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What studies have actually found about short-video feeds. Every record names its source, its study design and its limitations, and keeps the source’s finding apart from our reading of it.

Longitudinal cohort studies on digital behaviour

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  1. Digital gratification: short video consumption and mental health in rural China

    Zhang, C.; Zhu, B.
    Frontiers in Public Health

    This study used longitudinal data to examine how frequent short video use is linked with mental health among rural residents in China. It reports a short-term improvement in mental health in the first year of exposure, but says this effect fades later. The reported improvements appear to be linked to entertainment and access to information rather than greater social interaction.

    Design
    Longitudinal cohort
    Year
    2025
    Where
    China
    Topics
    Digital behaviour, Mental wellbeing
    Limitations recorded

  2. A cross-lagged analysis of the relationship between short video overuse behavior and depression among college students

    Zhang, D.; Yang, Y.; Guan, M.
    Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1345076

    This study surveyed 331 Chinese college students twice, two months apart. Students who overused short videos at the start were more likely to have more signs of depression two months later; depression at the start did not predict later overuse. It is a small study and shows a possible risk, not proof of harm.

    Design
    Longitudinal cohort
    Year
    2024
    Where
    China
    Topics
    Digital behaviour, Mental wellbeing
    Limitations recorded

A study is published here only after its source is identified and verified, its design classified, its finding checked against the original, and its limitations recorded. How we judge evidence