The Effects of TikTok Use on College Student Learning

The Effects of TikTok Use on College Student Learning

The Effects of TikTok Use on College Student Learning

Audrey Mekler

Even having your phone near you when you are trying to complete a challenging task can pose as a distraction. A group of researchers explored whether a cell phone could pose as a distraction when completing different tasks (Thornton, Faires, Robbins, & Rollins, 2014). This study consisted of two different studies, the second replicating what was found in the first study. In the first study, participants consisted of 54 undergraduate students who performed a series of timed tasks, tests, and then filled out two questionnaires. They found that in the more taxing task, the participants who had the cell phone on their table did worse than the participants who had the notebook on their table; but in the less taxing task, there was no difference between either having the phone or notebook. For the more challenging test, they found that the participants who had the phone on their table completed less than those who had the notebook on their table; and there was once again no difference between them in the less challenging test. The second study had different participants complete the same timed tasks, tests, and two questionnaires that were used in the first study. Once again, on the more taxing task, participants who had their phones did worse than those who did not have their phones, whereas in the less taxing task, there was no difference between having a phone out or not. This shows us that even just knowing that your phone is near you can cause enough of a distraction to impact your performance on tasks that are more challenging as opposed to more simple tasks. Besides just knowing that your phone is near you, actually using your phone can also pose as a distraction when completing certain tasks. In looking at the effect in which phones have on young adults who are healthy, while they are being active, researchers have found that using their phone changed the way that the healthy adults did activities involving movement (Bovonsunthonchai, Ariyaudomkit, Susilo, Sangiamwong, Puchaphan, Chandee, & Richards, 2020). There were 25 healthy young adult participants, ages 18 through 25, gathered from a university. There were six different conditions and six trials for every condition where the participants were walking and using their phone in different ways. They found that participants made the biggest steps and strides without having a task on their phone. The participants’ confidence in walking was the highest without phone use, while listening to music was close behind. While walking, the conditions that showed the least amount of confidence were watching videos and sending texts. This affects people’s protection because their attention is not fully focused on the active task they are doing. This shows that the amount one is distracted by their phone while doing an active task, depends on what the task is, but certain tasks could become more challenging when using a phone. Because phones can distract us from completing different tasks, there is a possibility that they can also impact student learning. Kuznekoff and Titsworth (2013) thought that classroom learning is something that needs attention focused on what is being taught or lectured, and if students are using their phones during class, then they will not take notes very well. This study consisted of 47 students from a university between the ages of 18 and 22. There were three different groups in which students were randomly placed that determined which participants could use their phone and how they used their phone. Participants had to watch a lecture recording and take notes while watching, and then prepare as if they had a test following the lecture. They found that participants who were exposed to increased phone distractions scored more poorly on the test following the distractions and took less detailed notes. This study demonstrates that not only are phones themselves distractions, using or being distracted by a phone can lead to decreased learning and negative learning outcomes. 147 THE UNDERGRADUATE REVIEW 2022 | BRIDGEWATER STATE UNIVERSITY is actually being taught right in front of them (Spence, Beasley, Gravenkemper, Hoefler, Ngo, Ortiz, & Campisi, 2020). This research provides evidence of phones and social media as a distraction, however little research has been done to investigate how using a specific app like TikTok, which is increasingly popular for students, could distract or negatively impact learning outcomes. In my study, I investigated that impact, and specifically whether TikTok can negatively impact college student’s learning and schoolwork. To investigate this topic, I asked students questions on a survey concerning TikTok and their schoolwork. I wanted to see how long students spend on TikTok each day, how often they lose track of time on TikTok each day, whether they create posts or just scroll