Watching 17 minutes of YouTube videos can drive down prejudice: Study

ANI |
Updated: November 26, 2022 11:49 PM ist

Washington [US]Nov 26 (ANI): Watching just 17 minutes of YouTubers talking about their struggles with mental health reduces bias, research from the University of Essex suggests.
Viewers’ perceptions of disorders decreased, biases toward mental health fell by 8%, and intergroup anxiety levels plummeted by 11%.
The study, published in Scientific Reports, explored how the connections people feel to the YouTube creators they watch, known as parasocial relationships, can affect behaviour.
As part of the investigation, hundreds of people watched videos of a woman who later revealed she had borderline personality disorder (BPD) and discussed common misconceptions about her condition.
After watching just 17 minutes of their content, levels of explicit bias and intergroup anxiety dropped.
A week later, a follow-up survey suggested that lower levels of bias remained, and that about 10 percent of participants had taken action that further supported mental health initiatives, such as fundraising.
The study was led by Dr. Shaaba Lotun, who said: “This is exciting research that is vital considering the impact online content has on people’s lives. There are more than 2.5 billion active users on YouTube every month and can have a big impact. impact on the global conversation. We wanted to see if a creator talking about his mental health disorder could positively impact the people who watch it.”

The collaborative study between the Faculty of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering and the Department of Psychology.
In total, 333 participants with an average age of 26 years took part in the online study, with 191 women, 126 men, and 3 non-binary people studied.
They were divided into three groups and shown different videos with a set of content about the creator revealing their BDP diagnosis.
The participants then completed a series of tasks to gauge their perceptions of BPD and general mental health conditions with an additional follow-up survey conducted a week later.
The study is now expected to expand to explore how parasocial relationships and online content can shape perceptions of the LGBTQ+ and other minority communities.
Dr. Lotun added: “Newscasters, fictional characters, social media creators – they all form one-sided relationships with the world around them. More than 250 million hours of video are watched on YouTube every day, and on social media. they allow people from all communities to share their stories on their own terms There is obviously a flip side to the positives this can bring, with bad faith creators capable of instilling prejudice and spreading hate.
He continued: “Much has been written and reported about the negative effect that social media can have on all of our lives, but I wanted to see if it could also be harnessed as a tool to improve society. It’s exciting to explore the large-scale impact. positive that this could have in increasing understanding and decreasing prejudice within society. (AND ME)