Capstone Research: Entry One

One of the key frameworks for understanding TikTok’s popularity is gamification, a concept explored by the first source, Interaction Design Foundation. According to their article on gamification, games appeal to fundamental human motivations such as achievement, challenge, and social connection. 

These techniques are not just limited to games, as social media platforms have been using gamification techniques to increase viewer engagement and retention.

The Interaction Design Foundation defines gamification as the use of game-like elements in non-game contexts to motivate users. These techniques often include rewards, feedback loops, and progress systems. TikTok’s design reflects this clearly through features such as autoplay, infinite scrolling, personalized feed (highly adaptive algorithm), and unpredictable rewards in the form of viral or highly engaging videos. 

Each swipe keeps users entertained as they don’t know what they’ll get next, but the possibility of an entertaining or emotionally rewarding video keeps them scrolling. It's like a slot machine. 

TikTok’s “For You Page” is tailored to individual users, making content feel personally relevant and emotionally resonant. This personalization can trigger dopamine responses, reinforcing repeated use and making disengagement difficult. This resource frames TikTok as a carefully designed system that leverages behavioral psychology to maximize user engagement. This directly supports my thesis that TikTok’s popularity is tied to its use of short-form content and gamification techniques, which may contribute to behavioral addiction symptoms such as anxiety, withdrawal, and compulsive use.

The second source (Why TikTok Keeps You Scrolling: Baylor Research Explains the Science Behind Social Media Addiction) from a Baylor University study found that TikTok is harder to stop using than other short-form content and social media, such as Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts, because of how the app's interface is strategically designed. TikTok feels effortless to use, shows highly personalized content, and frequently surprises users with new videos. This high engagement often leads to time distortion and addictive use. The researchers warn that excessive scrolling can reduce attention spans, encourage instant gratification, and take time away from real-person interactions. Further supporting my video essay content. 

My next Blogger posts will take a deep dive into instant gratification, attention spans, and dopamine hits and rewards from giant social media platforms such as TikTok  In my video essay, I plan to demonstrate these concepts by pairing gameplay-style sound effects, looping animations, and clips of TikTok screen recordings. 

Sources:

• Interaction Design Foundation. “Gamification.”
• https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/topics/gamification
• Why TikTok Keeps You Scrolling: Baylor Research Explains the Science Behind Social Media Addiction - Baylor University
• https://news.web.baylor.edu/news/story/2025/why-tiktok-keeps-you-scrolling-baylor-research-explains-science-behind-social-media