Infinite Scroll: Groundbreaking study reveals ‘TikTokisation’ of children online
A groundbreaking new study published today by Revealing Reality in partnership with the 5Rights Foundation has revealed how “addictive” short-form video is impacting children
The study, which offers an unprecedented view into what exactly children are experiencing when they’re looking at their devices, uses a pioneering research methodology that captures minute-by-minute behavioural data directly from children’s devices. The study reveals in real time how addictive design features such as infinite scroll, autoplay and algorithmic recommendations shape children’s attention, behaviour, sleep and wellbeing.
The report, Infinite Scroll, is based on an in-depth study of 21 children across the UK and their use of TikTok. While TikTok was chosen because it pioneered and popularised the short-form infinite-scroll model now replicated across the digital ecosystem, the findings raise broader questions about the design features increasingly embedded across social media, entertainment, shopping, news and educational platforms.
It found:
- Children viewed an average of 708 videos per day.
- Around half of videos were watched for five seconds or less.
- Three in four children (76%) used TikTok between midnight and 6am.
- Advertisements appeared as frequently as one in every five videos, while much additional content appeared commercially motivated.
- Researchers found evidence of sexualised content appearing regularly in some children’s feeds.
- Child participants described the platform as addictive, and that it created feelings of guilt, disappointment and tiredness.
- They further reported “unsocial social media” – that it caused them to reduce time spent with friends or on hobbies, and that any social dimension to time spent on the platform was limited.
The study’s significance lies not only in what it found, but in how it was conducted. Using ConnectLive, an innovative research tool developed by Revealing Reality and 5Rights, researchers were able to move beyond self-reported screen-time surveys and retrospective interviews to observe children’s digital experiences as they unfolded. The result, which includes real time recordings of children’s screens, is one of the most detailed pictures yet of how children interact with short-form video platforms and how those experiences affect them moment to moment.
The report comes as short-form video becomes one of the dominant forms of online communication – often supercharged by personalised recommendation systems and features such as infinite scroll, autoplay and popularity metrics – and as the UK government prepares to make a significant policy announcement on children’s online lives.
The research provides new evidence of how systems are designed to co-opt developing minds, as well as the risks posed by features and functionalities now commonplace across the digital ecosystem that shapes almost every aspect of children’s lives. It highlights the need for policymakers to focus on the mechanisms that lead children to harm rather than the access rights of young people to specific services.
Leanda Barrington-Leach, Executive Director of at 5Rights Foundation said,
“The ‘TikTokisation’ of the internet is reshaping children’s attention, wellbeing and development, with feeds dominated by a relentless stream of short-form, fragmented content. In our study, children were viewing hundreds of videos a day, often for just a few seconds each, and described losing hours to scrolling, struggling to disengage, and finding it harder to concentrate for the length of a film.
“Over the coming days, the UK Government has a significant decision to make that could fundamentally improve children’s online lives. While a circuit break on known toxic practices is urgent, it is clear that action cannot stop at platform specific measures alone. Our research points to a deeper issue in how features and functionalities are used and combined to capture children’s attention and influence their behaviour, and a more comprehensive response is required if we are to protect children’s wellbeing and development online.”
Damon De Ionno, owner and managing director of Revealing Reality, said,
“The thing we’ve been asking for a long time is what’s social about this? What is social about this activity? I want people to see the content, and I want them to make a judgment themselves as to whether they think this unsocial social media is a good use of children’s time.
“There are a lot of voices who want to say how positive this activity is and that there’s a balance between the positives and the potential negatives. My question is: just show us the positive bits because we’re struggling to see them.”
