingly, I am being asked to bring together my work in coaching, education, general practice and occupational medicine to support young people as they develop their executive function skills.
I first began supporting students with executive function as an academic tutor when I was a medical student (15 years ago)! The challenges I saw frequently at that time were scheduling and planning, task initiation versus procrastination, sustaining motivation, finding productive workflows vs reducing distractions, and establishing effective learning strategies and routines.
Those same challenges remain in the cohorts that I work with now. BUT the climate in which young people are trying to overcome them has changed a huge amount. Interestingly market demand has also evolved and ‘strategic support’ has now developed as a niche need alongside subject specific expertise.
Changes in how we live, study, work and socialize has driven a shift in pain points for young people trying to make progress with their careers. In this blog I will highlight one of the most pervasive and deep-rooted challenges I see in my current coaching practice with young people: managing use of short form content, most often TikTok.
Across my caseload of high-performing young people, including those in top schools and colleges, difficulty self-regulating TikTok use is almost universal. The only consistent exceptions are students without smartphones (although even they can struggle with short-form content on other platforms accessible on PCs, such as YouTube Shorts).
Context: the cohort of young people I have been working with
Located and educated internationally
Have the finances to invest in private coaching (sometimes alongside private educational programs)
Academically high-performing
Excelling in extracurricular activities
Aiming for admission to competitive programs including Ivy League universities and Oxbridge
In general, these clients are motivated, insightful, based in supportive settings are and are often extremely capable.
Yet the patterns I observe (and support work on improving), are pretty consistent.
Trends I see
Spending 2–4 hours per day on TikTok. This can be around 30% of the individual’s waking hours
Poor sleep hygiene- often linked to late-night scrolling
Clear insight that their TikTok use undermines productivity, and repeated failed attempts to regulate it
Using TikTok as a study break but not finding this serves a purpose of feeling mentally refreshed nor being able to contain this to a planned break time window
Perception of ‘emptiness’ around TikTok use- not finding it fulfilling, wanting to stop, even while actively using the platform
Among those prescribed ADHD treatment, noticeable improvement in resisting interruptions from TikTok
‘Multitasking’ while using TikTok. Such as using the app during mealtimes, especially when eating alone
TikTok interrupting operational flow on work task, and this impacting the feelings of interest, motivation and fulfillment in completing a task
Work feeling ‘boring’, less dynamic and less stimulating compared to viewing content on TikTok
Why is this so difficult to address?
Broad concepts in the public dialogue such as ‘too much screen time’ are not nuanced enough. TikTok functions as:
A social infrastructure: messaging, sharing content, maintaining peer connection
A cultural touchpoint: not being on the platform can lead to actual or perceived social exclusion- clients describe popular TikTok content as a ‘language’ they use to connect with others
A default cognitive break: a frictionless shift from effortful tasks
Easily accessible, on demand and personally curated entertainment: The platform does not require effort for the user to engage in it
Students frequently report a perceived reduction in reading stamina or deep focus they relate to medium- long term TikTok use. Interestingly, when reading speed is formally measured in some cases, it has not declined, suggesting that the issue may be less about ability and more about tolerance for sustained cognitive effort.
I have found that boundary-setting strategies can be an effective place to start in addressing TikTok use. While screen time restrictions are the most commonly trialled option, anecdotally, physical separation can be more powerful in eliminating the actual device from the workspace. This can be handing the phone over or leaving it in another room, out of sight and inconvenient to get to. However, modern academic life complicates this: students may require their phones for two-factor authentication, school communication, and study-related apps. The very device that disrupts focus can be structurally embedded in their learning ecosystem.
A strategy that works alongside physical boundaries is building in ‘high yield’ breaks from work. Generally, clients find that 20 minute breaks every 1h45- 2h work block is a good starting point. Depending on resources, good components of a break can be movement, time spent outdoors in daylight, face to face social interaction and reading ‘lightweight’ analogue media. Leaving the work environment and having a break from screens appears to be more refreshing and easier to contain to time than using TikTok, allowing the break to serve its purpose and protecting against workflow disruption.
NOTE: Regulatory changes internationally
Regulation may play a part in managing these issues. In New York City, where I am currently based, public schools implemented a ban on personal internet-enabled devices (cellphones, smartwatches, games consoles and tablets) during the school day, beginning in the 2025-2026 school year. On a weekday around 4pm you will see young people walk around the city with magic pouches - a smartphone- sized fabric case that unlocks using a site-specific magnet at the entry/ exit of the phone free space.
In Australia, it became illegal for under 16s to have access to certain social media platforms in December 2025. Financial penalties for technology companies (not users or guardians) are in place for any breaches.
These policy changes and their impacts will be informative to other settings. But self-regulation will always be important for these individuals to master, especially as the exposures will flow into their adult working lives. The occupational lens is often useful to share when working with young people on these challenges, because they begin to recognize the potential of pervasive disruption beyond their current studies.
Takeaways
This sort of work in young people is becoming increasingly important. The focus of coaching young people has shifted from managing internal friction: procrastination, organization and motivation, to managing external factors that drive these internal conflicts and dilemmas.
Expecting young people, even high achieving well supported young people, to develop self-regulation in an environment set to erode it is a big ask. I believe we also need to provide them with resources to help.
Finally, unpacking the changes in the prevalence of neurodiversity and specifically ADHD in (children, young people and adults) is complex and undoubtably influenced by multiple underlying factors. However, we should not exclude environmental changes in the way we live, study and work, in exacerbating symptoms and their impact on function. Finding ways to address these exposures should also be in our management toolkit.
