The Impact of Short-Form Video Content On the Psychological Well-Being of Individuals in Late Adolescence

The consumption of social media is becoming increasingly popular in today’s society, and this study attempts to examine the relationship between short-form video (SFVs) consumption and psychological well-being in adolescents aged 18-24. The purpose of this study is to assess for a correlation between these two variables and to determine whether the duration and quality of use impacts well-being. A quantitative approach was used to reach forty-one participants, divided into light (≤3 hours of SFVs per day) and heavy (4 + hours of SFVs per day) users to analyze the intensity of SFV use in relation to well-being scores. Each Likert scale question response was tallied to produce their overall score in two sections, self-esteem/personal well-being and relationships/social well-being, in order to evaluate data using a two-sample independent t-test. Results aligned with past literature by revealing a direct relationship between negative psychological well-being and increased consumption of SFVs. Ultimately, this study suggests that high SFV use is correlated with a decline in adolescent psychological well-being, and provides insight into the growing body of research on social media addiction. These findings advance the knowledge of social media addiction literature by specifically addressing the impact of short-form content, a rapidly changing area of study within digital media.