My 13yo daughter is absolutely glued to TikTok. I'm not the "ban all screens" type of dad but she's getting weird with it - staying up late, grades slipping slightly, asking for a Ring Light for her room. How are other people managing this without being total tyrants about it? Looking for actual strategies, not lectures.
The weird thing to watch out for: is she making content or just consuming? Because creating stuff is different (some teens are genuinely into editing, music, etc) vs doomscrolling for 4 hours.
The Ring Light request is your cue that this is becoming identity stuff. Not the end of the world but yeah, you should have some boundaries. Doesn't mean ban TikTok though.
The grades slipping + staying up late is the actual problem, not TikTok itself. Address those habits first (like phone out of room by 10pm) then reassess if it's still an issue. Ring light request is just vanity at 13, that's normal-ish.
Have you actually asked her why she's so into it? Because sometimes it's not the app, it's that her friends are on there and that's where the social stuff happens. Banning it just makes her resent you and seek workarounds.
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Screen time limits that actually stick: phone out of bedroom during sleep hours, no TikTok before homework/dinner, whatever. But frame it as "these are the rules for everyone using tech in this house" not "you're addicted."
You're right that banning it makes you the tyrant. But grades slipping is concrete. Sit her down with that specific issue - not "TikTok bad" but "your grades dropped and I need you to figure out if TikTok is why and what we do about it."