Internet browsing, classical fairy tales, resilience and outlook in life
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN16972408 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN16972408 |
| Secondary identifying numbers | 219865 |
- Submission date
- 29/04/2025
- Registration date
- 30/04/2025
- Last edited
- 07/08/2025
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Other
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
Internet browsing is a daily activity for many young people. However, how internet browsing impacts young people’s resilience and positive (vs. negative) outlook in life remains largely unaddressed. Critically, how reading classical fairy tales may mitigate the influence of internet browsing on resilience and a more positive rather than negative outlook in life has yet to be examined. This study examines the impact of internet browsing on young people’s resilience and positive (vs. negative) outlook in life. Furthermore, this study aims to examine the potential mitigating effect of reading classical Grimm Brother’s fairy tales such as Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood on the relationship between internet browsing and postgraduate students’ resilience and outlook in life.
Who can participate?
Full-time postgraduate students.
What does the study involve?
Freely browsing the internet on any digital device they may have with them (smartphone, tablet, laptop, etc.) at the time of the study. Time to read either the classical fairy tale Hansel and Gretel or Little Red Riding Hood (the Brother Grimm version) (randomly assigned, so that some participants read Hansel and Gretel and others the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale).
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
No particular benefits or risks were identified.
Where is the study run from?
Doshisha University (Japan)
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
Study start date is April 14th 2025 and run for about 2-3 weeks.
Who is funding the study?
Investigator initiated and funded
Who is the main contact?
Prof. Andreas Eisingerich, a.eisingerich@imperial.ac.uk
Contact information
Public, Scientific, Principal Investigator
Imperial College London, Imperial College Business School, South Kensington Campus
London
SW7 2AZ
United Kingdom
 ORCID ID |
0000-0001-5531-4662 |
|---|---|
| Phone | +44 2075949763 |
| a.eisingerich@imperial.ac.uk |
Study information
| Study design | Interventional randomized controlled trial |
|---|---|
| Primary study design | Interventional |
| Secondary study design | Randomised controlled trial |
| Study setting(s) | Laboratory |
| Study type | Quality of life |
| Participant information sheet | Not available in web format, please use contact details to request a participant information sheet |
| Scientific title | Examining the impact of internet browsing and reading classical fairy tales on people's resilience and outlook in life |
| Study objectives | Internet browsing affects people's resilience and outlook in life. Reading classical fairy tales mitigates the effect of internet browsing on resilience and outlook. |
| Ethics approval(s) |
Approved 14/04/2025, Kyushu Sangyo University’s ethics committee (Kyushu Sangyo University, 2-3-1 Matsukadai Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 813-8503, Japan; +81 926735266; sangaku@ml.kyusan-u.ac.jp), ref: 2024-0018 |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | Resilience and outlook in life of postgraduate students |
| Intervention | As part of this study, we employed a 2 (Internet browsing vs. no internet browsing) × 2 (Reading a classical fairy tale vs. no classical fairy tale) between-subject experimental design. Participants were randomly allocated to one of the four study conditions (Condition 1: Internet browsing + reading a classical fairy tale; Condition 2: Internet browsing + no classical fairy tale; Condition 3: No internet browsing + reading a classical fairy tale; Condition 4 (control group): No internet browsing + no classical fairy tale). The study was conducted in a lab experimental setting on a university campus. In Condition 1, participants were invited to spend 20 minutes to freely browse the internet on any digital device they may have with them (smartphone, tablet, laptop, etc.). Extra care was taken to inform study participants that they can browse the internet very freely and visit any site they want and that absolutely no data is collected based on which sites they visit. Research Assistants were trained and instructed to look at a phone themselves, so that participants did not feel observed during the study time period. After 20 minutes of free internet browsing, participants were invited and given time to read either the classical fairy tale Hansel and Gretel or Little Red Riding Hood (the Brother Grimm version) (randomly assigned, so that some participants read Hansel and Gretel and others the Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale). Finally, study participants completed a brief survey. In Condition 2, participants were invited to spend 20 minutes to freely browse the internet as in Condition 1. After having browsed the internet participants in Condition 2 completed the brief survey. In Condition 3, participants were given randomly allocated to either read Hansel and Gretel or Little Red Riding Hood and given time to read the fairy tale and subsequently complete a brief survey as in Condition 1. Finally, in Condition 4 (control group) participants simply completed the brief survey. |
| Intervention type | Behavioural |
| Primary outcome measure | 1. Positive outlook in life is measured using a brief survey with Likert-scale items at baseline and after each condition 2. Negative outlook in life is measured using a brief survey with Likert-scale items at baseline and after each condition 3. Resilience is measured using a brief survey with Likert-scale items at baseline and after each condition |
| Secondary outcome measures | Self-expressed resilience in life was measured after study participants had indicated their outlook in life using a bespoke questionnaire |
| Overall study start date | 14/04/2025 |
| Completion date | 30/04/2025 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Learner/student |
|---|---|
| Age group | Adult |
| Lower age limit | 18 Years |
| Upper age limit | 80 Years |
| Sex | Both |
| Target number of participants | 400 |
| Total final enrolment | 412 |
| Key inclusion criteria | Full-time student |
| Key exclusion criteria | To take part in the study, participants had to be full-time students. |
| Date of first enrolment | 14/04/2025 |
| Date of final enrolment | 30/04/2025 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- Japan
Study participating centre
Kyoto
602-0898
Japan
Sponsor information
University/education
2-3-2 Matsukadai Higashi-ku
Fukuoka
813-8503
Japan
| Phone | +81 926735266 |
|---|---|
| hou@ip.kyusan-u.ac.jp | |
| Website | http://www.kyusan-u.ac.jp/index.html |
"ROR" |
https://ror.org/01wqrpc44 |
Funders
Funder type
Other
No information available
Results and Publications
| Intention to publish date | 30/07/2025 |
|---|---|
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | Yes |
| IPD sharing plan summary | Other |
| Publication and dissemination plan | We aim to make the study and findings as widely available to the public as possible. Hence, we aim publication in an open-source international medical journal such as the JMIR (Journal of Medical Internet Research) |
| IPD sharing plan | The data can be obtained from the authors upon reasonable request. |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results article | 06/08/2025 | 07/08/2025 | Yes | No |
Editorial Notes
07/08/2025: Publication reference added.
29/04/2025: Trial's existence confirmed by Kyushu Sangyo University’s ethics committee.
