For much of social media’s history there has been a prevailing accusation that it is primarily used for frippery, such as cute cat videos. While that’s not the whole truth, of course, research from the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management suggests such content is pretty addictive.
“You’d expect people to be satiated – if I watch one episode on this topic, I should be ready to move on,” the researchers explain. “You’d think people would get less enjoyment from viewing something similar after already seeing one or two related videos, but in our studies, people wanted to keep watching more and more.”
Down the rabbit hole
The researchers have long had an interest in the addictive nature of media and how producers suck us into watching more and more. Their research required participants to watch a range of videos and images that were manipulated to ensure some people watched content that was more similar than others.
The key to stickiness was the similarity, repetitiveness, and consecutiveness of content. When they were combined, we get sucked in and derive considerable enjoyment from consuming similar content.
The researchers explain that when we watch content on a particular topic, it keeps it at the top of our mind, therefore prompting us to consume more and more of it.
“You watch one video on a particular topic and the topic itself is not that accessible, but then as you watch another one, suddenly that category becomes more accessible,” they say. “Then it’s harder to switch because you are immersed in the topic, and there may be some perceived cost to switching.”
Switching costs
They go on to explain that there is a cognitive belief that switching to different kinds of content could have negative consequences. There is also likely to be a significant motivational component, however.
“People anticipate that options within that same category are going to be more enjoyable [than another category],” they say. “Because the category is more accessible, and people feel immersed in it, people think similar options will be more enjoyable.”
This was evidenced in one of the experiments when the labeling of videos was tinkered with so that whereas people were shown the same videos, sometimes they were labeled as merely “videos” and other times as “educational videos”. When people watched the educational videos, they were much more likely to watch more videos from that category.
“You’d think that people might be able to make those connections without those labels – they are watching the same videos in both cases,” the researchers explain, “but having the overarching similarity pointed out to them by the category label leads people to say, “OK, this is the particular content that I’m watching.’ It’s activating the category in their minds, and then they’re choosing in line with that accessible category.”
The study also found, however, that we can break free from the clutches of the producers by factoring in a break into our viewing habits. When volunteers watched a couple of videos on a topic and then took a break for a few days, they tended to watch different topics when they returned.
“One of our key takeaways,” the researchers conclude, “is that, for consumers, it’s good to create a situation where you’re going to be interrupted. Before you sit down, find a way to have some interruption coming. Otherwise, you could tend to fall down the rabbit hole, without necessarily realizing it.”
