Though TikTok was originally designed for lip syncs, dances, and funny video clips, there is a darker side to the popular app, as is the case with many social media platforms.
“TikTok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video,” the company states on its website. “Our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy.”
However, more recently, the app is being used as a cry for help.
Users are starting to use the phrase “I had pasta tonight” as a secret code that the person is struggling with depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts.
While society has made some headway in regard to understanding the complexities and seriousness of mental health, a major stigma surrounding it still remains. Thus, it can make mental health struggles a very difficult topic to discuss openly, especially because of how vulnerable it can make a person feel.
Nothing is quite as painful as baring your bleeding soul, only to have it torn apart by social media trolls who don’t understand your condition.
In addition to the phrase “I had pasta tonight,” captions like “I finished my shampoo and conditioner at the same time” are acting as codes for help.
A Reddit user has theorized that the phrases that may be perceived odd at initial glance are derived from a Wattpad post entitled, “Don’t kill yourself today,” by Hannah Dains.
The post also offers other seemingly trivial, but profound reasons to keep hanging on… as they provide little rays of hope and joy amidst darkness:
“Don’t kill yourself today because your Netflix free trial still has a week left,” says Dains in another blurb. “Don’t kill yourself today because I know for a fact Starbucks is introducing a new frappuccino sometime next month.”
What’s been particularly powerful about the “I had pasta tonight” viral movement, has been the remarkable outpouring of support in the comments.
