Short video and mental health: evidence from China Family Panel Survey 2020

The emergence of short video platforms has reshaped social media consumption globally.These platforms, driven by personalized content algorithms and incentivized creators, differ from traditional social media, potentially impacting mental health through immersive and sensationalized content consumption.In this paper, we use data from the China Family Panel Survey of 2020 (CFPS 2020) to empirically investigate the impact of short video viewing on viewers' mental health.Our finding shows that frequent viewing of short videos has a negative effect on viewers' mental health, as evidenced by their self-reported depression levels.This negative effect is significant for both the OLS and 2SLS regression.Furthermore, our analysis reveals that a more pessimistic outlook on major social issues, resulting from short video viewing, is a key factor driving this outcome.This suggests that the algorithm-based nature of these platforms can intensify viewers' concerns about social issues, thereby influencing their mental health.Finally, our heterogeneity analysis documents a significant urban-rural difference in the negative effect of short video viewing on mental health and underscores the importance of the identified channel.