Rabat – The power of social media continues to astonish as a Florida teenager disrupted thousands of studies with a Tik Tok video. Popular Tik Tok influencer Sarah Frank posted a video on July 23 about ways to make money, titled “side hustles pt 1.” The video received over 4 million views and disrupted thousands of scientific surveys in the process.
Frank, a highschool student from Florida, commented in her video about the money she makes filling out surveys on the scientific platform Prolific. The site intends to bring together scientists and participants on behavioral research surveys. The platform has been a godsend for scientists looking for data, yet Frank’s Tik Tok video disrupted this process.
After Frank posted her popular video, the Prolific platform saw a flood of young, predominantly female users start to participate in its surveys. According to reporting by The Verge, young women suddenly claimed the lion’s share of participation.
Surveys rely on gathering samples from a varied section of society, yet one scientist highlighted how suddenly his study saw 91% of its respondents being female.
Frank’s video ended up disrupting roughly 4,600 studies, flooding them with samples of young females eager to make a quick buck. Most scientists involved expressed hope they would be able to salvage their work, but the flood of new participants meant many regular survey-takers on the platform saw the fee for participation drop noticeably.
The power of young people following popular Tik Tok videos is gaining mainstream attention after a recent Tik Tok meme resulted in a wave of destruction targeting primarily US high schools.
