On Thursday, September 11, 2025, the parliamentary commission of inquiry into the psychological effects of TikTok on minors released its report, warning of one of the “worst networks targeting young people.” The platform most popular with young people, who spend an average of 110 minutes a day on it , TikTok relies on a business model designed to capture the attention and reinforce the dependence of its audience, in order to maximize its revenue.

While more than 75% of its revenue still comes from advertising, in-app purchases on TikTok are now emerging as a major growth driver for the social network: in France, they represented nearly 80 million euros in 2023, compared to 52 million in 2022. These in-app purchases allow young people to buy virtual gifts to offer to their favorite content creators during live streams. Roses, donuts, lions, or even rugby balls: the gifts will then be converted into diamonds, then into real money, in return for a commission from the platform.

This system, which is particularly lucrative for both TikTok and streamers, transforms live broadcasts into veritable prize races, where young viewers are constantly encouraged to spend. What strategies are being deployed to attract their attention and encourage donations?

Our research, conducted based on the observation of 40 TikTok lives by French creators over a period of three months , shows that the platform integrates into its functionalities numerous levers from the world of online games.

Encourage impulse giving

Similar to V-Bucks (in Fortnite) or Gems (in Brawl Stars), TikTok offers its users the option to purchase “coins,” blurring the perception of the true cost of the gifts sent. Indeed, the use of virtual currency creates a cognitive distance between the user and the real value of their gift, and the implementation of pack systems accentuates this opacity. It is therefore difficult for young people to assess the exact value of the gifts sent in real time.

This vagueness can encourage impulsive donations, especially since a simple tap of the finger on the screen is all it takes to start the game with an initial (free) donation of hearts. It’s both simple and rewarding, but this step also represents an initial commitment that increases the likelihood of subsequently accepting a more expensive commitment.

Live streams have incorporated many other codes specific to online gaming, such as ranking systems, points and scores, progress bars, or even challenges to be completed within a limited time. These mechanics exploit young people’s attraction to competition and immediate gratification, while transforming interaction into an immersive and stimulating experience. The interface plays a central role: colorful animations, showers of hearts, or bright colors reinforce the sensory and gratifying dimension of each gift, recalling the world of games of chance. The ease of sending gifts, reduced to a simple tap, generates an almost automatic reflex, encouraging young people to act quickly.

Battles are frequently used by streamers to gamify the experience. They involve real-time competition between two creators or teams, the outcome of which depends directly on viewer donations, which can be converted into points, visible on a progress bar or leaderboard. The ability for viewers to directly influence the outcome reinforces their sense of active involvement, while also generating social pressure.

The very structure of live streams accentuates this phenomenon: the limited duration of sessions imposes time pressure, similar to that of a video game, where you have to achieve a goal in a limited time. Also, by combining immersive interface, gamification , pressure from creators and time constraints, TikTok transforms live streams into environments in which young people’s attention is maximized and spending behavior is strongly encouraged. As with mobile games , it is therefore a question of using different techniques to influence player behavior: resources made available, distribution of rewards offered, social features or even limited-time offers.

Public appreciation and social pressure

Publicly praising donors encourages the community to send donations. When a viewer sends a gift, their username is displayed or mentioned by the streamer (or even shouted out for “large” gifts), visual animations are triggered, and they can even receive personalized thanks or privileged interactions with the creator.

This immediate recognition encourages the donor to repeat the gesture to regain this moment of attention and visibility. Giving a gift becomes a way to project an idealized image of oneself on the social network.

This dynamic takes on particular resonance among adolescents, whose identity construction is heavily influenced by peer perception and the search for social recognition. Creators are committed to almost systematically responding to questions or comments made by top donors, reinforcing the feeling of closeness and social recognition. Viewers who repeatedly give gifts appear in the Top Fans list, which can increase the frequency of donations and create competition motivated by the need for recognition and the desire to maintain a close relationship with the content creator.

Furthermore, during live streams, the creator organizes and structures the experience in such a way as to mobilize the team spirit of his community. By launching challenges, battles, or even dares, he encourages his viewers to come together to achieve a common goal, transforming the interaction into a collective game. The “join my fan club” stickers offered by the creators are particularly significant of their desire to structure their community around a collective spirit: the aim, in return for a financial contribution, is to ensure that the viewer goes beyond the simple status of follower to become an official member of the community. Social pressure is thus implicit, since to distinguish oneself from a “basic” member, one must “move upmarket” and offer more to one’s favorite TikToker.

Thus, live events become spaces where social pressure and group dynamics are exploited to maximize engagement, and where adolescents, through a desire for inclusion and recognition, are particularly inclined to actively participate and invest financially in this collective experience.

What measures are in place to protect young people?

While TikTok states that you must be at least 18 years old to send gifts, this rule can easily be circumvented by young people who may lie about their age when signing up.

Given the inadequacy of TikTok’s protective measures, the parliamentary report recommends going further by banning minors under the age of 15 from the platform. The commission of inquiry rightly emphasizes the need for stronger regulation to protect them from the risks associated with early exposure to monetization mechanisms and online social pressures. This questioning is all the more necessary in the case of live streams, since social interaction here seems to be reduced to donations, making it “normal” to pay to be seen and appreciated.

However, beyond the regulatory aspects, there is the question of educational responsibility. In a digital environment where adolescents spend several hours a day – often without any parental or institutional supervision – on social networks, it seems essential that they understand the mechanisms used to encourage them to spend.

This includes providing clear information on the real costs of transactions, as well as raising awareness of the behavioral manipulation logic specific to gamification systems and social reward dynamics. With this in mind, raising awareness among key adults (parents, teachers, educators) also appears essential, so that each player is able to decipher these mechanisms and support adolescents in their relationship with digital platforms.

Author Bios: Marina Ferreira Da Silva is a Lecturer-Researcher in Management Sciences at the University of Rouen Normandy and Emilie Hoëllard is a Lecturer in Management Sciences at the University of Le Havre Normandy