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Short-form videos, such as those on TikTok, have become a global phenomenon, captivating millions of young users. Sometimes excessive behavior which could be explained by childhood trauma, according to a recent study published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior.
“We were interested in this topic because of the rapid growth of active users on platforms like TikTok and Douyin in recent years. In China, short video users now represent 96.4% of the internet population“, explained Hai Huang, associate professor of psychology at the University of Geosciences of China and co-author of the study, to PsyPost.
The study, titled “Adverse childhood experiences and short-form video addiction: A serial mediation model of resilience and life satisfaction“, reveals that traumatic experiences, such as abuse and neglect, increase susceptibility to this form of addiction. In other words, individuals who experienced childhood trauma are more likely to develop an addiction to short videos These results highlight the importance of taking childhood experiences into account to better understand and prevent addictive behaviors among young people.
Short video platforms, with their addictive algorithms and personalized content, encourage prolonged use, sometimes to the detriment of their users’ physical and mental health.
The research team collected data from 11,425 students in Wuhan, China. The participants, with an average age of 20, were asked about their childhood experiences, their resilience, their life satisfaction and their level of addiction to short videos. Childhood experiences have been categorized into various types such as neglect, abuse, dysfunctional family, and exposure to violence.
A dose of endorphin like morphine
The results were alarming: students who reported more negative childhood experiences, particularly neglect and abuse, were more likely to show signs of addiction to short videos. Those who had five or more types of negative experiences were up to 4.7 times more likely to develop an addiction compared to those who had no such experiences.
The study also found that resilience and life satisfaction played important roles. Students with negative experiences tended to have lower levels of resilience and life satisfaction, which, in turn, was associated with higher rates of short-video addiction. In other words, resilience and life satisfaction play a protective role. High levels of these factors help students avoid over-reliance on short videos. In contrast, when these protections are weak, students are more likely to use short videos for immediate gratification, likely to deal with unresolved emotional stress from their childhood, the study explains.
“Our results show that negative childhood experiences are a significant risk factor for short video addiction.,” Mr. Huang explained.Specifically, adverse childhood experiences characterized by violence, abuse, and neglect have a greater impact than other types of adverse childhood experiences. Interventions focused on early prevention of adverse childhood experiences, as well as promoting resilience and life satisfaction, could prove beneficial in preventing addiction to short-form videos among young people“.
If the study establishes a strong link between childhood trauma and addiction to short videos, it nevertheless has limits. To better understand this phenomenon, the study suggests that future research follows individuals over a longer period of time. Including youth and non-students could also provide a more complete picture of this relationship. These avenues could improve future studies on the subject.