Up to one in five young Spaniards spends more than two hours a day on TikTok and exceeds the recommended threshold for the use of social networks, as of which the risk of suffering mental health problems may increase. The proportion of girls above this risk threshold (24.37%) is clearly higher than that of boys (15.45%). This is revealed by a study led by Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), in collaboration with the Open University of Catalonia (UOC), recently published in open access in the journal Nature.
While previous studies had already analysed the impact of social media in general on young people's mental health, this research is a pioneer in the analysis of the specific effects of TikTok on adolescents' digital well-being. TikTok has specific features compared to other networks (such as Instagram, X or Facebook), especially because it promotes more passive consumption of videos and less interaction between users. In addition, it is the most popular social network among young people around the world, especially in Spain, the state where it is consumed by the highest percentage of teenagers.
For this study, a survey was conducted on 1,043 young people from all over Spain between the ages of 12 and 18 to examine the amount of time they spend on Tiktok and the types of content they view. Their perception of their own digital well-being was also assessed. Digital well-being is understood as the state of optimal balance between connection time and cognitive and emotional well-being. In this study, three variables were measured in relation to digital well-being: the young people's ability to set their own connection time limits; the ability to generate social and community connections; and the capacity for emotional resilience.
The principal investigator of the research is Mònika Jiménez, of the Communication, Advertising and Society ( CAS ) research group of the UPF Department of Communication, who led the research together with Mireia Montaña, from the Learning, Media and Entertainment research group ( GAME ) of Information and Communication Sciences Studies at the UOC. On behalf of UPF, Clara Virós, lead author of the article published in Nature, also participated.
More than half of young people spend more than an hour a day on TikTok
Regarding the time spent on Tiktok, the research finds that more than half of the young people surveyed (53.19%) spend more than an hour a day on the app, 35.28% more than an hour and a half, and 20.22% more than two hours, with a significantly higher percentage of girls in the latter case (24.37%). In this sense, several previous studies have found that using social networks for more than two hours a day is associated with low self-esteem in terms of body image, a negative perception of one's own mental health, and an increased risk of psychological stress or suicidal thoughts.
The time spent by young people on TikTok contrasts with the self-perception of their level of digital well-being, which is generally positive. On a scale of 1 to 5, they rate their ability to set limits on consumption time with a score of 3.22; their emotional resilience in view of the content watched, 3.31; and their ability to generate social and community connections, 3.64.
The longer they spend on TikTok, the less young people's ability to set app consumption limits
However, Mònika Jiménez (UPF) warns: "the longer young people spend in Tiktok, the less able they are to set connection time limits on the app". Young people who spend more than two hours a day on TikTok rate their ability to set limits with a score of 2.93 out of 5, while those who spend between half an hour and an hour on it award 3.33. Those who spend between 11 minutes and half an hour (awarding 3.47) or those who spend less than 10 minutes (3.53) are most able to limit their consumption time.
Content viewed on TikTok by boys and girls reveals the persistence of traditional gender roles
The research also reveals significant differences in the types of content consumed on TikTok by teenage boys and girls, as Mireia Montaña (UOC) explains: "boys are predominantly interested in video game and professional sports content, while girls tend to consume more beauty and fashion content, thus showing a persistence of traditional gender roles in digital consumption preferences".
Regarding the type of content consumed, the adolescents surveyed rated from 1 (never) to 5 (always) the frequency with which they watch videos of different types. Beyond comical and music videos, which are among the three most watched by both sexes, the rest of the content most consumed by boys and girls differs. In the case of girls, the five most watched contents are: comedy (3.24), music (3.22), fashion (3.02), beauty (3) and dance or people doing playback (2.88). For boys, they are comedy (3.50), video games (3.19), music (3.06), professional sports (3.01) and news from influencers or streamers (2.92).
Young people's digital well-being is not just a question of parental control: educational programmes and periodic audits of TikTok algorithms are needed
In the light of this situation, the study considers that measures to improve the digital well-being of young people cannot be limited to parental control of the app or digital disconnection. Educational programmes are also needed to promote healthy digital habits among young people and to provide their families with more support strategies to enable this, with a gender perspective. The study warns that indiscriminate restrictive measures do not work, rather there is a need to encourage each young person to maintain a level of moderate consumption of social networks, in keeping with their interests and needs. It also insists that regular audits of the algorithms of networks like TikTok should be evaluated to prevent their potentially addictive effects.
This study is part of the project "Spanish adolescents as recipients and creators of content on mental health in social networks. Discourse, incidence and the proposal of tools for digital literacy on psychological disorders and their stigma", funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities.
Reference article:
Virós-Martín, C., Montaña-Blasco, M. & Jiménez-Morales, M. Can't stop scrolling! Adolescents' patterns of TikTok use and digital well-being self-perception. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 11, 1444 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03984-5
