Short-form video addiction is undermining US society and power

This analysis, co-authored with my colleague Samantha Wong of the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub, examines different approaches to short-form videos across China, Russia, and Australia.

Short-form video addiction is undermining US society and power

The U.S. education system is struggling to adapt to profound technological changes in artificial intelligence (AI) and short-form videos. Failing to get technology education right will hold decades-long consequences for millions of American children and their families – and the future of American power.

U.S. technology policy should closely examine comparative approaches in Australia and China, especially regarding children’s use. Beijing is restricting children’s access to short-form videos within China while allowing nearly unrestricted access abroad. Russian law discriminates against foreign platforms – including China’s Tiktok, interestingly – but imposes no limits on domestic alternatives. Meanwhile, Australia’s social media ban for children under 16 is a bold approach that societies concerned about children’s mental health, especially the acute risks facing young girls, should emulate.

China is limiting short videos

Beijing restricts short-form videos within China – including on Douyin, owned by ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company – without constraining this content abroad. Chinese authorities require Douyin to enforce a “youth mode,” which limits users under 14 to app usage for just 40 minutes a day; it also prevents these users from accessing the platform between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. every day. Furthermore, authorities have targeted content on Douyin that violates the government’s “code of conduct”, including by suspending high-profile luxury social media influencers. In one instance, Beijing censored a user known as “China’s Kim Kardashian”, to discourage conspicuous consumption and materialism. Though the suspension aims to promote values aligned with Beijing’s priorities – and discourages discussion of inequality – it also removed aspects of social media that often foster insecurity among young users.

Similarly, Beijing has introduced strict regulations on the amount of time children can spend playing computer games. In 2021, the government implemented rules limiting children to just three, one-hour play sessions between 20:00–21:00 on Fridays, weekends, and public holidays, although there are limited extra slots around Lunar New Year. Even during long holidays such as the Lunar New Year break, Tencent Games, one of the world’s largest video game companies, limited Chinese children to only 15 hours of total gaming time over the month long holiday period. These measures aim to encourage children to focus more on their studies, reduce excessive screen ...