New York: Watching YouTube videos, Instagram demos and Facebook tutorials may boost your confidence in performing a task but it probably would not make you an expert overnight, suggests new research.
Social media platforms have made it easy to record, share, and access instructional videos, but merely watching them without practicing the demonstrated skills may not actually improve our ability to perform them, according to the findings published in the journal Psychological Science.
"The more that people watched others, the more they felt they could perform the same skill too - even when their abilities hadn't actually changed for the better," said study author Michael Kardas of The University of Chicago Booth School of Business in the US.
"Our findings suggest that merely watching others could cause people to attempt skills that they might not be ready or able to perform themselves," Kardas said.
In one online experiment, the researchers assigned 1,003 participants to watch a video, read step-by-step instructions, or merely think about performing the "tablecloth trick," which involves pulling a tablecloth off a table without disturbing the place settings on top.
People who watched the five-second video 20 times were much more confident of their ability to pull off the trick than were those who watched the video once.
However, people who simply read or thought about the trick for an extended period of time did not show this confidence boost.
Those who watched a demo video 20 times estimated that they would score more points than those who saw the video only once -- this high-exposure group also predicted that they would be more likely to hit the bull's-eye and reported that they had learned more technique and improved more after watching the video.
But these perceptions did not line up with reality -- people who watched the video many times scored no better than those who saw it once.
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Mumbai (PTI): The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay has suspended all agreements with Turkish universities, following Turkey’s support to Pakistan amid heightened tensions with India.
In a post on its official X handle, the institute said, "Due to the current geopolitical situation involving Turkey, IIT Bombay is processing suspension of its agreements with Turkish universities until further notice."
The institute currently has a faculty exchange programme with some Turkish institutions.
The development has come following Turkey's support to Pakistan during 'Operation Sindoor' and the subsequent escalation of conflict with India.
Earlier, IIT Roorkee formally cancelled a memorandum of understanding with Inonu University, Turkey.
"The Institute remains committed to fostering global collaborations that reflect its academic priorities and uphold national interest," IIT Roorkee had posted on X.
Private institutes like Chandigarh University have also severed their academic collaborations with 23 Turkish and Azerbaijani universities over support for Pakistan during 'Operation Sindoor'.