A Study of Tiktok Use
About this study
Research Team
Responsible researchers: Dr Scott Griffiths, Tel: +61 401 045 607, email: scott.griffiths@unimelb.edu.au; Dr Emily Harris, email: harrise1@unimelb.edu.au. Co-investigators: Professor Simon Dennis (simon.dennis@unimelb.edu.au), Dr Ben Stone (benjamin.stone
Institution
The University of Melbourne
Ethics Approval Number
31463
Funding Source
This research is funded by an NHMRC/MRFF Grants awarded to Dr Scott Griffiths (grant numbers: 1179321, 1193738).
Project Start Date
1 August 2025
Project End Date
1 August 2026
Participants
Eligible participants will: have a current eating disorder diagnosis, use TikTok regularly (minimum 1 month of use), be 16 years or older, fluent in English, and live in Australia.
What is Involved
This study has two main components:
1. 28 x daily surveys
2. 6 x monthly surveys and TikTok data uploads
Daily Surveys: Each evening, between 9pm and 12am, you will answer questions about your thoughts and behaviours related to eating, exercise, and appearance. Surveys will be sent for 28 consecutive days and take approximately 5-10 minutes.
Monthly Surveys: Each month (28 days) for six months, you will complete a longer survey about your thoughts and behaviours related to eating, exercise, and appearance. The first survey will also record demographic information, such as your age, height, and weight, and eating disorder history and will take approximately 15 minutes. The remaining 5 surveys will take approximately 10 minutes.
TikTok Data Sharing: We will provide instructions for requesting, downloading, and sharing your TikTok data each month. Data will be shared via email.
In total, this study will take approximately 6-7 hours to complete, spread over six months.
Ethics Approval Number
31463
Location
Online
Contact Details
tiktok-study@unimelb.edu.au
This research investigates the degree to which people engage with TikTok videos that focus on appearance, and how exposure to these videos might relate to experiences like body dissatisfaction and eating disorder symptoms over a period of 6 months. Eligible participants may receive up to $200 for their involvement.
« Back to Browse Resources