307 - One Screen Two Ratings: Examining Split Screen Content on TikTok

Publication Number: 307.5633

Grace Liberatore, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Pelham, NY, United States; Jack Brenner, Zucker School of Medicine, Great Neck/NY, NY, United States; Eric Wang, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Providence, RI, United States; Mary Lowance, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Bayside, NY, United States; Mia Graybow, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Bayside, NY, United States; Audrey Ng, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Great Neck, NY, United States; Alyssa Kim, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, New Hyde Park, NY, United States; Julian Franco, Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, West Babylon, NY, United States; Ruth Milanaik, Cohen Children's Medical Center, Great Neck, NY, United States

Background: TikTok (TT) is a video-sharing app with >1 billion monthly users. In 2023, a popular post format emerged called “Sludge Content (SC)” (Figure 1). In SC, the screen is “split,” so 2+ videos play on a user’s screen simultaneously. These consist of a “Main Video (MV)” (a TV show clip, podcast clip, or person telling a story), and a “Sensory Video (SV)” (soap bar cutting, art creation, video game playing). Given TT’s appeal to children, and the generally innocent nature of SV, this trend warrants scrutiny as SV could attract children to questionable content.

Objective: This study aims to analyze videos present in SC posts on TT to assess potential risks to youth.

Design/Methods: Researchers scrolled TT in new accounts. 336 posts classified as SC were collected: 297 analyzed, with 39 posts excluded due to unavailability. URLs were scraped using Python. For each post, MV and SV were analyzed separately. Data collected from posts included 1) estimated age range of creators 2) perceived gender of creators 3) presence of violence, language, substance use, nudity, sex, and racism. An estimate of Motion Picture Association (MPA) content rating by film standards was assigned to each post. Statistical analysis was conducted in R.

Results: MV was MPA rated 49.8% G; 21.2% PG; 23.6%; PG-13; and 5.4% R. 15.2% of MV displayed/discussed violence. 29.3% had moderate censored, sexually-derived, or explicit expletives, 11.1% mentioned/presented substances, and 15.2% referenced, suggested, or mentioned sex. 4.7% of MV displayed self-deprecating, hateful, or fully racist content. See Figure 2 for genres. Meanwhile for SV, 100% of the videos were MPA rated G (minimal to no violence, profanity, or substances present, no nudity or mention of sex). 99.66% of SV did not display racism, and 0.3% categorized as “Hateful” (n = 1). Of SV, 27.9% showed 1 video throughout the entire post, whereas 67.7% displayed >1 video, and 5.1% same video game/multiple attempts.

Conclusion(s): While no MPA advisory content was present in the SV, a concerning number of these clips were paired with videos that the MPA would rate PG-13 or R. Particularly alarming was the presence of harsh language, and mentions of sex/sexual innuendos in the MV. Thus, the SV present in SC is attracting children to harmful content. While TT has “Community Guidelines” that filter what content ends up on user’s screens, they have been evaded in the past, and better censorship of SC is needed to protect minors. Guardians should continue to scrutinize the content that children consume on TT, with special attention to SC which may seem innocent but is paired to concerning material.

Figure 1. Examples of Alarming MV/SV Pairings


Figure 2. Genre Breakdown of MV (Side 1 Videos) and SV (Side 2 Videos)


Figure 1. Examples of Alarming MV/SV Pairings


Figure 2. Genre Breakdown of MV (Side 1 Videos) and SV (Side 2 Videos)