Skip to Main Content

Student Research Guide WQ24/ Effects of Tiktok's Short Form Algorithm

Student Research Guide for Library 201/ Mattie Jones

Top 10 Resources

*Clicking on the titles of entries will direct you to the sources. They are links!

  • STATISTICS FROM THE PEW RESEARCH CENTER: Anderson, Monica, et al. “Teens, Social Media and Technology 2023.Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech, 11 Dec. 2023, https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2023/12/11/teens-social-media-and-technology-2023/#:~:text=TikTok%2C%20Snapchat%20and%20Instagram%20remain%20popular%20among%20teens%3A%20Majorities%20of,about%20seven%2Din%2Dten

    • This source was helpful to my research because it provides statistics and graphs on the sites most used by teens, and also details how frequently teens spend their time online. One of the most interesting pieces of information I took away from this source is that almost 1 in 5 of teens mentioned that they are on TikTok or YouTube nearly constantly. One of the main researchers for this source,  Monica Anderson, is a "...director of internet and technology research at Pew Research Center". The Pew Research Center is a reliable source for research, statistics, and data. 


  • CHAPTER FROM O'REILLY TECHNICAL EBOOKS: Bai, Xiaopeng, and Fang Hong. “The Effect of Video Attributes on Memorable Short Video Experience and Intention to Visit: The Case of TikTok.Economic and Business Management, CRC Press, 2022, pp.130-133. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003203704-23. 
    • This source was helpful to my research because it provides information about short form content algorithms from a business standpoint. It also explains how marketers in economics and business can use different components of psychology to create algorithms for increased user interactions. Xiaopeng Bai is a scholar from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in nanoplasmonics, clean energy, and flexible devices. Fang Hong is a scholar in the psychological field. 

  • PUBMED OPEN ACCESS ACADEMIC JOURNAL ARTICLE: Basch, Corey H., et al. “Deconstructing TikTok Videos on Mental Health: Cross-Sectional, Descriptive Content Analysis.JMIR Formative Research, vol. 6, no. 5, 2022, pp. 1-7. https://doi.org/10.2196/38340.
    •  This source was helpful to my research because it examines the themes of mental health on TikTok. It discusses how adolescents typically view information, and also explains how there are concerns for the spread of misinformation and disinformation on the platform. Corey Basch is one of the researchers of this source, and he is a Public Health Professor at William Paterson University. This is a Peer reviewed source created by several scholars and professors throughout different colleges and universities. 


  • ISSUES & CONTROVERSIES TIMELINE: “Chronology: Key Events in the History of Social Media and Mental Health.Issues & Controversies, 2023. https://icof.infobase.com/articles/QXJ0aWNsZVRleHQ6MTc0NDU=?aid=102912.
    •  This source was helpful to my research because it provided a thorough timeline and background information on the general scope of social media and how it has affected teens. It includes the dates of when certain bans and legislative acts against TikTok were proposed, when TikTok was created, and what impacts it had on adolescents with dates of these events to correspond. Chronology is found in the SVC database Issues & Controversies, which is a reputable database for information. 

  • STATISTICS FROM THE PEW RESEARCH CENTER: McClain, Colleen. “A Declining Share of Adults, and Few Teens, Support a U.S. Tiktok Ban.Pew Research Center, 11 Dec. 2023. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/12/11/a-declining-share-of-adults-and-few-teens-support-a-us-tiktok-ban/. 
    • This source was beneficial to my research because it introduces the statistics of teens and adults opposed to and for a ban on TikTok in the United States. This source was particularly useful in the 'Societal Impacts' section of my research. This is a source by Colleen McClain, who is a research associate for internet and technology at the Pew Research center. The Pew Research Center is a reliable source for statistics, images, and data.


  • PUBMED OPEN ACCESS ACADEMIC JOURNAL ARTICLE: Montag, Christian, et al. “Addictive Features of Social Media/Messenger Platforms and Freemium Games against the Background of Psychological and Economic Theories. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 16, no. 14, 2019, pp. 1-16. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16142612.
    • This source was helpful to my research because it discusses the addictive features of social media, that also apply to TikTok. It also talks about the developer side of app algorithms, and how apps are intentionally asking for users' data in turn for them to be able to utilize their apps. This is a peer reviewed source co-written by Christian Montag, and Brend Lachman, who are in the Department of Molecular Psychology, Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University. The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is a scholarly journal that covers aspects such as global health, healthcare, sciences, and medicine. 


  • OPEN ACCESS ACADEMIC JOURNAL ARTICLE: Qin, Yao, et.al. “The Addiction Behavior of Short-Form Video App TikTok: The Information Quality and System Quality Perspective. Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 13, 2022, pp. 932805–932805, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.932805
    • This source discusses the components of TikTok’s short form videos that contribute towards factors of stimulus and addiction within users. I found this source interesting because they found that addiction to TikTok was contributed in part by a user's concentration towards short form videos. This is a peer reviewed source from an open source science publication called Frontier. Bahiyah Omar, one of the researchers of this source, is a scholar in the School of Communication, at Universiti Sains Malaysia.

  • POLITICO ARTICLE: Scola, Nancy.“Will Politicians Ban Their Best Way of Reaching Young Voters?Politico, 25 Aug. 2023. www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/08/25/tiktok-influencers-campaigns-bowman-00111497. 
    • This source discusses the way politicians use TikTok to reach younger audiences, and also talks about the push-back from the government concerning the use TikTok in politics/government spaces. This source helped inform the 'Social Impacts' section of my research. This is a source by Nancy Scola who is, “...a contributing writer at Politico Magazine, is a journalist based in Washington whose work examines the complicated intersections of technology and society” (Stated in the article). 

  • PUBMED OPEN ACCESS ACADEMIC JOURNAL ARTICLE: Sha Peng, and Xiaoyu Dong. “Research on Adolescents Regarding the Indirect Effect of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress between TikTok Use Disorder and Memory Loss.International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 18, no.16: 8820, Summer 2021, pp.1-11. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18168820.
    • ​​​​This is a journal article co written by a Doctor named Peng Sha from a school of Journalism and Communication in China. This source was helpful to my research because it discusses the links between excessive internet usage and depression, anxiety, and stress. The authors of this source mentioned how there are nuances to the topic that could affect their results, and that more research on this topic needs to be done. This information was useful in the meta-cognition (ways to understand and address these issues) area of my research. 

  • ACADEMIC ARTICLE IN THE PROQUEST DATABASE: Tian, Xiaoxu, et al."How Short-Form Video Features Influence Addiction Behavior? Empirical Research from the Opponent Process Theory Perspective." Information Technology & People, vol. 36, no. 1, 2023, pp. 1-23. ProQuest, https://doi.org/10.1108/ITP-04-2020-0186.
    •  This source was especially useful to develop an understanding short form content and its psychological effects, as well as who benefits from its use. This is a peer reviewed source created in part by Chen Hao who is a Doctor of Business Administration at Jilin University, and Tian Xiaoxu from the School of Business and Management, Jilin University. This source discusses the factors that make short form content addicting, how addiction forms, and how social media companies are using short form content in combination with artificial intelligence to peak the interests of their users.

  

Top 5-10 Recommended Keywords/Search Terms on the Topic

  1. "TikTok"  AND "Pyschological effects"
  2. "Filter bubbles" OR "Echo chambers"
  3. "Short form algorithms"
  4. "Social media addiction"
  5. "Mental health" 
  6. "TikTok" AND "Misinformation"
  7. "COVID-19 pandemic" AND "TikTok"
All Content CC-BY.