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As the number of users of ‘TikTok’, a global leader in the ‘short form (short videos of about 1 minute)’ platform, is rapidly increasing in Korea, there are many voices concerned about excessive use. Limitations on TikTok usage time are mentioned as measures, but TikTok’s own diagnosis is that just 35 minutes is enough to develop short-form addiction. It was found that Korean users are addicted to TikTok and watch it for 80 to 90 minutes every day.
According to a report by the American public broadcaster NPR on the 16th, during the lawsuit filed by the Kentucky state government against TikTok operator ByteDance, ByteDance’s internal documents containing TikTok’s addictive nature and related data were revealed.
According to NPR’s analysis of this document, ByteDance itself was aware of the risks of TikTok addiction.
First of all, ByteDance recognized that TikTok is highly addictive, especially among teenagers, and through its own research, it also acknowledged the damage it can cause to children’s mental and social development. ByteDance said, “The coercive use of TikTok is correlated with a loss of analytical skills and a negative impact on memory formation, contextual thinking, depth of conversation, and empathy.”
In particular, ByteDance believes that one person needs to watch 260 videos to create a habit of using TikTok. In the document, state officials wrote, “TikTok videos can be as short as 8 seconds and automatically play quickly for viewers. Therefore, users are likely to become addicted to TikTok within an average of 35 minutes.”
If ByteDance’s research results are applied to the actual use of TikTok in Korea, short-form addiction in Korea is at a serious level. According to Mobile Index, the average usage time per person for domestic TikTok users as of the 13th was 91 minutes. This is 2.6 times higher than the 35 minutes that ByteDance itself mentioned the possibility of addiction. ‘TikTok Lite’, a short-form viewing app, was also found to have been watched by domestic users for 73 minutes per person on the same day.
Domestic users’ addiction to TikTok is already far superior to that of competing SNS. On the same day, the usage time of X (formerly Twitter) was 60 minutes, and the usage time of Instagram, which boasts the most users, was 52 minutes. Moreover, even OTT (online video service), which has a relatively long viewing time, did not reach TikTok. The usage time of OTT leader Netflix was 71 minutes, and second place TVING was 61 minutes.
Countries around the world are taking measures such as expelling TikTok or limiting usage hours. The United States passed the ‘Tik Tok Exit Act’ on the grounds that its citizens’ personal information could be leaked to Chinese authorities.
US President Joe Biden signed the so-called ‘Tik Tok Exit Act’ in April this year. If TikTok does not sell its U.S. business within up to 360 days from the bill’s effective date, all services in the U.S. will be banned. In China, the home of TikTok, people under the age of 14 have been restricted from using TikTok for more than 40 minutes a day.
Reporter Byun Hwi [email protected]
