Age Matters: Influence of the Video Instructional Materials' Playback Speed on Learning Effects

With the spread of video streaming services such as YouTube, people who watch videos at faster playback speed have been increasing. Besides the focus on young people, studies on middle-aged and older adults are required as well. Therefore, this study is to clarify the influence of the video instructional materials' playback speed on learning effects, with the consideration of age. Two types of animated video materials at three different speeds (1.0x, 1.5x, and 2.0x) were designed. Each participant was randomly assigned one type of speeds for each video. The same tests were conducted before and after watching the video to measure the learning effects. In total, 90 young people (<40 years old) and 106 middle-aged and older adults (≥40) participated in this study. The results showed that the most concentrated and the highest learning effects were obtained at speed 1.5x for young group while 1.0x for middle-aged and older group. Accordingly, young participants intended to use 1.0x or 1.5x while middle-aged and older participants preferred 1.0x. Therefore, for different age groups, varied playback speeds should be recommended.