From TikTok to Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, short-form video content has become a cornerstone of just about every online platform, including LinkedIn and even Substack. But increasingly, studies are finding associations between heavy consumption of short-form video and challenges with focus and self-control.
A September review of 71 studies with a total of nearly 100,000 participants found that heavy consumption of short-form video was associated with poorer cognition, especially in regard to attention spans and impulse control, based on a combination of behavioral tests and self-reported data.
Reduntu on
Who could’ve thought the platforms that motivate scores of children to eat tide pods or randomly attempt to kick people’s front doors in wasn’t good for them.
0r0B0t0 on
You only need to meet a child with unlimited tablet access to see thats its real (my nephew).
Cheetotiki on
It’s real. My wife got sucked into that, now spending hours a day watching that junk, and she’s seems to have regressed to the mental ability and emotional resilience of a five year old. Hobbies, exercise, etc no longer provide enough stimulation. Very sad for me to watch. But I somehow stand by her.
Zorothegallade on
If any fix is to be done, we’ll only see the results in the next generation.
Ipad kids, terminally online teens, and adults with parasocial relationships won’t just get better overnight. It’s a subtle epidemic and it will be around for decades even if we nip it at the bud today.
Are_you_blind_sir on
I mean i watch cat reels all the time. I dont think i function any worse than I used to
Floreat_democratia on
I think there’s something going on for sure. I deleted Instagram and TikTok years ago.
hananobira on
They said the same thing about books two thousand years ago.
Plato: “If men learn this, it will implant forgetfulness in their souls. They will cease to exercise memory because they rely on that which is written, calling things to remembrance no longer from within themselves, but by means of external marks.
What you have discovered is a recipe not for memory, but for reminder. And it is no true wisdom that you offer your disciples, but only the semblance of wisdom, for by telling them of many things without teaching them you will make them seem to know much while for the most part they know nothing. And as men filled not with wisdom but with the conceit of wisdom they will be a burden to their fellows.”
And novels in the 18th century.
“The minds of novel readers are intoxicated, their rest is broken, their health shattered, and their prospect of usefulness blighted.”
A hundred years from now these articles will look equally ridiculous.
lizerpetty on
My cousin sent me this article a few hours ago. I think short video format is definitely addictive. My kids are definitely addicted. I also think it’s had a strange effect on the movie industry. My kids cannot just sit and watch a movie. I find myself wanting to check reddit during movies as well. Honestly TikTok is incredibly entertaining and frequently has me in tears laughing. Especially the comments. I honestly can’t get that anywhere. It is most certainly a dopamine rush. But I’m not on every day and when I am, it’s not for long. However my kids are very much addicted. I definitely do need to make a change, but it will be difficult.
Zdog54 on
I’ve been saying for years that tik tok addiction (or any social media addiction) makes people dumb, lazy and rewires your reward center. I’ve watched family members or friends spend HOURS scrolling from one brain rot video to the next. Then repeat it all over again the next day.
I very rarely ever find anyone out in the real world that agrees with me, usually they get defensive about it. Only social media I have is reddit and even that is pushing it.
not1ofu on
It’s true it’s happening to me. Low key I need help lol
Darkwaxer on
It’s not real as it’s literal translation, but if you let a pack of wolves raise your kid you’ll have a cub.
Litenpes on
I also think short TikTok/ig reels is conditioning kids brains to give them attention disorder/add
LessRespects on
These forms of social media were pushed so hard on us *because* it’s real
metalslime_tsarina on
I’m also concerned about me and my habit of watching 1hr+ long-form videos. Or am I good according to this research? 😅
geekonthemoon on
“kids get angry when you take away their tablets”
Okay? Y’all are on your phones all day and let someone try to take it from you or tell you otherwise 🙄
Mom’s everywhere: scrolling social media, Tiktok, posting on socials all day long — “my child only gets 30 minutes of screen time while I’m styling her hair” wow pat yourself on the back for the one, Mandy.
quinn50 on
It’s not just short form video, it’s also chatgpt and other AI platforms. Why spend time thinking when you can just copy paste into a box that gives you any answers you wanna hear / see.
lunazipzap on
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defneverconsidered on
Yes cause it discourages linear thinking. Like getting the train off the track
BooCreepyFootDr on
I detest short form video. On the plus side, it’s helping me overcome my YouTube addiction.
dj_spanmaster on
I have found myself tempted by short form videos, and I already have diminishing ability to concentrate. I suspect that would be a self-reinforcing trap. I’m already trying dopamine detox exercises to restore what concentration I can, after being short-circuited by my smartphone, notifications, and work efforts pushing me to multitask beyond what is healthy.
Sabbathius on
I would argue it’s not about length of the clip or the format, it’s still about the quality of content.
I love short-and-to-the-point how-to videos. For example there’s a 3 minute video how to replace the original cable on Koss KSC-75 headphones. Shows how to open them up, how to solder the new wires into place and such. Short, sweet and not the point, without “Yo yo yo, this is ya boi SkidmarkGod711!” Nothing wrong with those videos, they’re amazing.
Metazoick on
It’s worth remembering that the current evidence, including the meta analysis the article primarily cited, does not show that watching short form content *causes* problems with attention span and the like, it just shows that they are *correlated*.
I’m not saying this to be dismissive, it could absolutely be the case that watching a lot of this type of content online could have a negative impact on attention. But I think a lot of people see articles like this and assume it’s saying that it’s evidenced, when it isn’t yet. It’s also very possible that the association is primarily due to both attributes being symptoms of something else, for example we know that stress has a negative impact on attention and results in increased social media usage. It could also be directional the other way, where people who have a short attention span for whatever reason spend more time watching short form content, because it doesn’t require as much attention from them.
More research is great, and I hope it continues, but I just wish we wouldn’t put the cart in front of the horse so much when it comes to pop science.
DMLuga1 on
So people with lower attention spans and poorer impulse control (i.e. People with adhd) were drawn to short form videos.
This is the outstanding breakthrough that was worth reporting.
Thanks NBC.
lagrange_james_d23dt on
I absolutely hate short form videos. Reels, shorts, etc. There needs to be a way to get them off of my feeds entirely.
plamatonto on
Its not just kids, old retired grandparents who are 8-10 hours+ a day on their phone/tablet get affected too.
malsell on
You only need to meet people to know brain rot is real. I swear everyone I talk to gets dumber by the day.
JoeZMar on
When I left the military in 2015 I bought a cheap rv, gutted it, and rigged it completely off grid. My family and I spent 8 years in it traveling full time living off BLM land and USFS land all across the US. We didn’t have a tv, and even though my wife and I use our phones a lot, we still never downloaded TikTok or use most other social medias.
When I bought a house and started integrating back into society it blows my mind how much has changed. Sometimes I feel like came back to a different universe because kids are entitled to phones in school, kids bring laptops to the dinner table (apparently that’s becoming normal). I couldn’t imagine being a public school teacher.
I have two kids and for the most part they had very similar electronic time I had when I was a kid.
Some of our few but strict rules:
No social media
Console games > mobile phone games
If it’s a phone game, it has to be Apple Arcade mostly because I was a mobile dev for a while and these apps are literally designed to psychologically get money from you.
If they want to watch a YouTube video they have to know specifically what type of video they are searching for and then be done.
My entire family follows these rules, including myself (Reddit is literally the only exception for social media for myself but mostly because I tell myself it’s anonymous so that makes it different I guess 🤷♂️)
Literally the best decision of my life.
ZoteTheMitey on
I’m 34 and I feel like a dinosaur sometimes. I use YouTube but watch mostly long videos and documentaries. And I use reddit. I don’t use instagram, facebook, tiktok, etc. I even have to hide youtube shorts. Idk how anyone could want to scroll those few second pointless videos endlessly instead of watching something like Veritasium or Smarter Every Day or people building wells and buildings with primitive tools, or antique gun and tool restorations, historical documentaries etc. There is so much great content that is not brain rot trash.
I watch that stuff on Youtube, I play single player video games, and I read books. And I dirtbike and stuff when the weather is nice.
I feel like how my grandparents must have felt when the internet and gameboys first gained popularity. I see some of the stuff kids watch and it all seems so pointless and designed for quick dopamine fixes. almost none of it is in good taste. I’m getting old.
Sad_Mall_3349 on
One of my kids therapist is also a teacher.
She repeatedly told us, that kids in her class have an attention span between 1 and 2 minutes. Wonder why.
30 Comments
From TikTok to Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, short-form video content has become a cornerstone of just about every online platform, including LinkedIn and even Substack. But increasingly, studies are finding associations between heavy consumption of short-form video and challenges with focus and self-control.
A September review of 71 studies with a total of nearly 100,000 participants found that heavy consumption of short-form video was associated with poorer cognition, especially in regard to attention spans and impulse control, based on a combination of behavioral tests and self-reported data.
Who could’ve thought the platforms that motivate scores of children to eat tide pods or randomly attempt to kick people’s front doors in wasn’t good for them.
You only need to meet a child with unlimited tablet access to see thats its real (my nephew).
It’s real. My wife got sucked into that, now spending hours a day watching that junk, and she’s seems to have regressed to the mental ability and emotional resilience of a five year old. Hobbies, exercise, etc no longer provide enough stimulation. Very sad for me to watch. But I somehow stand by her.
If any fix is to be done, we’ll only see the results in the next generation.
Ipad kids, terminally online teens, and adults with parasocial relationships won’t just get better overnight. It’s a subtle epidemic and it will be around for decades even if we nip it at the bud today.
I mean i watch cat reels all the time. I dont think i function any worse than I used to
I think there’s something going on for sure. I deleted Instagram and TikTok years ago.
They said the same thing about books two thousand years ago.
Plato: “If men learn this, it will implant forgetfulness in their souls. They will cease to exercise memory because they rely on that which is written, calling things to remembrance no longer from within themselves, but by means of external marks.
What you have discovered is a recipe not for memory, but for reminder. And it is no true wisdom that you offer your disciples, but only the semblance of wisdom, for by telling them of many things without teaching them you will make them seem to know much while for the most part they know nothing. And as men filled not with wisdom but with the conceit of wisdom they will be a burden to their fellows.”
And novels in the 18th century.
“The minds of novel readers are intoxicated, their rest is broken, their health shattered, and their prospect of usefulness blighted.”
A hundred years from now these articles will look equally ridiculous.
My cousin sent me this article a few hours ago. I think short video format is definitely addictive. My kids are definitely addicted. I also think it’s had a strange effect on the movie industry. My kids cannot just sit and watch a movie. I find myself wanting to check reddit during movies as well. Honestly TikTok is incredibly entertaining and frequently has me in tears laughing. Especially the comments. I honestly can’t get that anywhere. It is most certainly a dopamine rush. But I’m not on every day and when I am, it’s not for long. However my kids are very much addicted. I definitely do need to make a change, but it will be difficult.
I’ve been saying for years that tik tok addiction (or any social media addiction) makes people dumb, lazy and rewires your reward center. I’ve watched family members or friends spend HOURS scrolling from one brain rot video to the next. Then repeat it all over again the next day.
I very rarely ever find anyone out in the real world that agrees with me, usually they get defensive about it. Only social media I have is reddit and even that is pushing it.
It’s true it’s happening to me. Low key I need help lol
It’s not real as it’s literal translation, but if you let a pack of wolves raise your kid you’ll have a cub.
I also think short TikTok/ig reels is conditioning kids brains to give them attention disorder/add
These forms of social media were pushed so hard on us *because* it’s real
I’m also concerned about me and my habit of watching 1hr+ long-form videos. Or am I good according to this research? 😅
“kids get angry when you take away their tablets”
Okay? Y’all are on your phones all day and let someone try to take it from you or tell you otherwise 🙄
Mom’s everywhere: scrolling social media, Tiktok, posting on socials all day long — “my child only gets 30 minutes of screen time while I’m styling her hair” wow pat yourself on the back for the one, Mandy.
It’s not just short form video, it’s also chatgpt and other AI platforms. Why spend time thinking when you can just copy paste into a box that gives you any answers you wanna hear / see.
tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung sahur trala leo tra la la! tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung sahur trala leo tra la la! tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung sahur trala leo tra la la! tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung sahur trala leo tra la la! tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung sahur trala leo tra la la! tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung sahur trala leo tra la la! tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung tung sahur trala leo tra la la!
Yes cause it discourages linear thinking. Like getting the train off the track
I detest short form video. On the plus side, it’s helping me overcome my YouTube addiction.
I have found myself tempted by short form videos, and I already have diminishing ability to concentrate. I suspect that would be a self-reinforcing trap. I’m already trying dopamine detox exercises to restore what concentration I can, after being short-circuited by my smartphone, notifications, and work efforts pushing me to multitask beyond what is healthy.
I would argue it’s not about length of the clip or the format, it’s still about the quality of content.
I love short-and-to-the-point how-to videos. For example there’s a 3 minute video how to replace the original cable on Koss KSC-75 headphones. Shows how to open them up, how to solder the new wires into place and such. Short, sweet and not the point, without “Yo yo yo, this is ya boi SkidmarkGod711!” Nothing wrong with those videos, they’re amazing.
It’s worth remembering that the current evidence, including the meta analysis the article primarily cited, does not show that watching short form content *causes* problems with attention span and the like, it just shows that they are *correlated*.
I’m not saying this to be dismissive, it could absolutely be the case that watching a lot of this type of content online could have a negative impact on attention. But I think a lot of people see articles like this and assume it’s saying that it’s evidenced, when it isn’t yet. It’s also very possible that the association is primarily due to both attributes being symptoms of something else, for example we know that stress has a negative impact on attention and results in increased social media usage. It could also be directional the other way, where people who have a short attention span for whatever reason spend more time watching short form content, because it doesn’t require as much attention from them.
More research is great, and I hope it continues, but I just wish we wouldn’t put the cart in front of the horse so much when it comes to pop science.
So people with lower attention spans and poorer impulse control (i.e. People with adhd) were drawn to short form videos.
This is the outstanding breakthrough that was worth reporting.
Thanks NBC.
I absolutely hate short form videos. Reels, shorts, etc. There needs to be a way to get them off of my feeds entirely.
Its not just kids, old retired grandparents who are 8-10 hours+ a day on their phone/tablet get affected too.
You only need to meet people to know brain rot is real. I swear everyone I talk to gets dumber by the day.
When I left the military in 2015 I bought a cheap rv, gutted it, and rigged it completely off grid. My family and I spent 8 years in it traveling full time living off BLM land and USFS land all across the US. We didn’t have a tv, and even though my wife and I use our phones a lot, we still never downloaded TikTok or use most other social medias.
When I bought a house and started integrating back into society it blows my mind how much has changed. Sometimes I feel like came back to a different universe because kids are entitled to phones in school, kids bring laptops to the dinner table (apparently that’s becoming normal). I couldn’t imagine being a public school teacher.
I have two kids and for the most part they had very similar electronic time I had when I was a kid.
Some of our few but strict rules:
No social media
Console games > mobile phone games
If it’s a phone game, it has to be Apple Arcade mostly because I was a mobile dev for a while and these apps are literally designed to psychologically get money from you.
If they want to watch a YouTube video they have to know specifically what type of video they are searching for and then be done.
My entire family follows these rules, including myself (Reddit is literally the only exception for social media for myself but mostly because I tell myself it’s anonymous so that makes it different I guess 🤷♂️)
Literally the best decision of my life.
I’m 34 and I feel like a dinosaur sometimes. I use YouTube but watch mostly long videos and documentaries. And I use reddit. I don’t use instagram, facebook, tiktok, etc. I even have to hide youtube shorts. Idk how anyone could want to scroll those few second pointless videos endlessly instead of watching something like Veritasium or Smarter Every Day or people building wells and buildings with primitive tools, or antique gun and tool restorations, historical documentaries etc. There is so much great content that is not brain rot trash.
I watch that stuff on Youtube, I play single player video games, and I read books. And I dirtbike and stuff when the weather is nice.
I feel like how my grandparents must have felt when the internet and gameboys first gained popularity. I see some of the stuff kids watch and it all seems so pointless and designed for quick dopamine fixes. almost none of it is in good taste. I’m getting old.
One of my kids therapist is also a teacher.
She repeatedly told us, that kids in her class have an attention span between 1 and 2 minutes. Wonder why.