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Short Made Them Powerful: Exploring Motivations and Problematic Uses of TikTok

  • Youngju Jung
  • , Taeyeon Kim
  • , Sojin Lee
  • , Seung Min
  • , Yongjun Sung*
  • *Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The penetration of short-form content in daily life is undeniable. TikTok is one of the most popular and fastest-growing short-form video applications globally. This study examined the underlying motives for using TikTok and explored differences in psychological symptoms related to TikTok usage patterns (i.e., active vs. passive). A survey of 500 TikTok users identified six prominent reasons for engaging in TikTok. These are “information-seeking,” “time-killing,” “self-expression,” “trend-seeking,” “escapism,” and “inspiration-seeking.” In addition, the active use of TikTok was positively associated with dependency and addictive symptoms. The results contribute to the understanding of TikTok and other short-form videos by uncovering motives and demonstrating the distinguished outcomes of usage types.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)90-97
Number of pages8
JournalCyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking
Volume28
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2025 Feb 1

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright 2025, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

Keywords

  • TikTok
  • active use
  • motives
  • passive use
  • problematic use
  • short-form videos

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Social Psychology
  • Communication
  • Applied Psychology
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Computer Science Applications

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