Analysis of the Impact of Acoustic Homogenization of Background Sound Effects on User Auditory Fatigue in Short Video Platforms
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Qiming Wang
School of Fine Arts, Anshan Normal University, Anshan 114000, China
Abstract
Short video platforms have quickly emerged as a source of digital media consumption, which is overwhelmingly researched in terms of visual saturation, dependence on algorithms, and performance response. The auditory aspect, and, in particular, the homogenization of the background sound effects, is not researched thoroughly. This review will examine how user auditory fatigue can be caused by acoustic homogenization on short video platforms. It states that the repetition of similar background music structure, transition signal, loudness, timbral textural profiles, and emotionally coded sound patterns produces a platform-mediated auditory scenery with a lack of diversity and continued sensory demand. The article builds a conceptual model based on the insights of acoustics, psychoacoustics, media studies, human-computer interaction, and platform studies to construct a link between acoustic homogenization and auditory fatigue by proposing mechanisms, which include perceptual saturation, augmented listening effort, dynamic compression, enhanced temporal turnover, algorithmic reinforcement, and cross-modal overload. It also examines existing methods of measurement, such as the acoustic feature analysis, subjective fatigue evaluation, behavioral measures, and physiological measures, and points to the weaknesses of the existing empirical findings. It concludes the article by stating that auditory fatigue in short video use must be viewed as a cumulative and ecologically organized response, and not a one-sided response. This review is an interdisciplinary step forward by foreshadowing the aural ecology of short video platforms, as well as suggesting fatigue-conscious future research and platform design and governance of digital well-being.
Copyright (c) 2026 Qiming Wang
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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