Losing Track of Time on TikTok? An Experimental Study of Short Video Users' Time Distortion
Jiang Y, Yan Z, Yang Z
Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 3 citations
How it was studied
- Design
- Randomized controlled trial (classified by our AI screen)
- Studied in
- People
- Main outcome
- No health outcome
Who paid for it
- Funding
- Independent funding
- Government
- Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China
- Government
- National Office for Philosophy and Social Sciences
- Government
- National Social Science Fund of China
- Government
- Humanity and Social Science Youth Foundation of the Ministry of Education of China
- Nonprofit
- Social Science Youth Foundation of Jiangsu Province
- Grants
- National Social Science Fund of China (21YJCZH200); National Social Science Fund of China (22CSH077); National Social Science Fund of China (21XWC005)
Based on 5 listed funder(s) and full-text disclosure statement.
Publication
- Published
- 2025-07-10 · Behav Sci (Basel) · vol. 15 · issue 7 · p. 930
- Publisher
- Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
- Cited
- 12 citations · more than 99% of similar papers · 22.8× the field average
- Impact
- Top 10% most cited in its field
- References
- 57 works
- Access
- Open access (journal) · CC-BY
- Research areas
- Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Mind wandering and attention · Psychological and Temporal Perspectives Research
- Keywords
- time distortion, time perception, time estimation, addictive behavior, university students, task duration
3 authors
From CN
- Yaqi JiangSoochow University
- Zhihao Yan · correspondingAnhui Normal University
- Zeyang Yang · correspondingSoochow University
Abstract
Short videos' increasing popularity and increased user engagement have sparked concerns about time perception. While studies have linked gaming or watching TV series to time loss, research on short videos' temporal impact is scarce. This study aims to investigate the impact of short video use on time distortion (including perceptions of time for experimental tasks and weekly usage) through an experimental design. Fifty-six college students were randomly assigned to two time duration conditions (long-duration for 16 min 9 s or short-duration for 5 min 23 s). Participants in both conditions were instructed to watch short videos and read public articles for the same duration and then estimate the time duration of the tasks. Subsequently, participants completed a questionnaire about their estimated and actual weekly short video use and problematic short watching levels. The results showed that the impact of task duration on time perception was significant. Task type had no significant impact on time perception, with no notable difference in time estimation between conditions involving watching short videos and reading. The interaction between time duration and task type was not significant. Additionally, problematic short video watching and the estimated weekly short video use were not significantly related to time distortion. This study contributes to empirical research on time distortion while watching short videos, providing insights for expanding theoretical models of addictive behaviors and interventions for problematic short video use.
Abstract via Europe PMC. Copyright remains with the authors or publisher (CC BY).
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