Clara Virós (Manresa, 1999) has a bachelor’s degree in Advertising and Public Relations from Pompeu Fabra University (UPF). She continued her training at the Complutense University of Madrid, where she completed a master’s degree in Social Psychology. She is currently a member of the Communication, Advertising and Society (CAS) research group of the UPF Department of Communication, specializing in the analysis and interpretation of corporate communication to improve its effectiveness and social impact. She had previously been a research assistant at the same department.

This year, Virós has received the Research Staff Training (FPI) grant from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, support for doctoral students to develop their theses, which has enabled her to join the CAS research group. In the professional sphere, she has worked as a social media analyst in a market research company.

Her specific research field focuses on the impact of social media on adolescent mental health. Recently, as the main author, she has published the article “Can’t stop scrolling! Adolescents’ patterns of TikTok use and digital well-being self-perception” in the journal Nature. It consists of a study dedicated to the consumption of TikTok by young Spaniards, led by the researchers Mònika Jiménez, of the CAS group of the UPF Department of Communication, and Mireia Montaña, from the Learning, Media and Entertainment (GAME) group of the Information and Communication Sciences Studies at the UOC. The study concludes that one in five young people is an at-risk consumer, spending more than two hours a day on this social network.

What was the main goal of the study and how did the idea of focusing on TikTok and teenage digital wellbeing come about?

Digital wellbeing is a relatively new concept, and although it is already being researched in different contexts, there is still little concrete research on specific platforms like TikTok. Most studies analyse social networks in general, such as time of use and its relationship with mental health, but no distinction is made between the characteristics of each of them.

This lack of concreteness is what motivated us. Today’s social networks differ greatly from each other. In the beginning, platforms like Facebook and Instagram focused rather on connecting with friends and social bonds. However, TikTok focuses more on passive content consumption, where the user views what other people create.

Our research aimed precisely to analyse TikTok in a specific way and apply the concept of digital wellbeing, exploring how this platform can affect the health and wellbeing of adolescents. This is one of the main differences compared to other research on this topic.

“Our research aimed precisely to analyse TikTok in a specific way and apply the concept of digital wellbeing, exploring how this platform can affect the health and wellbeing of adolescents”

How was the data collected and what steps did you take to ensure it was representative of adolescents?

We collected the data through a survey on 1,043 adolescents aged between 12 and 18 from all over Spain. To ensure representativeness, we collaborated with a specialized company that used stratified random sampling to ensure the presence of participants from all autonomous communities. Once the raw data was obtained, we performed the statistical calculations and analysis to adjust to our research goals.

The study reveals significant differences between boys and girls with regard to usage time and the type of content consumed. What sort? 

The results show that girls use TikTok more intensively than boys, with 24% of them spending more than two hours on TikTok, compared to 15% of boys. In addition, the types of content they consume reflect traditional gender roles: girls tend to watch fashion and beauty videos, while boys go for content related to sports and video games. However, we also noted categories in common, such as comedy and entertainment videos.

In studies that have looked at content creation, it has been seen that on TikTok, boys are starting to break certain gender roles. For example, some boys are more involved in dance videos, which is not an activity traditionally associated with the male gender. These findings point to a partial break with gender roles in content creation on TikTok (but not in its consumption).

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The study reveals that one in five young people spend more than two hours a day on TikTok. We’re talking 14 hours a week. How can this at-risk consumption of TikTok, which can have a negative effect on young people’s mental health, be reversed?

This topic still needs to be investigated further. Previous studies, not only on TikTok, but also on digital wellbeing, show that neither overuse nor total disconnection from social media is the ideal solution. In our research, we found that, in general, users perceive digital wellbeing positively, since social networks can promote social connection and allow people to find others with similar tastes and ideas.

Now, what seems most beneficial for mental health is the moderate use of social networks. Determining what is considered ‘moderate use’ is an important line of research. What we might need is to establish how much time each day would be optimal for balanced wellbeing. This can vary from person to person and situation to situation, and especially for more vulnerable groups, such as adolescents, who may find it more difficult to control the time they spend online.

“Determining what is considered ‘moderate use’ is an important line of research. What we might need is to establish how much time each day would be optimal for balanced wellbeing. This can vary from person to person and situation to situation"

Interestingly, despite the risks associated with the excessive use of TikTok, teens maintain a generally positive perception of their digital wellbeing. Why does this occur?

This is because digital wellbeing is not unidimensional. While there are negative aspects, such as the difficulty of limiting themselves, there are also positive dimensions. One of them is social connection, which TikTok fosters uniquely.

The platform offers highly personalized content that is often identified with the user’s experiences or interests. This can have a positive effect, as the adolescent feels identified and understood. Moreover, this connection is not just limited to friends, but can include other users with similar stories. All of this creates a sense of togetherness and empathy, which contributes to a positive perception of their wellbeing, despite the inherent risks.

The study also reveals that the user’s own capacity to set limits decreases as the amount of time spent on TikTok increases. As the use by young people of the app increases, do they lose their self-control?

In fact, this is one of the most interesting conclusions of our study, as it shows how young people have difficulty self-regulating. TikTok is designed to capture the user’s attention and make them lose track of time: infinite scrolling and an extremely personalized algorithm are the key elements. As they spend more time on the app, they are less able to limit their use of it.

TikTok is implementing measures such as one-hour-a-day limits for minors, although their effectiveness still needs to be evaluated. For example, if the code to unlock more time comes directly to the child’s mobile, it is unlikely that it will actually stop them. This opens up a debate on how we can protect young people from the highly addictive nature of these platforms.

“TikTok is designed to capture the user’s attention and make them lose track of time: infinite scrolling and an extremely personalized algorithm are the key elements”

Indeed, in the conclusions, you say that parental control measures are not enough to limit adolescents’ use of networks like TikTok. Based on your study, to what extent are prohibitive measures useful compared to education or awareness-raising?

There is a need to combine different strategies, since focusing only on one is not enough. Prohibitive measures can have an impact, but it is essential to complement them with education and awareness-raising. On the one hand, schools can implement programmes that educate regarding the critical consumption of digital content. A fundamental part of this responsibility falls with the family, which is a more private space and is difficult to control from the outside. On the other hand, raising awareness is essential to help adolescents develop critical awareness of the content they consume. Even if platforms like TikTok try to limit certain types of content, such as content related to mental health, many videos are not filtered out, and it’s easy to find information that may not be reliable.

For this reason, we must emphasize encouraging critical thinking: understanding that not everything you see on TikTok is true, learning to verify information and not accepting content as being true just because you’ve seen it on the platform. This education combined with appropriate limits may be more effective than either measure alone.

“We must emphasize encouraging critical thinking: understanding that not everything you see on TikTok is true, learning to verify information and not accepting content as being true just because you have seen it on the platform

Finally, what does being published in Nature mean to you?  

Although publishing in a prestigious journal such as Nature is indeed significant, I believe that the most important thing is to find the right place for your research, where it has the greatest visibility and the greatest impact.

Sometimes, this may mean a less prestigious journal, but one where the article relates better to the interests of the target audience. The ultimate goal is for research to add value, inspire further studies and be transferable to society to help approach new challenges and find new solutions.

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