The 23-year-old Lieke Linssen doesn’t personally use the social medium in question. Most of her friends who are her age don’t either. It seems like TikTok in the Netherlands is especially popular among children, but those were not allowed to take part in Linssen’s research: “They had to be at least 16 years old.” This turned out to be far from easy. “Many acquaintances and friends whom she sent the questionnaire, said: ‘I will do it later’, but that never happened. I really didn’t like hounding them.”
But she managed: the data was collected. No less than 88 participants. “It actually should have been one hundred and fifty, but anyway, as long as I can write my thesis.” Linssen is trying to prove that some people are more sensitive to the algorithm-controlled Chinese social medium than others. “Unfortunately, nothing significant came of it, but it does seem as if people with an open personality are less likely to become addicted. They constantly want to try something new and have broad interests. They prefer real social contact.”
The writing itself is going well for her. “I seem to be one of the few in my circle of friends who is actually enjoying it. I really like the freedom, planning my own time.” She received her first feedback: no “huge drastic changes.” The master’s student of Human & Decision Science will be working on this until her deadline on Friday. The final defence will be in July. “Terrible. I find presentations one of the worst things in life.”