Study: Consuming user-generated videos and its impact on wellbeing, 2022
Released: 2025-05-21
Canadians' engagement with the Internet is ever-changing, and a significant trend is the growing popularity of user-generated videos (UGVs). UGVs are videos created by users and uploaded to video-sharing websites or platforms, such as YouTube, Twitch and TikTok. Whether to connect, inform or entertain, nearly three-quarters (72%) of Canadians watched some type of UGV in the previous three months in 2022.
Watching these videos was associated with a number of wide-ranging effects on wellbeing. For instance, in 2022, viewers were more than twice as likely to report their online activities interfering with their personal relationships (10%) as non-viewers (4%). Further, viewers were almost four times more likely to report their online activities as making them feel anxious, depressed or envious of the lives of others (29%) than non-viewers (8%).
These results are from the study released today, entitled "Consuming user-generated videos and its impact on wellbeing." This study uses the latest data from the 2022 Canadian Internet Use Survey to examine who is most likely to watch UGVs and these videos' impacts on subjective wellbeing.
Viewers of user-generated videos are younger and spend more time online overall
Watching UGVs crosses all sociodemographic boundaries; although, as with other online activities, it was most popular among young people. In 2022, nearly 9 in 10 people (88%) younger than 35 years watched UGVs in the previous three months. Viewership consistently dropped with age, with 45% of people aged 65 years and older having watched UGVs in the previous three months.
Men (88%) and women (87%) aged 15 to 34 years were as likely to have watched UGVs in the previous three months in 2022. Rates dropped for both genders after 35 years, though differences started to emerge. Among those aged 35 to 44 years, men (83%) were more likely than women (79%) to stream UGVs. The same was true among people aged 65 years and older, with 49% of men watching UGVs, compared with 42% of women.
In 2022, viewers of UGVs tended to be heavy Internet users in general, spending more time online than non-viewers. UGV viewers (32%) were twice as likely as non-viewers (15%) to spend 20 hours or more online per week. UGV viewers were also twice as likely to spend 20 hours or more per week watching streamed content (22%) compared with non-UGV viewers (11%).
Viewers of user-generated videos have lower levels of satisfaction with their relationships
In 2022, people who watched UGVs (10%) were over twice as likely as non-viewers (4%) to say that online activities interfered with their relationships. UGV viewers were over three times more likely to report online activities interfering with other aspects of their life (32%) compared with non-viewers (9%). The link between watching UGVs and interference with personal relationships was seen across all age groups, from young watchers (younger than 35 years) to senior watchers (aged 65 years and older) (Chart 1).
Chart 1
Percentage of people reporting online activities interfering with their relationships, by having viewed user-generated videos in the past three months or not and by age group, Canada, 2022
Viewers of UGVs were also less likely to be very satisfied with their relationships with family and friends in 2022. Specifically, 41% of UGV viewers were very satisfied with their connections with family, which is lower than the 54% of non-UGV viewers. Similarly, 40% of UGV viewers were very satisfied with their friendships, compared with 52% of non-UGV viewers.
It is important to note that it is not possible to say whether watching UGVs leads to poorer wellbeing outcomes, or whether people with lower wellbeing gravitate towards watching UGVs.
Exposure to harmful content is more prevalent among viewers of user-generated videos
A risk to the wellbeing of UGV viewers includes their greater exposure to harmful content, including exposure to misinformation and hate-based content. More than 8 in 10 viewers of UGVs (85%) reported being exposed to harmful content online in 2022, compared with 61% of non-viewers.
Specifically, about one-third (32%) of people who watched UGVs reported being exposed to information they suspected to be false or inaccurate on a daily basis in 2022, compared with 19% of non-watchers. Watchers of UGVs were also more likely to report having been exposed daily to content that may incite hate or violence (13%), compared with non-watchers (8%).
Viewers of user-generated videos feel that the Internet helps them make more informed decisions and save time
In 2022, viewers of UGVs (63%) were over twice as likely as non-viewers (30%) to indicate that their online activities helped them make more informed decisions. Efficiency was another reported benefit, with viewers of UGVs (57%) being nearly twice as likely as non-viewers (31%) to report their use of online activities having saved them time.
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Note to readers
This study used data from the 2022 Canadian Internet Use Survey (CIUS), which was administered from December 2, 2022, to April 5, 2023. The CIUS is a cross-sectional survey that examines individuals' use of digital technologies and the Internet as well as online behaviours, including those related to social media, e-commerce, online government services, online work, digital skills, streaming content, security, privacy and trust as it relates to the Internet. The survey also measures access to the Internet as well as the type and speed of the connection at home. The target population for the 2022 CIUS included all persons 15 years of age and older in Canada, excluding First Nation reserves and settlements, residents of Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, and full-time residents of institutions.
More information on the CIUS is available on the Statistics Canada website:
Canadian Internet Use Survey (CIUS).
Statistical analysis
This study examined respondents who responded "Yes" to this question: "During the past three months, which of the following activities, related to watching content, have you done over the Internet? Have you: Watched user-generated content on video-sharing websites or platforms?"
Non-viewers of user-generated videos (UGVs) excluded people who had not used the Internet in the previous three months.
Of the 25,118 total respondents, 15,177 identified as having watched UGVs in the three months prior to responding to the survey.
Limitations
It should be noted that the 2022 CIUS is a self-reported survey. Therefore, responses are subject to recall issues (e.g., number of hours spent online).
Definitions
Heavy Internet use is defined as spending 20 hours or more per week online.
Saving time was recorded for people who responded "Yes" to this question: "During the past 12 months, did your use of online activities have any of the following effects? Did it: Save you time?"
Products
The article entitled "Consuming user-generated videos and its impact on wellbeing" is now available in Insights on Canadian Society (75-006-X).
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).
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