Best of Utah: Body & Mind 2025 – Salt Lake City Weekly

Best of Utah: Body & Mind 2025 – Salt Lake City Weekly

March 19, 2025 Best of Utah
To borrow a phrase from my girl Miley Cyrus, 2025 came in like a wrecking ball. My family and I rang in the new year with a fresh pack of medical and professional woes that had well overstayed their welcome. I did find some solace in the fact that most of my friends and colleagues were also starting 2025 off in the throes of their own trials and tribulations–when the chips are down, there is some comfort in knowing that you’re not facing adversity alone.
During one of the days (weeks?) in which I found myself in a particularly funky funk, I was asked to be the editor of this year’s Best of Utah Body and Mind issue. At the time, the television in my mind was stuck on a screen of grayscale static, so I thought a bit of editorial work would be just the ticket to shift my focus from doomscrolling on social media to something a bit more proactive. Once I got started, I realized that this assignment couldn’t have come at a better time.
Though I was keeping things together with the help of my lovely family, I soon realized that the barrage of stressors that came out of the woodwork in January really did a number on me. There I was, staring at a list of literally hundreds of health and wellness professionals thinking to myself, “Man, if only there was something I could do to help get me out of this rut.”
Though it took longer than it needed to, the realization that I had an entire compendium of Utah’s finest healers, trainers, coaches and medical professionals at my fingertips once again hit me like a wrecking ball–but, you know, like a positive one.
With the presentation of the 2025 Best of Utah Body and Mind issue, here’s hoping that all the readers out there who are in search of solid ground find a safe harbor. Whether you’re in need of therapists to talk through your stress or insecurities, or looking for some alternative medicine to match up with your lifestyle, you’ve got an excellent resource in your hands.
On behalf of Salt Lake City Weekly, I’d just like to say thanks to all the people who voted for Best of Utah this year and for this great list of do-gooders that we have as a result. As always, remember to take care of each other–and yourselves–out there. If you don’t know how to do that, you now have access to hundreds of people who do.
–Alex Springer
Editor, Best of Utah Body and Mind
Skin Spa Utah
By Alex Springer
When it comes to personal health, our internal organs seem to get a bit more of our attention. Considering the fact that our skin happens to be the largest organ we have, it’s surprising how easy it is to neglect all that surface area. Taking a more active role in skin care not only has numerous physical benefits, but there are plenty of psychological benefits as well. There’s nothing like a dewy complexion to give the old self confidence a boost. Though over-the-counter skin care products are becoming more prominent, skin maintenance is one of those things that is best left to a professional like Kimee Palotta, owner of Skin Spa Utah.
Palotta has been an aesthetician in Utah for the past 24 years, and she has helped Skin Spa Utah evolve throughout that time. “I’ve always valued the holistic approach and I see the industry going more that way,” Palotta says. This is why Skin Spa Utah offers a wide variety of services like acne, hydrafacial and microcurrent treatments, among others. Skin Spa Utah has become known for its wide variety of services, but it’s Palotta that makes the experience special for her clients. “I measure success with every client that walks through my door,” Palotta notes. “I don’t really do any advertising, so everything I have is due to long-term clients that keep coming back and telling friends and family about me.”
While the basics of skin care seem like they are one-size-fits-all, Palotta cautions people to remember that everyone’s skin is unique. “Your skin is as individual as you are,” she stressed. “Just like good health is part of your life, good skin health is a lifelong process.” Having a local establishment that bases its treatments and services on the unique needs of the individual is a huge benefit for those who are looking to improve their skin.
As Skin Spa Utah approaches its clients on an individual basis, Palotta and her team have set the expectation to work with clients on their own skin care journey. Even if terms like microcurrents and BioRePeel are new to your vocabulary, the Skin Spa team happily helps its clients select the treatments that will be most effective for them. “Every person who comes in does so because something is up with their skin,” Palotta says. “They’ve tried everything, and to have them come in so I can partner with them on an in-clinic and homecare plan is incredible.”
In many ways, Palotta and her team assume the roles of personal trainers when it comes to skin care. Anyone who has been burned on the latest influencer-approved product will come to see the value of that relationship very quickly. “It’s part of our culture to compare ourselves to others, and that just puts so much pressure on people,” Palotta observed. “I think people put more pressure on looking good than they do on feeling good, and they don’t realize it’s a whole package.”
From a wide range of treatment options to a personal touch that has kept clients spreading the word, Skin Spa Utah has done a lot to earn its Best of Utah accolades. Led by Palotta and her knowledge of Utah’s unique climate and culture, Skin Spa Utah remains one of the best places to both learn more about skin health and seek out treatment for any number of skin conditions.
BEAUTY AND WELLNESS
Best Acne Treatment
Skin Spa Utah
skinspautah.com
2. Salt Lake Dermatology and Aesthetics
3. Swinyer Woseth Dermatology
Best Aesthetician
Kimee Palotta – Skin Spa Utah
skinspautah.com
2. Milly Aponte – Always Smooth Waxing Studio
3. Callie Buttars – Pineapple Express Aesthetics
Best Aesthetician School
Skinworks School of Advanced Skincare
skinworks.edu
2. NIMA Institute and Spa
Best Day Spa
The Kura Door
thekuradoor.com
2. Basalt Day Spa
3. The Cliff Spa
Best Eyebrow Specialist
Kimee Palotta – Skin Spa Utah
skinspautah.com
2. Callie Buttars – Pineapple Express Aesthetics
3. Storie Myers – Studio Storie Microblading
Best Eyelash Extensions
Pineapple Express Aesthetics
pineappleexpressutah.square.site
2. Lashes x Sandra
3. Jessica Lancaster – Designer Lash Collective
Best Facial
Kimee Palotta – Skin Spa Utah
skinspautah.com
2. Always Smooth Waxing Studio
3. Callie Buttars – Pineapple Express Aesthetics
Best Hair Restoration
Lucero Hair and Wellness
lucerohairandwellness.com
2. Utah Facial Plastics Hair Restoration
3. NIMA Institute and Spa
Best Hair Salon
Lunatic Fringe
lunaticfringesalon.com
2. Lucero Hair and Wellness
3. Sugarhouse Parlour
Best Hydrafacial
Skin Spa Utah
skinspautah.com
2. Rise Rejuvenation Center
3. Arlani Medspa
Best Injections and Fillers
Rise Rejuvenation Center
riserejuvenationcenter.com
2. Arlani Medspa
3. Modern SLC Injections & Aesthetics
Best Laser Hair Removal
Beauty Lab + Laser
beautylablaser.com
2. NIMA Institute and Spa
3. Elase Med Spa, American Fork
Best Makeup Consultant
Raven Feurer – 5D Salon
5dsalon.com
Best Manicures/Pedicures
Nailed!
nailedboutique.com
2. Sydney Hansen – Honey Cosmetics
3. Lori Lane Sartain – Crow Nail Studio
Best Medical Spa
Arlani Medspa
arlani.com
2. Cameron Wellness and Spa
3. Rise Rejuvenation Center
Best Natural Makeup Retailer
A Genie’s Dream
ageniesdreamboutique.com
Best Permanent Cosmetics Education
Studio Storie Microblading
studiostoriemicroblading.com
2. Ero Edge
3. Lilikoi Artistry
Best Permanent Makeup Beauty Shop
Venus House
venushouseslc.com
2. Ero Edge
3. Lilikoi Artistry
Best Tattoo Removal
Removery Tattoo Removal & Fading
removery.com
2. Lilikoi Artistry
3. NIMA Institute and Spa
Best Waxing Salon
Always Smooth Waxing Studio
alwayssmooth.co
2. Pineapple Express Aesthetics
3. Ero Edge
Flow Acupuncture
By Alex Springer
According to a Statista consumer insights survey done in 2023, 21% of Americans prefer alternative medicine to conventional medicine. It’s a number that has steadily increased as options for alternative and complementary medicine become available, and Utah has seen some local growth in this area. A conversation with Josh Williams and Dr. Rachel Silverstone of Flow Acupuncture helped shed some light on why more people are investigating alternative medicine.
Williams is a clinical herbalist and Best of Utah alum with multiple wins under his belt. His presence on this year’s list continues to show how much he has done for the community. He has been studying plant medicine for 25 years, and has had his own space at Flow for the last year and a half. “I got into herbalism in my late teens because I was disheartened by the medical machine even as a young person,” he recalls. “It was originally personal, but it turned into a desire to help others.”
Herbalism is what Williams calls “broad spectrum medicine, as long as it’s in the hands of a qualified and experienced herbalist.” Williams himself focuses on stress, anxiety and sleep issues. “Folks who find their way to working with me are usually at their wits’ end,” he says. “I get to show people why this medicine has so much longevity and empirical evidence.”
As herbalism often goes hand in hand with acupuncture, Williams’ practice at Flow has helped it become one of Utah’s preferred practices–well, that and the presence of licenced acupuncturists like Dr. Silverstone. After studying Chinese/Daoist medicine in the Wudang Mountains of China, she earned a doctorate in Traditional Chinese Medicine from Five Branches University in Santa Cruz, California. Dr. Silverstone also practices acupuncture at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, where she helps patients deal with some of the side effects of cancer treatments.
Since both Silverstone and Williams maintain a clinical relationship to their practice, both professionals agree that alternative medicine and conventional medicine often operate hand in hand. “Why walk on one leg when you can walk on two?” Silverstone declared. “Western medicine has a lot of strengths like getting imaging for a treatment that isn’t responding to acupuncture or spotting other red flags.” It’s a helpful perspective to have as oftentimes there is a rift between alternative and conventional medicine. The reality is that both schools of thought revolve around healing, and both approaches can complement each other on the path to wellbeing.
After speaking with Williams and Silverstone, it quickly becomes clear that they both share the same love and enthusiasm for helping people feel better. For Williams, herbalism is a way to make his clients aware of medicinal practices that have been effective for centuries. “I like the clinical side of what I do a lot,” he says. “Herbalism helps address the whole person rather than the isolated symptom.” Silverstone’s metric of success is how well her patients get in tune with their own bodies. “I get to facilitate a person’s interaction with their own chi, and when I come back into the room, everything feels so peaceful,” she reports. “That’s how I know I’ve been successful.”
Finding the Right Alternative Medicine For You
With an entire section of alternative and contemporary medicine at your disposal in this issue, it can be a bit daunting to get started. If you’re looking to supplement your medical journey with something a bit more esoteric or just curious about what options are available to you, here are some tips to keep in mind.
Listen to your body. As most alternative medicine employs a holistic approach, it’s important to pin down exactly what problem you’re having. Is it psychological? Physical? Emotional? Once you’ve narrowed down where your ailment is living, you can better verbalize what it is. From there, a bit of research on any of the fine providers we’ve got assembled here should point you in the right direction.
Open your mind. There’s nothing wrong with a bit of healthy skepticism, but you should remain open to the process if you’re considering an alternative route to medicine. Even with Western medicine, writing off certain practices based on personal or ideological beliefs won’t get you anywhere. The same is true for alternative practices. As author Caroline Myss says, “The soul always knows what to do to heal itself. The challenge is to silence the mind.”
Embrace the journey. When it comes to medicine, people tend to get far too hung up on the idea of a cure without paying much attention to the journey. If you can remember that the journey itself is a part of fixing or managing a medical issue, it will help you figure out how to get started. Being honest with every stage of the journey is the best way to reach your wellness destination. (AS)
COMPLEMENTARY & ALTERNATIVE
Best Acupuncture Clinic
Flow Acupuncture
flowacupuncture.org
2. Valenti Acupuncture
3. Salt Lake Acupuncture Clinic
Best Acupuncturist/Doctor of Chinese Medicine
Stephanie Scott – Salt Lake Acupuncture Clinic
slcacu.com
2. Rebecca Conde
3. Mallory Berge
Best Ayurveda Practitioner
Josh Williams – Flow Acupuncture
thegreenarte.com
2. Emma Glass
3. Meghan Hays
Best Birth Photographer
Nicole Hamic
nicolehamic.com
2. Julie Francom
3. Salt City Birth and Newborn Photography
Best Breathwork Facilitator
Katie Schiffgen – Mosaic Yoga
mosaicyoga.squarespace.com
2. Letia Perry – Om Wellness Utah
3. Kat Dickinson – Terra Firma Healing Arts
Best Childbirth Education
Birthsmarter
birthsmarter.com
2. Birth Learning
3. SHAUNTEA Health and Wellness Coalition
Best Chiropractor
Dr. Anthony Simone – Doctor Tony Chiro Clinic
doctortonychiroclinic.com
2. Dr. Brett Grant
3. Dr. Suzanne Cronin
Best Cold Therapy
Glow
glowslc.com
2. Evolve Wellness Collective
3. Rytual Recovery
Best Crystal Shop
Synchronicities Light Energy Gift Emporium
synchronicities1111.com
2. Dave’s Health & Nutrition
3. Crystal Healer SLC
Best Doula
Beth Hardy – Heart Tones Birth Services
hearttonesbirth.com
2. Destiny Olsen – SHAUNTEA Health and Wellness Coalition
3. Jamie Kowalk – Heart Tones Birth Services
Best Float Tank
Evolve Wellness Collective
evolvewellness.love
2. Pure Sweat + Float Studio
3. Float Spa 19
Best Halotherapy (Salt Tank)
Evolve Wellness Collective
evolvewellness.love
2. Synchronicities Light Energy Gift Emporium
3. Pain Free Acupuncture
Best Herbalist
Josh Williams – Flow Acupuncture
flowacupuncture.org
2. Rebecca Conde – Earth Center Acupuncture
3. Dave Card – Dave’s Health and Nutrition
Best Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy
Rising Health Specialty Clinic
risinghealthspecialty.com
2. Utah Sports and Wellness
Best Hypnotherapist
Joesephine Lawrence – Hypnoclarity
hypnoclarityslc.com
2. Chad Anderson – Crystal Healer SLC
3. Drew Melebeck – Influence Therapy & Coaching
Best Integrative Medicine Practice
Cameron Wellness and Spa
cameronwellnessandspa.com
2. Utah Natural Medicine
3. Rising Health Specialty Clinic
Best Kinesiology Practitioner
Dr. Bre Dumke Helfrich – Movement Design Lab
movementdesignlab.com
2. Jim Quist – SLOPE Recovery
3. Michael King – Transformative Energies
Best Life Coach
Corinne Christopherson – Cottonwood Professional Coaching
cottonwoodcoaching.com
2. Kat Dickinson – Terra Firma Healing Arts
3. Anne Dorsey – Milk + Honey Wellness
Best Massage School
Healing Mountain Massage School (Salt Lake Campus)
healingmountain.edu
2. Myotherapy Massage College
3. The Iron Palm Massage Therapy
Best Massage Therapist
Brandee Olsen – Reset Esthetics
vagaro.com/resetestheticsmassage
2. Jeremy Wengreen – Healing Mountain Massage School
3. Christina Jaros – Wicked Wellness
Best Medical Cannabis
Dragonfly Wellness
dragonflywellness.com
2. WholesomeCo Cannabis
3. Beehive Farmacy
Best Natural Health Store
Dave’s Health & Nutrition
daveshealth.com
2. Good Earth Markets
3. Natural Grocers
Best Natural IV Drip Therapy
FIKA Infusion + Wellness
fikainfusion.com
2. Cameron Wellness and Spa
3. Rising Health Specialty Clinic
Best Naturopath
Dr. Rachel Burnett – Utah Natural Medicine
utahnaturalmedicine.com
2. Dr. Leslie Peterson – Full Circle Care
3. Dr. Todd Cameron – Cameron Wellness and Spa
Best Nutrition Health Coach
Anne Dorsey – Milk + Honey Wellness
milkandhoneywellness.com
2. Lindsay LaPaugh – LVL Holistics
3. Bailey Nielson – Solstice Holistic Healing and Wellness
Best Psychic
Karen Tao – Breathe Love
breathelove111.com
2. Lauren Stephan – Terra Firma Healing Arts
3. Cheryl Forester – Forester Tarot
Best Reiki Practitioner
Karen Tao – Breathe Love
breathelove111.com
2. Chad Anderson – Crystal Healer SLC
3. Autumn Salinas Kunz – Rabbit Hole Wellness
Best Sound Bath
Breathe Love
breathelove111.com
2. Terra Firma Healing Arts
3. Neon Sky Vibrations
Best Supplement Shop
Dave’s Health & Nutrition
daveshealth.com
2. Rising Health Specialty Clinic
3. Natural Law Apothecary
Best Weight-Loss Clinic
Utah Natural Medicine
utahnaturalmedicine.com
2. Rise Rejuvenation Center
3. Unite Fitness Retreat
Best Wellness Center
Terra Care SLC
terracareslc.com
2. Evolve Wellness Collective
3. Flow Acupuncture
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India Poised To Grow Rapidly In Data Science Education: Paul Kim, Stanford University – Analytics India Magazine

India Poised To Grow Rapidly In Data Science Education: Paul Kim, Stanford University – Analytics India Magazine

The popularity of data science education has soared over the last few years. Subsequently,  field’s job prospects have also gone up, with companies worldwide looking to hire skilled professionals to drive business processes. The nonlinear growth of data science has posed significant challenges for universities developing data science courses and individuals looking to pursue it as a career.
For this week’s data science career series, Analytics India Magazine got in touch with Paul Kim, the Chief Technology Officer and Assistant Dean of the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University. 
Known as an education technology entrepreneur, Professor Kim leads initiatives involving the design of learning technologies, educational research, and community development. His work aims at promoting innovation and competition by constructing a programmable and open mobile internet — POMI.
In an advisory capacity, Paul has played a role in Saudi Arabia’s national online education initiative, the national evaluation of Uruguay’s One Laptop Per Child project and Rwanda’s national ICT planning.
In this interview, he provides an overview of the data science market and the challenges universities face in developing a practical data science course. He also spoke about the future of the aspiring data scientist for the current era.
All sectors have welcomed data science with open arms. The COVID pandemic has accelerated ICT adoption in teaching, learning, assessment, and administrative functions. “I would say COVID has created R&D opportunities along with available funding more than any other catalysts in the past few decades,” said Paul.
Professor Kim believes India is in a much better position in terms of the data science education market because of the multiple technology innovation powerhouses strategically located in India and their growing needs for the future workforce in data science and artificial intelligence. He said, “while big contenders are obviously the US and China, but with institutional on financing and governmental support in terms of policies and regulatory issues, India is poised to grow rapidly in the overall data science education and application areas.”
This has led many universities, edtech platforms, tech companies, and governments to come up with free courses during the pandemic. However, there has been a massive learning gap between the course structures and the skills required to land a job.
Paul said, considering data science is a rapidly advancing field, universities steeped in traditional models of governance and decision-making processes will have a hard time instrumenting data science courses. That’s why “universities in India must transform to align with many of competing alternative education options such as online boot camps and non-traditional talent development organisations.”
Paul also mentioned the importance of government and corporation involvement in encouraging more students to choose data science subjects. “Governments can figure out ways to remove policy and regulation related barriers while corporations can work closely with educational entities that are nimble and flexible to provide the most invigorating and fast-developing data science curriculum in the world,” he said.
Paul stated, being well-rounded, skilled talents who can use a wide lens of viewing capability to understand the true needs of the industry and users while genuinely developing empathy to solve most intractable problems is the key to become a real data scientist. 
“Do not follow people around you, but develop your own unique skill sets, so you are rare species in the data science ecosystem,” advised Paul. “If you follow others and be just another data science worker, you may not be necessarily a highly sought talent in the whole ecosystem.”
While there are many online courses and MOOCs currently available for data science enthusiasts, Paul bets high on a professional degree in data science. A professional degree is for those who couldn’t demonstrate his or her talent with competitive problem-solving skills, said Paul. 
“Though these degrees can help get one to an interview if one cannot demonstrate their competency, they are not going to secure a career opportunity they want,” he added. 
“At the end of the day, what makes a difference between a competent contender versus a mediocre contender is in the genuine passion for being the best,” he concluded.
Led by Anish Kumar, AI Software Engineering Evangelist – APAC-s at Intel, this session is designed to equip AI/ML developers with the latest techniques to maximise performance and efficiency for
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Wildfires in Manitoba, Canada, to send smoke into Chicago area starting Friday – CBS News

Wildfires in Manitoba, Canada, to send smoke into Chicago area starting Friday – CBS News

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/ CBS Chicago
Leaders in the Canadian Province of Manitoba have issued a state of emergency as wildfires continue to rage there, forcing thousands of people to evacuate.
The inferno will impact the Chicago area too, with smoke descending downtown as soon as Friday.
As anyone who was around two years ago will remember, this is not the first time a hazy, unhealthy back of air engulfed and choked Chicago.
The fire is more than 1,300 miles away — almost a 24-hour drive — and in a different country. But CBS News Chicago Meteorologist David Yeomans explained why the smoke from what is burning in Manitoba will be down Chicago’s way very soon.
In short, all the air will be flowing right toward Chicago from Canada.
“[The] northwest wind going to drive the smoke right into our area,” Yeomans said, “possibly for three days.”
Smoky Chicago skies caused major health concerns multiple times in the summer of 2023. The city made national headlines in late June for having the worst air quality in the world.
COn one June day, several places in Cook County registered an AQI, or air quality index, of above 200 — considered “very unhealthy” by the Environmental Protection Agency. At one point on Tuesday, June 27, Chicago was at level 228.
Beaches were closed and events were canceled around the Chicago area due to the smoke in the air that month.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency does not expect this weekend’s smoke infiltration to be as dangerous as June 2023, and there are no plans for an Air Pollution Action Day as was issued then.
But Loyola Medicine pulmonologist Dr. Sean Forsythe wants everyone to remain alert nevertheless.
“Air pollution isn’t healthy for anyone,” Forsythe said.
When a wall of dust descended on Chicago during a rare dust storm on Friday, May 16, Dr. Forsythe’s phone didn’t stop ringing.
“More asthma patients were having problems,” he said.
Forsythe expects another influx of calls this weekend when the smoke settles in the Chicago area.
“The smaller particulates can penetrate deeper into the lungs and get absorbed into the bloodstream, and so those are the ones that start to raise the risk of strokes, heart attacks,” Forsythe said.
Forsythe said even moderate levels of smoke will make people cough of experience shortness of breath.
“It will raise risk of lung disease being exacerbated, and everybody might not feel great when they’re out in that weather,” he said.
Forsythe explained why people exercising outdoors, including those running in the Bank of America Chicago 13.1 half marathon on Sunday, might especially feel the effects.
“You tend to breathe deeper and faster, and so you’re getting more exposure to that particulate matter,” he said.
Why are wildfires impacting our neighbors to the north, and Chicago, again? It has to do with climate change.
“Warmer temperatures dry out the vegetation more, right? And temperatures in that area have been 10 to 20 degrees warmer than normal,” Yeomans said. “Our partners at Climate Central have found this is reaching a climate shift index of 5 — in other words, this is an exceptional climate change-driven event, made at least five times more likely by climate change.”
Half-marathon organizers said their forecasting shows conditions for the race this weekend will be “green,” or ideal. They plan to monitor air quality closely and will provide updates if anything changes.
Lauren Victory is a Morning Insider reporter for CBS2 Chicago. Lauren joined the station in May 2016 and is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
© 2025 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
©2025 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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A Psychologist On The Dangers Of Pathologizing Everyday Emotions – MindBodyGreen

A Psychologist On The Dangers Of Pathologizing Everyday Emotions – MindBodyGreen

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Thanks to advances in longevity science, lots of folks are becoming more proactive about health. From hitting your daily step count for cardiovascular vitality to adhering to a strength training routine for life-long mobility, folks want to put in the work early on—so they can feel their best for decades to come. 
Unfortunately, the same isn’t always true for mental health. 
While the mental health conversation has come a long way in the past decade, it’s still an area that most folks address reactively. For example, they only start therapy once they already experience extreme anxiety, or they don’t reach out to a physician for help until they’ve been depressed for months (if they reach out at all). 
But we believe the future of mental health isn’t just about solving problems, it’s about cultivating preventative habits. 
We spoke with top psychologist and researcher Daniel Z. Lieberman, M.D.— author of The Molecule of More and Spell Bound and Head of Mental Health at the telehealth company Hims & Hers,—about how we need to be forward-thinking with mental care and why early intervention is vital for long-term brain health. 
Here, our conversation about the future of mental health.
Lieberman: Start by cultivating awareness and acting with intention. We often go through the day on autopilot, not paying much attention to our thoughts or choices. The first step is simply to notice what’s going on—internally and externally—without trying to change it right away. 
For example, during a conversation, I try not to let my mind wander or think about what I’ll say next. Instead, I focus on the tone and rhythm of the other person’s voice, their facial expressions, and my own reactions. I look for anything surprising or unexpected. Being fully present can be tiring at first, so don’t be discouraged if it feels difficult. 
Like any form of growth, it takes time and practice.
Lieberman: Mental illness reflects a dysfunctional pattern of brain activity—and the longer those patterns go unaddressed, the more deeply they become wired. 
That’s why early treatment is so important: the sooner we intervene, the easier it is to reverse those changes and restore healthy function. 
Lieberman: Digital health experiences eliminate geographic barriers to care. 
Do you live in an area where there is a shortage of mental health professionals? Many people do. According to the U.S. government, more than 150 million people live in federally designated mental health professional shortage areas. 
In traditional settings, it can take weeks—or even months—to get an appointment. For those outside metropolitan areas, it may require long travel times too. Add in the stigma that still surrounds mental illness, and many people postpone getting help for years.
With digital health platforms, that suddenly becomes irrelevant. Anyone, regardless of where they live, can access safe, effective care. Digital health also makes care more affordable and less intimidating. Patients don’t have to go to an unfamiliar clinic—they can get care where they’re most comfortable. That matters, especially for people who’ve felt dismissed or overlooked by traditional systems.
At Hims & Hers, we’re leveraging technology to address those barriers. Most patients receive care within a day of signing up, from the comfort of home, and at any hour. We remove friction so early treatment becomes the norm—not the exception. 
And it works! In traditional clinic studies, about 30% of patients achieve full remission after a single antidepressant trial. On our platform, that number is nearly 50%—and rises further with additional medication trials. 
While many factors contribute, I believe timely access to care plays a critical role in those improved outcomes. 
Lieberman: Doctors talk a lot about “evidence-based care,” and what we mean by that is treatment decisions grounded in scientific research. But the science is evolving so rapidly, it’s nearly impossible for any one provider to keep up.
With AI beginning to assist researchers, that pace is only going to accelerate. That’s where digital tools become essential. AI can evaluate a patient’s individual needs, scan thousands of studies in real time, and deliver highly personalized recommendations. 
For example, we’re developing MedMatch, an AI model trained on tens of thousands of cases to help predict which medication is likely to be most effective for a given individual. Providers assisted by AI will be able to offer the kind of precision care currently only available at top academic centers. 
As clinicians grow more confident in partnering with AI, they’ll not only be more effective—they’ll also be more efficient. That efficiency can lower costs and make high-quality care accessible to people who’ve historically been priced out.
But it’s not just about building systems that support providers in developing the right plan—it’s also about continuing supporting patients long after the appointment ends, with 24/7 access to guidance, check-ins, and questions answered. 
That’s what excites me most: the potential to deliver not just more care, but better care, in ways that are deeply responsive to individual needs.
Lieberman: Living in a hyperconnected world can take a toll on mental health. Many people have forgotten what it feels like to truly disconnect. We know from research that excessive screen time and social media can increase the risk of depression
So it comes back to being intentional. Instead of doomscrolling out of habit, decide in advance how much time you want to spend online, set a boundary, and move on when time’s up. That simple shift—from reactive to intentional—can have a big impact.
Lieberman: The progress we’ve made around being thoughtful and proactive about mental health care is encouraging. There’s more awareness, more openness, and less stigma around mental health than ever before. Public figures sharing their stories has helped normalize what so many people experience. 
But we also need to hold space for nuance. 
There’s a tendency to pathologize everyday stress, sadness, or adversity—when in fact, these are natural parts of life. Distinguishing between clinical illness and the discomfort that comes with growth is important. 
Otherwise, we risk trivializing real mental illness and misapplying medical interventions to situations that may call for reflection, resilience, or support—not treatment.
There’s a tendency to pathologize everyday stress, sadness, or adversity—when in fact, these are natural parts of life. Distinguishing between clinical illness and the discomfort that comes with growth is important. 
Lieberman: Dopamine is often called the “reward molecule,” but its real role is far more complex. It’s about future-focused thinking—chasing goals, acquiring resources, striving for more. That drive can be productive, but if we’re always looking ahead, we miss what’s right in front of us. 
Western culture often encourages this dopamine-heavy mindset: buy more, achieve more, do more. But sustainable mental health also requires presence. Eastern philosophies have long emphasized this—and I think we’re just beginning to rediscover how important it is.
Lieberman: Dopamine-driven pleasure is about excitement and anticipation—it’s how you feel getting ready to go out with friends. 
Here-and-now happiness is quieter: contentment, satisfaction, being fully in the moment. It’s the feeling of enjoying the meal and the conversation once you arrive. 
We need both. But when we confuse the two, we risk constantly chasing the next high and missing the fulfillment that comes from just being present. 
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

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Big data analytics and AI as success factors for online video streaming platforms – Frontiers

Big data analytics and AI as success factors for online video streaming platforms – Frontiers

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Big Data, 06 February 2025
Sec. Cybersecurity and Privacy
Volume 8 – 2025 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fdata.2025.1513027
This article is part of the Research TopicCybersecurity of Artificial Intelligence Integration in Smart Systems: Opportunities and ThreatsView all 3 articles
As the trend in the current generation with the use of mobile devices is rapidly increasing, online video streaming has risen to the top in the entertainment industry. These platforms have experienced radical expansion due to the incorporation of Big Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence which are critical in improving the user interface, improving its functioning, and customization of recommended content. This paper seeks to examine how Big Data Analytics makes it possible to obtain large amounts of data about users and how they view, what they like, or how they behave. While customers benefit from this data by receiving more suitable material, getting better recommendations, and allowing for more efficient content delivery, AI utilizes it. As a result, the study also points to the importance and relevance of such technologies to promote business development, and user interaction and maintain competitiveness in the online video streaming market with examples of their effective application. This work presents a comprehensive investigation of the combined role of Big Data and AI and presents the necessary findings to determine their efficacy as success factors of existing and future video streaming services.
With increased technology on internet speeds, the use of digital, YouTube, Netflix as well as Disney+, are among the online video streaming services that have impacted how content is consumed (Sakthivel, 2020). The availability of infinite content makes consumers act (Aditri, 2021), yet they have to improve the consumer experience, offer suggestions as well as optimize operations to compete. That is where big data analytics and AI matter. The deepened integration of artificial intelligence models, described by Tao et al. (2024), indicates further developments in predictive platforms' effectiveness to progress the platforms' content customization and functioning.
Big data analytics is the marriage between data science and analytics that helps in interpreting user data and making forecasts on the users' behaviors and recommending to them appropriate products; (Ankam, 2016). These insights are utilized by streaming platforms to understand the general demeanor of their customers and enhance the recommendation system.
Lowe and Lawless (2021) defined AI systems that perform tasks that would otherwise be executed by a human. In streaming, AI enhances what is watched, what is recommended, its labeling of content, and then its prediction of what its watcher would like.
Big data and AI help the platforms identify and target the users and increase both users' satisfaction and the platform's revenue. But more studies are required in order to analyze their position in guaranteeing stable success in this field.
The growth of online video streaming platforms suggests the need to examine the relationship between big data analytics and AI in this segment more thoroughly. The purpose of this study is to analyze how these technologies help improve the employment relationship between the user and technology along with content suggestions and business model sustaining success. The following are the objectives of the research:
1. Find out how big data analytics improves the user experience.
2. Evaluate AI's part in the content recommendation.
3. Discuss how big data and AI are deployed in operations.
4. Explore the advantages of defining a target audience, using targeted advertising, and optimizing revenues.
5. Studying the best practice examples of implementation.
To this end, this study is significant to establish the impact of big data and AI on the streaming platform in making the experience better in terms of personalization, operations, and business development. It also recounts potential ethical issues including data privacy and presentation.
This research concentrates on the role and influence of big data and artificial intelligence in enhancing users' experience and efficiency, reaching organizational objectives in streaming services. Limitations include generalization, availability of data, and dynamism in technology.
To stand out in the lineup of streaming providers, the used methods must be the latest This is because streaming is a new industry that has only established itself in the last decade barely (Krishnamoorthi, 2018). The subject matters in this review include big data analytics and artificial intelligence, especially with regard to their relevance to the success of online video streaming platforms.
There is a task of collecting and analyzing massive data for decision-making—big data analytics (Sedkaoui, 2018). Platforms create a large amount of user data, including viewings habits, and preferences, and can be used to refine recommendation algorithms and enhance the experience for users of the platform (Loshin, 2013). These include content recommendation, big data user analysis, real-time feedback, and User Interface improvement. Such processes increase utility, ease of finding content, and business productivity (Madhavan, 2021). Another benefit of big data analytics is that it also gives platforms the advantage of delivering customized solutions and intensifying efficiency (Curry et al., 2022).
AI helps to automate and optimize, choose and recommend content, and analyze users (Aggarwal, 2021). They can be used to facilitate content suggestion, categorization, labeling, and immediate advertising. AI also enhances operational efficiency through the integration of adaptive bitrate streaming, which is a technique of streamlining the video stream depending on the network quality (Robinson, 2014). When integrated into platforms, AI thus optimizes user interaction, increases the likelihood of relevant posts appearing in users' feeds, and increases the business outcomes of platforms to gain a competitive edge.
Big data analytics and AI work hand in hand. Big data furnishes the required information for better predictions by AI and, on the other hand, AI models gain value with large sets of data. Combinedly, they need personalization, decision-making, and operations optimization in real-time. This integration results in enhanced platform performance thus making it possible to progressively improve (Franks, 2014).
A primary industry success factor that has come out clearly from the research is the issue of recommendation technologies. Integrating the concepts of personalized sales proposition with the concepts discussed by Venkatesan and Lecinski (2021), it is possible to predict that AI can be applied to content recommendation systems used by streaming services. This presentation of content relevant to the individual fosters user loyalty because it guarantees visitors get useful info from it hence enhancing satisfaction and use.
For instance, Ilyas et al. (2022) examined the current trends in using AI recommendation systems toward users' experience in digital platforms and the role of personalisation toward attracting users' attention. This research resonates with success factors for online video streaming services, which point to such a strong basis in the relevance of personalized content.
For instance, Ahmad et al. (2019) deliberated on SW technologies as well as some of the prospects of applying these technologies to big data. As shown by these outcomes, AI can be valuable for streamlining the choice-making in information dissemination and flow having a positive impact on users' engagement in streaming services.
Furthermore, the book chapter “Role of Machine Learning in Handling the COVID-19 Pandemic”, written by Aziz et al. (2022), provides information about machine learning and AI and their utility in dealing with massive qualitative data and making appropriate decisions in real-time. This research unveils the high level of scalability and real-time processing capacity in AI technologies, which is crucial to streaming services in meeting the needs of millions of users at once. Of course, the same AI approaches can be interesting for streaming services for controlling the load and for providing stable content delivery.
Big data integration with AI has several issues such as data quality, scalability, privacy, and handling algorithms. There is also the problem of finding skilled talent to make the most of these technologies. This being the case, the challenges are far outweighed by the benefits which promise greater improvements in user experience and overall business processes.
The secondary sources were selected based on their focus on user engagement strategies and the integration of AI and Big Data in online streaming platforms. Peer-reviewed journals, industry reports, and case studies from reputable publishers were prioritized. For example, studies by Aggarwal (2021) and Venkatesan and Lecinski (2021) were chosen for their detailed analysis of AI-driven personalization in user recommendations.
Potential biases in secondary sources, such as reliance on corporate case studies or region-specific findings, were acknowledged. This critical lens ensured a balanced interpretation and alignment with the study's objectives.
The methodology of this research is about identifying and analyzing those key factors that determine the success and popularity of online streaming platforms. To offer in-depth insights into user behavior, the platform's capabilities, and industry trends, a mixed-method approach with a qualitative emphasis is used. The research is carried out on critical aspects, such as customer satisfaction, variety of content, the design of user interface, marketing strategies, technological advancements like artificial intelligence, and big data analytics on platforms like Netflix and Disney+.
The study surveyed 1,000 participants, with an age range of 18–65 years. The sample included 55% male and 45% female respondents, with a geographically diverse representation spanning North America (40%), Europe (30%), Asia (20%), and other regions (10%). Participants were recruited through social media advertisements and email outreach to ensure diversity in streaming habits and preferences.
Survey participants were screened based on their regular use of streaming platforms such as Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon Prime Video. Stratified random sampling ensured proportional representation across age groups, genders, and regions. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 industry experts and executives to triangulate insights from user surveys.
The survey was pilot-tested on a group of 50 participants to refine questions for clarity and reduce ambiguity. Questions included Likert-scale items, multiple-choice options, and open-ended responses to capture quantitative and qualitative data.
To address potential biases, the survey avoided leading questions and ensured anonymity to encourage honest responses. Sampling weights were applied to correct demographic imbalances.
1. Literature review: the research framework begins with a comprehensive review of existing research on streaming platforms that explores their technological and operational characteristics.
2. Surveys: streaming platforms are used online to conduct surveys of users' preferences, levels of satisfaction, perceptions of significant factors, and so forth. Different data is gathered through surveys that include questions written using the likert scale, multiple choice, and open-ended responses.
3. Interviews: qualitative insights on success determinants and user experiences are provided by semi-structured interviews with users, industry professionals, and executives from streaming platforms.
4. Platform usage data analysis: subscriber numbers, viewing patterns, and user feedback are analyzed to establish how user engagement and platform success metrics apply.
The survey primarily drew responses from participants in Botswana, accounting for 96% of the sample, as reflected in Figure 1. This demographic concentration allows for localized insights into streaming preferences and habits.
Figure 1. Participant's age and country of residence.
1. Survey sampling: such a random sampling technique to collect diverse user insights is to include demographics (e.g., age, gender, location) to represent throughout. Statistical principles determine the amount of sample size so that robust results are obtained.
2. Interview sampling: purposive sampling focuses on more thoroughly selecting from across a wide range of different participants (e.g., frequent and infrequent users and industry experts) to capture from a broad range of perspectives.
1. Quantitative analysis: it uses regression, factor, and correlation analysis to examine the relationship between customer satisfaction and platform success factors.
2. Qualitative analysis: following the thematic analysis, we can conduct interviews of the user experiences and rather use rich insights.
3. Integration: qualitative and quantitative findings are triangulated in a mixed methods approach to integrate for a comprehensive view of the success factors of streaming platforms, strengthening the internal and external validity of the findings.
Consent is obtained, confidentiality is maintained, and data are safeguarded, all within ethical… Data collection and sampling methods are carefully evaluated to avoid potential biases.
Limitations acknowledged include sampling biases, self-reporting errors, and general application of the findings to wider audiences. Numerous sampling techniques and analytic methods are applied to address these.
Based on this methodology, we have a holistic understanding of what drives the functionality and appeal of online streaming platforms. The findings are designed to aid platform operators and stakeholders in emerging markets in developing more effective service offerings and improving the user experience.
This presentation explains that big data and AI help to improve the user experience in online video streaming platforms such as advanced recommendation systems to help users discover better content and enhance streaming quality. Some of these technologies include viewing history, and behavior that delivers unique content and advertising that increases awareness, engagement, and satisfaction.
Big Data Analytics in this study was employed to analyze user behavior patterns, such as peak streaming hours and preferred genres, using predictive analytics tools. AI was used to simulate user interaction scenarios and improve recommendation systems by employing machine learning models to forecast user preferences and enhance content delivery.
– Personalized Recommendations: By considering users' data insights, the AI algorithms enhance the recommendations made on-site content, hence enhancing the click rates.
– Content Discovery and Search: Aided by methods of predictive analysis, platforms offer users content they would not otherwise come across.
– Real-time Personalization and Quality Optimization: Using crude calculations, the streaming and personalized interfaces improve user engagement due to the possibility of real-time analysis of the user behavior.
Real-time data processing, AI, and big data effectively manage resources utilized by platform-based businesses, content delivery, and service quality. For instance, predictive maintenance will make provisions for probable failure in the hardware or software, thus minimizing time when the apparatus is off. These technologies also help in maintaining security by identifying fraud and improving decision-making processes.
It also enables user-orientated content to find out the user preferences with the engine while the platform caters to the matching viewership and revenue. Another aspect is customized marketing communication and real-time product and price strategies, which add up to the general communication profitability and business performance improvement.
Streaming services engage AI in projecting recommendations; also in matters to do with content procurement which has helped Netflix in the success of its Originals such as Stranger Things.
Today, video streaming platforms depend a great deal on big data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) to propel their growth, provide an excellent user experience, and maintain a competitive advantage. From Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon Prime Video, the article provides insights on how these technologies are changing business strategy and user engagement.
– Netflix: AI and big data are extremely important to Netflix, and they rely on it to personalize user experiences and help guide strategic decisions. For instance, Netflix's recommendation system accounts for about 80% of content consumption analyzing huge chunks of data such as viewing history, ratings, and interactions (Aggarwal, 2021). This personalized approach not only improves customer satisfaction but also improves user engagement (Venkatesan and Lecinski, 2021). There, Netflix also uses data analytics to know what the audience prefers or what is happening in the market and how to craft successful original content like Stranger Things and The Witcher. They have enhanced its market share and made it the leading player in the streaming industry.
– YouTube: Personalization with video is what YouTube is all about—the world's most popular video-sharing service leverages AI algorithms to curate personalized video recommendations and increase user engagement and session durations. Further, it gives its content creators the ability to reach insights through analytics dashboards that offer information on video performance, audience demographics as well as engagement metrics. They give creators information so they can make decisions, optimize their content strategies, understand their audience better, and drive views and revenue growth.
– Amazon Prime Video: Similarly, Amazon Prime Video also follows a practice similar to exploiting AI to cater to user requirements for content recommendations through their behavior and interests. Big data analytics are used by the platform to understand audience trends, discover popular content genres, and fill gaps in content inventory. By utilizing this data-driven strategy it makes choices about what to acquire and produce content on a content acquisition and production basis such that the quality of programming provided is high, along with the programming being relevant to the user and their needs, in turn increasing user satisfaction and engagement and increasing its market footprint.
Taken together, these case studies validate that AI and big data analytics have gone hand in hand to become a key piece of the puzzle for video streaming platforms' success. Through optimizing User experience, guiding Content strategies, and scoring engagement, these technologies empower platforms to continue to grow, become more competitive within the market as well as shape the future of digital entertainment.
The findings of this survey exhibit the capability of online streaming platforms to dissect data and present it to the administrators in a more simplified and easy-to-manage format along with statistical and analytical data as a conclusion. Additional moderate results of the survey can be seen in the data in Figure 1 which demonstrates the most preferred age group for streaming to help in choosing mature content in the algorithm. Because the customers from the local area are more than those from other countries, the AI algorithm may also prioritize local content over foreign content.
In Figure 1, the pie chart showing ‘Age Distribution of Participants' illustrates the demographic diversity of the study's participants. By breaking down participants into age groups (e.g., 18–24, 25–34), the chart provides insight into the generational distribution and highlights the broad reach of the survey. Knowing the age distribution helps contextualize user behavior and preferences, as younger age groups may prefer different streaming features compared to older demographics.
Different forms for data analysis can be implemented depending on the type of streaming services you are using and the form of the database used for the dashboard. Analyzing the data depicted in Figure 2, it can be seen that Netflix is one of the most popular streaming services among all the customers. Succession communication services should recall the dynamics of the growth of Big Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence used by giants such as Netflix, Showmax, and Amazon Video. Those streaming services that have been in the market for some time now have integration solutions that help to track how frequently users are accessing content.
Figure 2. Most subscribed and frequency of watching.
On the streaming platforms similar information gathered in the survey form is used for data analytics and real-time reports on user interactions are generated. The number of people who responded to the survey form is shown in Figure 3. The interaction total number is also presented followed by the number of users who completed the form out of all the interactions. It has been scaled in percentage and we get the success rate of the survey and the average time taken by every individual to complete the survey. The same processes are applied to calculate the size of the audience that finishes a given show compared to the number of people who begin a show but do not complete it, with online video streaming services as the most detailed and nuanced examination of user engagement. The benefit of doing an analysis will decide if a show will be continued every year or a movie granted a sequel.
Figure 3. Views.
As illustrated in Figure 4, the survey shows visitor to real respondent conversion rate. The same way is employed by streaming firms to pinpoint users who partially play a piece of content and never come back as well as those who add a certain show to the favorite list and never watch it.
Figure 4. Conversion rate of visitors to respondents from May 16 to May 20, 2023. The vertical axis represents the conversion rate (proportion of visitors who completed responses), with values ranging up to 0.7.
The near-zero value on May 19, 2023, could be attributed to either technical issues or a significant external event that impacted user activity. This anomaly highlights the importance of robust operational monitoring systems in streaming platforms.
The vertical axis represents the conversion rate, ranging from 0 to 0.7, indicating the proportion of visitors converted to respondents. This should be explicitly stated in the figure caption.
While the 5-day timeframe provides a snapshot of trends, extending the study period in future research would yield more comprehensive insights.
Just like the survey form that was employed in the study, the algorithms and analytics that streaming platforms employ have the option to detect the devices that are used to access the content, and subsequently, employ AI to adjust and enhance the streamed video in the most effective way possible in giving users the best possible view as well as experience of the video. This is depicted in Figure 5.
Figure 5. Real-time personalization and engagement.
This figure demonstrates the increase in user engagement metrics (e.g., click-through rates, session duration) following real-time personalization via AI-driven algorithms.
Figure 6 below highlights the discoveries of the research whereby it shows that streaming services can track the region where the viewer is logged in from; the user's IP Address is displayed at the admin backend within real-time AI and big data analysis algorithms. This analysis is used to limit the users' access based on the types of allowed shows and help streaming services meet the regional regulations on such shows in such demographics.
Figure 6. Regional content preferences.
A heatmap showcasing content preferences across different regions, emphasizing the role of localized AI recommendations in boosting engagement.
AI also helps streaming providers to identify the type of browser and the type of platform the user is logged in using Google Chrome on either iOS, Windows, or Android, and then adapt the material to the user's device. This characteristic gives the service to advise the user on the most suitable browsers for the finest viewing. This is depicted in Figure 7.
Figure 7. Platform.
Altogether, the utilization of big data and AI allows online video stream platforms to drive data-informed decisions, customer experience, content and monetization strategies, organizational performance, as well as new business insights. This way, these technologies can help platforms deliver sustainable business development and preserve their market edge in the context of the fast-evolving online video streaming environment.
Table 1 summarizes the comparative metrics across major streaming platforms, highlighting the effectiveness of AI and Big Data Analytics in enhancing user engagement and operational efficiency.
Table 1. Comparative metrics of AI and big data impact.
A multiple regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the relationship between AI-driven recommendations and user engagement (measured by session duration). Results indicated a strong positive correlation (R = 0.82, p < 0.001), confirming that personalized recommendations significantly enhance user engagement.
A paired t-test comparing user retention rates before and after AI implementation on Netflix showed a statistically significant increase (t = 7.21, p < 0.01).
Initially, the major carrier of dismayed service advantages and disadvantages is online streaming. Sinwell has noted that users consider affordable subscription prices to be much more valuable than expensive movie theater experiences as pointed out by Sinwell (2020). Therefore, streaming platforms have benefited from big data analytics and AI in streaming while conflicts such as data privacy, bias, scalability, and ethical concerns remain. The changes that should be made in the future of machine learning are bias reduction, real-time capability, and integration.
Users can seamlessly interact with the system and content as well as resources to provide better results through recommendation and optimization through AI. Still, problems such as algorithm bias, data protection, and generalizability should remain attracting attention continually. The study also recognizes the need to enhance partnerships to address these challenges.
Thus, the results of this study can serve as a reference for new or regional-based streaming platforms, especially in African countries. However, many local platforms including Botswana's UpicTv are challenged by high licensing fees together with low-quality content. These platforms can only work well when high-quality shows are produced or acquired and this must be done alongside investing in cloud hosting and content protection against piracy. They include free trials where those who subscribe end up canceling their services within a month and signing up again to get another free trial fixed by AI can help minimize such abuses based on the user activities.
Key characteristics of successful streaming platforms include:
– Video Quality: Adaptive streaming means the stream quality changes based on bandwidth, and it supports HD and 4K.
– Hosting Infrastructure: This can be made on cloud-based servers so that users from different geographical regions can have uninterrupted access.
– Monetization Strategies: Platforms can use various business models, for example, paid internet access or having content with advertisements.
Big data analytics and AI have changed the video streaming industry, thus bringing innovation and economic benefits to the industry. These strategies can be applied to emerging streaming companies to ensure that they align themselves with the ever-growing market to grab an opportunity to thrive.
In the study, the “Big data analytics and AI” techniques are analyzed in depth through the methodologies being applied to enhance user experience and optimize operations, as well as to enhance business growth in online video streaming platforms. Here's a breakdown of these techniques based on the provided content:
Big Data Analytics Techniques
1. Data collection and storage:
• It collects massive structured and unstructured data—browsing habits, content preference, interactions on social, device type, geographical location, etc.
2. Data processing and analysis:
• Data Mining: It catches patterns and trends in user behavior like peak streaming times and what the user prefers.
• Real-time Feedback and Sentiment Analysis: Review analysis and sentiment shifting for timespan and reaction based on reviews, comments, and reactions in social media.
3. Predictive analytics:
• Forecasts resource needs, predicts popular content genres, and forecasts user churn.
• It evaluates past user engagement patterns to come up with recommendations.
4. Content personalization:
• It uses collaborative and content-based filtering to improve recommendations and increase user satisfaction.
• The hybrid models improve the accuracy of user-tailored suggestions.
5. Operational insights:
• It monitors server load, bandwidth use, and video delivery efficiency.
• Streams videos with the adaptive bitrate streaming functionality.
Artificial Intelligence Techniques
1. Recommendation systems:
• Employs Machine Learning Models: i.e., User & Deep Learning models for Content & User based recommendations.
• Hybrid Approaches take user preferences and combine them with content metadata for much better personalization.
2. Natural language processing (NLP):
• By descriptions, subtitles, and metadata, content is tagged and categorized for efficient search and discovery.
3. Computer vision:
• It takes information out of video frames to determine what's in them—scenes, objects, and emotions—for tagging and categorizing.
4. Adaptive bitrate streaming:
• It finds a compromise in video resolution and quality based on network conditions to achieve seamless playback of video.
5. Fraud detection and security:
• It identifies suspicious behavior such as unauthorized access or multi-logins from different areas.
Big Data and AI Combined Role
1. Enhanced Model Training:
• AI models have powerful comprehensive training datasets for big data.
2. Real-Time Decision Making:
• Lives data streams merged with AI models to make real-time content recommendations, adjust playback quality, or optimize resource allocation.
3. Personalization and Targeting:
• It uses detailed user profiles to serve targeted marketing, suggest content, and improve the relevance of advertising.
Examples from Case Studies
– Netflix:
• It uses AI to analyze user behavior and make content production decisions that are successful—Stranger Things, for one.
• The recommendation engine delivers 80 percent of all viewed content.
– YouTube:
• Video suggestions that best optimize viewing times using AI.
• It helps provide analytics dashboards to improve your content strategy as a creator.
– Amazon Prime Video:
• Using big data and AI, the company identifies user preferences and determines the gaps in content offerings acquired.
Taken together, these techniques enable platforms to offer personalization, supply operational efficiency, and growth on a sustainable path while addressing scalability and data privacy.
There are still issues like data privacy; AI algorithm bias; and AI's scalability. Post-implementation research should extend to developing safer programming platforms for data sharing, methods for combating bias in AI systems, Reddit's advanced AI approach—Deep Learning for content recommendation, as well as Real-Time data analysis (Curry et al., 2022).
The study relied on self-reported data, which may introduce response biases. Additionally, the generalizability of findings is limited to users of popular streaming platforms in specific regions.
Future studies should:
1. Include underrepresented regions, such as Africa and South America.
2. Analyze the ethical implications of AI and big data, particularly concerning data privacy.
3. Explore the scalability of AI-driven models for smaller, emerging streaming platforms.
Big data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) have transformed how the online video streaming industry behaves, accomplishing user experience, operational efficiency, as well as business growth. They are underlined in this research as crucial in personalizing content recommendations, optimizing resource allocation, and driving strategic decision-making.
One excellent way these technologies have already been used is in platforms like Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon Prime Video, where huge amounts of user data and the very latest in AI algorithms plant meaningful usage of these platforms, to engage the audience in ways that are otherwise not possible. These technologies advance the capabilities of platforms to prefigure user intent, curate the best quality content, and execute dynamic pricing and advertising strategies at scale and operational efficiency.
But big data analytics and AI also pose problems for their widespread adoption. However, for user trust and equitable practices to remain, algorithmic bias, data privacy, and ethical considerations have to be resolved. Going forward, such future advancements should focus on transparency, interoperability, and fairness and adopt the very latest methodologies in AI to refine personalization and design the best possible user interaction.
Adoption of these technologies in emerging and localized streaming platforms is a strategy imperative. They can tailor global best practices to local contexts to foster and encourage innovation, improve user satisfaction, and carve out sustainable markets, despite extreme competition. Finally, the symbiosis of big data analytics and AI is still engineering the dynamic of the ejection of online streaming territory where the platforms can prosper with increasing digital and data-driven conditions.
The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.
MA: Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Supervision, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing. CO: Funding acquisition, Resources, Supervision, Validation, Writing – review & editing. AA: Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Supervision, Writing – review & editing. GM: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Resources, Software, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing.
The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
The author(s) declare that no Gen AI was used in the creation of this manuscript.
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
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Keywords: big data analytics, sustainable development education, artificial intelligence, climate modeling, online video streaming platforms, data-driven insights
Citation: Arshad M, Onn CW, Ahmad A and Mogwe G (2025) Big data analytics and AI as success factors for online video streaming platforms. Front. Big Data 8:1513027. doi: 10.3389/fdata.2025.1513027
Received: 28 October 2024; Accepted: 10 January 2025;
Published: 06 February 2025.
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Copyright © 2025 Arshad, Onn, Ahmad and Mogwe. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Muhammad Arshad, bXVoYW1tYWQuYXJzaGFkQHR1ZHVibGluLmll
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
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More than half of top 100 mental health TikToks contain misinformation, study finds – The Guardian

More than half of top 100 mental health TikToks contain misinformation, study finds – The Guardian

Guardian investigation reveals promotion of dubious advice, questionable supplements and quick-fix healing methods
What is the most common mental health misinformation on TikTok?
More than half of all the top trending videos offering mental health advice on TikTok contain misinformation, a Guardian investigation has found.
People are increasingly turning to social media for mental health support, yet research has revealed that many influencers are peddling misinformation, including misused therapeutic language, “quick fix” solutions and false claims.
Those seeking help are confronted with dubious advice, such as eating an orange in the shower to reduce anxiety; the promotion of supplements with a limited evidence base for alleviating anxiety, such as saffron, magnesium glycinate and holy basil; methods to heal trauma within an hour; and guidance presenting normal emotional experiences as a sign of borderline personality disorder or abuse.
MPs and experts said the findings that social media platforms were riddled with unhelpful, harmful and sometimes dangerous mental health advice were “damning” and “concerning”, and urged the government to strengthen regulation to protect the public from the spread of misinformation.
The Guardian took the top 100 videos posted under the #mentalhealthtips hashtag on TikTok and shared them with psychologists, psychiatrists and academic experts, who took a view on whether the posts contained misinformation.
The experts established that 52 out of 100 videos offering advice on dealing with trauma, neurodivergence, anxiety, depression and severe mental illness contained some misinformation, and that many others were vague or unhelpful.
David Okai, a consultant neuropsychiatrist and researcher in psychological medicine at King’s College London who reviewed the anxiety- and depression-related videos, said some posts misused therapeutic language, for example using wellbeing, anxiety and mental disorder interchangeably, “which can lead to confusion about what mental illness actually entails”, he said.
Many videos offered general advice based on narrow personal experience and anecdotal evidence, which “may not be universally applicable”, he added.
The posts reflected how “short-form, attention-grabbing soundbites can sometimes overshadow the more nuanced realities of qualified therapeutic work” on social media. The videos also over-emphasised therapy. “While there is strong evidence supporting the effectiveness of therapy, it’s important to emphasise that it’s not magic, a quick fix or a one-size-fits-all solution,” he said.
Dan Poulter, a former health minister and NHS psychiatrist who reviewed the videos about severe mental illness, said some of them “pathologise everyday experiences and emotions, suggesting that they equate to a diagnosis of serious mental illness”.
“This is providing misinformation to impressionable people and can also trivialise the life experiences of people living with serious mental illnesses.”
Amber Johnston, a British Psychological Society-accredited psychologist who reviewed the trauma videos, said that while most videos contained a nugget of truth, they tended to over-generalise while minimising the complexity of post-traumatic stress disorder or trauma symptoms.
“Each video is guilty of suggesting that everyone has the same experience of PTSD with similar symptoms that can easily be explained in a 30-second reel. The truth is that PTSD and trauma symptoms are highly individual experiences that cannot be compared across people and require a trained and accredited clinician to help a person understand the individual nature of their distress,” she said.
“TikTok is spreading misinformation by suggesting that there are secret universal tips and truths that may actually make a viewer feel even worse, like a failure, when these tips don’t simply cure.”
TikTok said videos were taken down if they discouraged people from seeking medical support or promoted dangerous treatments. When people in the UK search for terms linked to mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety, autism or post-traumatic stress disorder, they are also directed to NHS information.
Chi Onwurah, a Labour MP, said the technology committee she chaired was investigating misinformation on social media. “Significant concerns” had been raised in the inquiry about the effectiveness of the Online Safety Act in “tackling false and/or harmful content online, and the algorithms that recommend it”, she said.
“Content recommender systems used by platforms like TikTok have been found to amplify potentially harmful misinformation, like this misleading or false mental health advice,” she added. “There’s clearly an urgent need to address shortcomings in the OSA to make sure it can protect the public’s online safety and their health.”
The Liberal Democrat MP Victoria Collins agreed the findings were “damning”, and urged the government to act to keep people safe from “harmful misinformation”.
Paulette Hamilton, the Labour MP who chairs the health and social care select committee, said mental health misinformation on social media was “concerning” . “These ‘tips’ on social media should not be relied upon in place of professional, suitably qualified support,” she said.
Prof Bernadka Dubicka, the online safety lead for the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said that although social media could increase awareness, it was important that people were able to access up-to-date, evidence-based health information from trusted sources. Mental illness could only be diagnosed through a “comprehensive assessment from a qualified mental health professional”, she added.
A TikTok spokesperson said: “TikTok is a place where millions of people express themselves, come to share their authentic mental health journeys, and find a supportive community. There are clear limitations to the methodology of this study, which opposes this free expression and suggests that people should not be allowed to share their own stories.
“We proactively work with health experts at the World Health Organization and NHS to promote reliable information on our platform and remove 98% of harmful misinformation before it’s reported to us.”
A government spokesperson said ministers were “taking action to reduce the impact of harmful mis- and disinformation content online” through the Online Safety Act, which requires platforms to tackle such material if it was illegal or harmful to children.
In the UK, the charity Mind is available on 0300 123 3393 and Childline on 0800 1111. In the US, call or text Mental Health America at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978

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