Characteristics of the usage of the TikTok application by primary school students

Temeljni cilj ovog rada je stjecanje uvida u obilježja i štetne posljedice korištenja aplikacije TikTok kod učenika osnovnih škola. Specifični ciljevi ovog rada su utvrditi obilježja korištenja aplikacije TikTok i zastupljenost štetnih psihosocijalnih posljedica prekomjernog korištenja aplikacije TikTok te eventualne razlike u obilježjima korištenja TikToka (učestalost i štetne posljedice) s obzirom na neka sociodemografska i osobna obilježja sudionika (spol, dob/razred, samopoštovanje). Istraživanje je provedeno u ožujku 2022. godine na uzorku od 129 učenika viših razreda Osnovne škole Martijanec u Varaždinskoj županiji i Osnovne škole Vladimir Deščak u Zagrebačkoj županiji. U istraživanju su korišteni Rosenbergova skala samopoštovanja - RSES (Rosenberg, 1965), Test ovisnosti o internetu - IAT (Young, 1996) i Upitnik o korištenju društvenih mreža - SNUQ (Gupta i Bashir, 2018). Uz to, osmišljena su i pitanja usmjerena na stjecanje uvida u dodatna obilježja korištenja TikTok aplikacije (kreiranje vlastitog sadržaja, motivaciju korištenja, percepciju opasnosti TikTok izazova, utjecaj COVID-19 pandemije na učestalost korištenja). Rezultati istraživanja pokazali su da 81,5% sudionika ima otvoren profil na TikToku, a više od polovice sudionika aplikaciji je prvi puta pristupio s 10-11 godina. Učenici u najvećem postotku u danima radnog tjedna na aplikaciji provode između 30 minuta i 2 sata (56%), a u danima vikenda između 30 minuta i 3 sata (71,9%). Vlastiti sadržaj na aplikaciji kreiralo je 71,3% sudionika, dok je njih 37% izjavilo kako su isprobali barem jedan TikTok izazov. Čak 85,2% učenika smatra da su nešto korisno naučili zahvaljujući aplikaciji, a najviše njih aplikaciju koristi u svrhu zabave (78,7%). Više od polovice sudionika nema znakove ovisnosti o aplikaciji, dok je umjerenu razinu ovisnosti razvilo 10,3% sudionika, a visoku razinu nije razvio niti jedan sudionik istraživanja. Nije utvrđena statistički značajna razlika u učestalosti korištenja aplikacije s obzirom na spol sudionika. Što se tiče razlike u učestalosti korištenja s obzirom na razred, ona je utvrđena samo kada je riječ o korištenju tijekom radnog tjedna na način da učenici osmog razreda učestalije koriste aplikaciju. Ovim istraživanjem nisu utvrđene statistički značajne razlike u zastupljenosti štetnih psihosocijalnih posljedica prekomjernog korištenja TikTok-a s obzirom na spol, razred i samopoštovanje sudionika. Rezultati su raspravljeni u kontekstu njihove implikacije za buduća znanstvena istraživanja i praktičnu primjenu te u odnosu na potencijalna ograničenja koja treba uzeti u obzir.The main aim of this study is to gain insight into the characteristics and adverse consequences of using the TikTok application among elementary school students. Specific aims are to determine the characteristics of TikTok application use and the prevalence of harmful psychosocial consequences of excessive TikTok application use, as well as possible differences in the characteristics of TikTok use (frequency and adverse consequences) with regard to some sociodemographic and personal characteristics of the participants (gender, age/class, self-esteem). The study was conducted in March 2022 on a sample of 129 elementary school students from Martijanec Elementary School in Varaždin County and Vladimir Deščak Elementary School in Zagreb County. In this study, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale - RSES (Rosenberg, 1965), the Internet Addiction Test - IAT (Young, 1996), and the Social Networking Usage Questionnaire - SNUQ (Gupta and Bashir, 2018) were used. In addition, questions were designed to gain insight into additional characteristics of TikTok application use (creation of own content, motivation for use, perception of risk of TikTok challenges, impact of the COVID -19 pandemic on frequency of use). The research results show that 81.5% of the participants opened a profile on TikTok, and more than half of them accessed the application for the first time when they were 10-11 years old. The highest percentage of pupils spend between 30 minutes and 2 hours (56%) on the application on weekdays, and between 30 minutes and 3 hours (71.9%) on weekends. Their own content on the app was created by 71.3% of participants, while 37% of them said they tried at least one TikTok challenge. As many as 85.2% of students believe that they learned something useful thanks to the application, and most of them use the application for fun (78.7%). More than half of the participants have no signs of addiction to the application, while 10.3% of the participants developed a moderate level, and none of them developed a high level of addiction. No statistically significant difference was found in the frequency of use of the application with regard to the gender. As for the difference in frequency of use in relation to grade, it was only found for use during the work week, in such a way that eighth-grade students used the application more frequently. In this study, no statistically significant differences were found in the presentation of adverse psychosocial consequences of excessive use of TikTok with regard to gender, class, and self-esteem of the participants. The results are discussed in the context of their implications for future scientific research and practical application, as well as potential limitations that should be considered