This empirical investigation, commissioned by Center for Social Media, Tech and Democracy, examines the design mechanics, user retention patterns, and content delivery algorithms of major social media platforms, specifically TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.
Analysis of user engagement data highlights how features such as short-form video formats ("shorts"), endless scrolling, and notification loops maximise youth screen time, with the top 10% of active users spending nearly three hours daily on TikTok alone. It reports that 1.8% to 2% of user feeds present potentially harmful material, emphasising that while individual videos may seem benign, their cumulative exposure reinforces harmful body ideals, extreme behaviours, and mental health risks among adolescents.
Methodology
The study uses an innovative, privacy-compliant data donation methodology developed by AnalyseTal to bypass the data-access restrictions imposed by social media companies. Participatory data donation involved young users voluntarily and anonymously contributing export data from their personal social media accounts (TikTok, YouTube, Instagram). The study combined quantitative computational analysis of user session frequencies, watch times, and video counts with qualitative content categorization of algorithmically served feeds.
Country or region of researched population
Denmark
Citation
AnalyseTal. (2025). What the tech giants don't want you to know. Center for Social Media, Tech and Democracy, Ministry of Digital Affairs. https://www.digmin.dk/Media/639010549147190829/EN%20What%20the%20tech%20giants%20don't%20want%20you%20to%20know_AnalyseTal.pdf
Record created:
21 July 2026
This empirical investigation, commissioned by Center for Social Media, Tech and Democracy, examines the design mechanics, user retention patterns, and content delivery algorithms of major social media platforms, specifically TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.
Analysis of user engagement data highlights how features such as short-form video formats ("shorts"), endless scrolling, and notification loops maximise youth screen time, with the top 10% of active users spending nearly three hours daily on TikTok alone. It reports that 1.8% to 2% of user feeds present potentially harmful material, emphasising that while individual videos may seem benign, their cumulative exposure reinforces harmful body ideals, extreme behaviours, and mental health risks among adolescents.
Methodology
The study uses an innovative, privacy-compliant data donation methodology developed by AnalyseTal to bypass the data-access restrictions imposed by social media companies. Participatory data donation involved young users voluntarily and anonymously contributing export data from their personal social media accounts (TikTok, YouTube, Instagram). The study combined quantitative computational analysis of user session frequencies, watch times, and video counts with qualitative content categorization of algorithmically served feeds.
Country or region of researched population
Denmark
Citation
AnalyseTal. (2025). What the tech giants don't want you to know. Center for Social Media, Tech and Democracy, Ministry of Digital Affairs. https://www.digmin.dk/Media/639010549147190829/EN%20What%20the%20tech%20giants%20don't%20want%20you%20to%20know_AnalyseTal.pdf
Record created:
21 July 2026- algorithms manipulation addictive design harmful content
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