Brevity is the key! TikTok allows you to create very short clips, often even lasting only a few seconds. In a SCHUFRIED Research Support project, the attention performance of TikTok users was tested.
In 2018, a new social media app named TikTok began to make waves. The platform was initially known for very short music and dance videos each user can post and share. Since then, the range of topics has expanded considerably. TikTok content now covers everything from fashion and lifestyle to comedy and even political campaigns.
TikTok’s main characteristic, however, remains that the videos are all extremely brief, with a complete video clip lasting only 15–60 seconds. According to various studies, the age range of TikTok users (in Germany) is somewhere between approximately 14 and 29 years.
As part of a seminar project, a student at the Technical University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt has now studied whether attention performance decreases with regular viewing of such short videos. To conduct her study, she used a SCHUHFRIED attention and concentration test. Access was made possible by SCHUHFRIED Research Support – a program that provides researchers with the digital testing they need to complete their work, for example as part of dissertation research or independent research projects.