Short-form videos are dominating social media, prompting researchers to explore their impact on engagement and cognitive function. Your brain may even be changing.
From TikTok to Instagram Reels to YouTube Shorts, short videos are integral to platforms like LinkedIn and Substack. However, emerging research indicates a link between heavy short-form video consumption and issues with concentration and self-control.
The initial findings resonate with concerns about “brain rot,” defined by Oxford University Press as “the perceived deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual condition.” This term has gained such popularity that it was named the word of the year for 2024.
In September, a review of 71 studies found that extensive short-form video use was correlated with cognitive decline, especially in attention span and impulse control, involving nearly 100,000 participants. Published in the American Psychological Association’s Psychological Bulletin, this review also connected heavy consumption to heightened symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, and loneliness.
Similarly, a paper released in October summarized 14 studies that indicated frequent consumption of short-form videos is linked to shorter attention spans and poorer academic performance. Despite rising concerns, some researchers caution that the long-term effects remain unclear.
James Jackson, a neuropsychologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, noted that fear of new technologies is longstanding, whether regarding video games or iconic concerts. He acknowledges legitimate concerns but warns against overreacting. “It’s naive to dismiss worries as just grumpy complaints,” he said.
Jackson emphasized that research indicates extensive short-form video consumption could adversely affect brain function, yet further studies are needed to identify who is most at risk, the long-lasting impact, and the specific harmful mechanisms involved.
ADHD diagnoses in the U.S. are on the rise, with about 1 in 9 children diagnosed by 2022, according to the CDC. Keith Robert Head, a doctoral student at Capella University, suggests that the overlap between ADHD symptoms and risks from short videos deserves attention. “Are these ADHD diagnoses truly ADHD, or merely effects of short video use?” he questioned.
Three experts noted that research on the long-term effects of excessive short-form video use is in its early stages, with international studies revealing links to attention deficits, memory issues, and cognitive fatigue. However, these studies do not establish causation, often capturing only a snapshot in time.
Dr. Nidhi Gupta, a pediatric endocrinologist focused on screen time effects, argues that more research is necessary, particularly concerning older adults who may be more vulnerable. Gupta cautions that cognitive changes associated with short-form media may lead to a new addiction, likening it to “video games and TV on steroids.” She speculated that, just as research on alcohol and drugs took decades to evolve, a similar moral panic around short videos could emerge within the next 5 to 10 years.
Nevertheless, Jackson contends that short-form videos can be beneficial for online learning and community engagement: “The key is balance. If this engagement detracts from healthier practices or fosters isolation, then that becomes a problem.”
Dear reader, I have a confession: I suffer from the illness that young people call “Brain corruption” Things I can’t think deeply after scrolling too much on my phone. It’s difficult to complete a book these days.
Many people have this problem. Many have created a category of minimalist tech products that strive to eliminate us to be distracted, from AI pins, the artificially intelligent lapel pins that take notes to phones that only have basic features.
The latest example, $600 Light Phone IIIa peeled mobile phone that does little from a Brooklyn startup. The latest version, which began shipping in March and has been set to a wider release in July, can call, text, take photos, view map instructions, play music and podcasts, and many others can’t.
There is no web browser. Also, there is no app store. That means there are no Ubers who welcome rides, slacks, or social media. There’s no even an email.
“When you use it when you need it and turn it back on, it goes away in your life,” said Kaiwei Tang, chief executive of Light, a startup that has developed multiple iterations of light phones over the past nine years. “We tell many customers that they feel less stressed, they become more productive and creative.”
I used it as my main phone for a week, because I wanted to know if a light phone can cure me brain rot. There was a moment when I enjoyed it. I didn’t want to stare at the phone screen while I was waiting for the train, resting at the gym or eating alone. The phone sounded wonderful and clear. The Maps app did an amazing job navigating me around town.
It reminded me of a simple time when we mostly used our phones for Converse before we put them away to focus on other tasks.
But for a week, the flaws of the stupid phone call were lacking in my enjoyment. I suddenly realized I couldn’t enter the station. We looked up the names of our new restaurants and controlled the garage doors.
Part of it has nothing to do with the light phone itself, which is a decent product, but how society as a whole relies on advanced smartphone capabilities.
This is how my week ran errands, commute, and went out on Lower Technology phones.
Get started
When I set up a light phone review unit over the weekend, the phone, which looked like a black rectangular slab, was quite bare bones. The phone’s menu was a black screen showing a white text list for mobile phones, cameras, photo albums and alarm functions. To add more tools, I had to access the dashboard using a web browser on my computer. There, we were able to install features such as the map app, notepad, and timers.
I was ready to go, so I decided to live without my iPhone for at least a while.
I’m commuting
On Monday morning, I took the train from Oakland, California to San Francisco and started commuting. When I arrived at the station I realized that I couldn’t get in without an iPhone. This is because many years ago, I had converted my physical transit pass, Clipper cards, into virtual cards stored in my smartphone’s mobile wallet.
The light phone didn’t have a mobile wallet to load a virtual transit card, so I went back home badly to get my iPhone and eventually showed up in the office 30 minutes late.
Go to the gym
One night, I got a similar hit at a rock climbing gym. To enter, members use their mobile phones to log in to the gym website and generate a temporary barcode that is scanned at the entrance. The light phone didn’t have a web browser and could not create a barcode, so we had to wait in line at the front desk.
Text a friend and take photos
I added some of my closest friends to my address book over a light phone and texted them explaining my experiment. When I typed the device’s keyboard, some felt slow as there was no auto-correct feature to fix typos. As a result, the conversation was concise.
The cheer continued as I sent pictures of people. The unlit and grainy image appeared to have been created with telephone cameras for at least 15 years.
“Retro!” said one friend in response to a blurry photo of my daughter.
“Wow, that’s bad,” another friend said of the dimly lit photo of my corgi Max.
Photo taken on the author’s Corgi’s light phone, Max looked unlit and grainy.credit…Brian X. Chen/New York Times
The founders of Light said they are proud of the Light Phone camera, which has a nostalgic feel to it.
I’m running errands
One afternoon I had to drop off Amazon’s return at the UPS store. We have selected the most convenient shipping options, including displaying QR codes for scanning.
problem? Light phones didn’t have an email app or web browser to download codes. Instead, I loaded it onto my computer screen and snapped mediocre photos on my phone.
When I brought the package to UPS and presented the photos, I held my breath and hoping the image was clear enough. UPS employees kept the scanner and after three attempts they heard beeps and transport labels printed.
Not only is it a relief, but how troublesome.
lunch
Another afternoon my wife and I went out for an improvised lunch. I had to back out the car and ask my wife to use her iPhone to close the garage door with the app myq. (Our physical garage door opener stopped working years ago.)
After that, I was trying to remember the name of a new sushi restaurant I read recently on my food blog. It was inevitable that I would dig deeper into my blog posts on a light phone. In the end we speculated and went to the wrong restaurant. However, it was good to have lunch together without the temptation to check my email.
Conclusion
I admire the goal of light phones, but my experience shows that there is nothing realistically possible or can buy to bring us back to a simpler era. Many aspects of our lives revolve around highly capable smartphones, travelling around town, working, paying for things, dominating home appliances.
This light cell phone experiment reminded me of glamping.
I can’t think of many people who make them work to make light phones realistically use only their mobile phones. Many of us rely on tools like Slack and email to communicate.
A light phone may be a good choice for unplugging while you’re off work, as a secondary leisure phone similar to a weekend car. But even so, camera quality may be a contract breaker for some.
Light’s CEO Tang admitted that Light Shone is not for everyone, but added that parents are considering buying a mobile phone for their children not distracted at school. The company is also working on adding more tools, including the ability to request mobile payments and Lyft cars.
“Brain corruption” was named the term Oxford’s year 2024. This is defined as the “degradation of a person’s mental or intellectual state” that arises from seeing “trivial” content online, such as a Tiktok video.
It’s a term that is often joked about, but what If there is a grain of truth? This is the seemingly scary implications of a new study published by a large team of brain scientists based at Tianjin Division University in China.
What did this study find?
They scanned the brains of over 100 undergraduates and completed a survey on their habits of watching short online videos. The survey included statements such as “My life will be empty without a short video” and “Not able to watch a short video will be as painful as losing a friend,” indicating how much they agreed.
Interestingly, researchers found that those who felt most obsessed with short videos had significant differences in brain structure. These participants had more gray matter in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). This is an area near the front of the brain that is involved in decision-making and emotional regulation. Similarly, they had more gray matter in the cerebellum – the small cauliflower-shaped structures behind the brain play a role in movement and emotions.
The team concluded that this is bad news, as for Tiktok enthusiasts, having an oversized OFC could be a sign that it is described as “an increased sensitivity to rewards and stimuli associated with short video content.” They speculated that watching too many Tiktok videos could have led to this nerve distension.
Similarly, they suggested that enhanced cerebellum could help the brain process short video content more efficiently – perhaps the result of frequent rampages. This can create a reinforcement cycle. In this cycle, watching more videos strengthens these brain pathways and habits become even more ingrained.
Over 23 million videos are uploaded to Tiktok every day – Photo Credit: Getty
But that’s not all. The team also performed a second brain scan to track participants’ brain activity while participants were resting with their eyes closed.
They found a greater synchronization of activity within multiple regions of the brain. These include the dorsal prefrontal cortex (areas involved in self-control), the posterior cingulate cortex (areas involved in thinking about oneself), the thalamus (a type of relay station for brain signals), and the cerebellum.
The researchers suggested that these functional brain differences could reflect a variety of issues among addiction participants. The issues include the tendency to overly social comparisons while having trouble leaving the video and watching them.
They also asked participants to fill out a survey on “promising temperament.” This is a factor measured by agreeing to statements such as “I strive to reach other people’s outstanding results.”
Interestingly, scientists have found that many links between video addiction and brain differences are also linked to a higher level of envy. This suggests that feeling of envy can make someone more likely to watch a short video. And over time, this habit can lead to potentially harmful changes in the brain.
Does Tiktok cause brain decay?
If you are an avid consumer of fun online videos, or a related parent, the idea that seeing habits can reconstruct brain structures is no surprise.
However, it is important to consider this study in a broader historical context in which new technologies and media have long been causing exaggerated neurological claims. It is also important to understand the deep limitations of research.
It’s been nearly 20 years Atlantic Ocean The magazine ran a cover function that asked, “Is Google making us stupid?” And, in a nutshell, the answer that was asserted was “Yes!” Author Nicholas Kerr lamented that he was once a “scuba diver in the sea of words,” but now, thanks to Google, he zipped “along the surface like a jet ski man.”
Countless brain imaging studies of questionable quality were also published in the same era. Many aim to demonstrate the disaster effect of the World Wide Web on our vulnerable minds.
A few years later, Professor Susan Greenfield, a neuroscientist professor of Baronness, launched a media campaign claiming that “mind change” (the impact of the internet and video games on the brain) is just as serious threat to humanity as climate change.
She even wrote dystopian novels about the dehumanizing effects of the internet, but received mixed reviews (One critic (I questioned whether this was one of the worst science fiction books ever written).
Scientists still don’t know how much Tiktok affects the brains of young people, but research is still underway. – Photo credit: Getty
Almost 20 years later, we’re fine. At least I don’t think our brains have been transformed into mash. But of course, these previous horrors were before the appearance of Tiktok. Perhaps there is something uniquely damaging about the types of short, scrollable, meaningless content available today.
I asked Professor Peter Etchellsif this is plausible, expert on the psychological impact of digital technology at Bathspa University. “As far as I know, there is no good science to support the idea that short videos are either tangible or uniquely bad in terms of their impact on the brain,” he says.
read more:
Is short video brain research a good science? Not so, but the evidence suggests that it is not.
What is wrong with this research?
Let’s take a look at some of the limitations of the research. If the goal was to prove that seeing tiktok is harmful to the brain, a more effective approach would be to scan participants’ brains and then consume different amounts of harmful content.
However, this study is completely cross-sectional, meaning that only a single snapshot was captured in time. This was not a pre- and post-comparison of causes and effects.
Or, as Etchell says: “[From this study] I can’t say anything about whether watching a short video will cause brain changes, or whether certain types of brain structures precede certain types of video consumption.
“This research doesn’t really add anything that will help us understand how digital technology affects us.”
Even if we accept the speculative leap of researchers that Tiktok’s videos may have caused the brain changes they observed, there are still some issues to consider.
First, the researchers searched the entire brain for differences that correlated with the scores on the video addiction scale. This approach is a common problem in brain imaging studies as it increases the risk of finding false positives. In other words, the more comparisons you make, the more likely you will stumble over random differences that seem important but are actually just a coincidence.
Second, even if we accept that the observed brain differences are real and caused by seeing Tiktok, interpreting them involves a lot of speculation. Researchers enveloped an increase in brain synchronization (known as regional homogeneity (Reho). However, Rejo itself is not inherently a good or bad thing. In fact, other studies have associated with an increase in Reho in certain brain regions. positive Results such as results observed during meditation training.
Perhaps the biggest flaw in the study relies on questionable survey-based measures of short video addiction that lacks strong scientific validity.
As Etchells put it, “Short video addiction is essentially an invented term, not a formal diagnostic clinical disorder.”
Taken together, these issues suggest that we should not be overly concerned that Tiktok fundamentally shapes the brains of young people in harmful ways.
That said, the excessive amount of time spent watching frivolous videos can still be a problem for some. However, it is more productive to focus on developing healthy media habits rather than worrying about brain changes or addiction.
“In many cases, when research like this hits the news, it’s a good opportunity to pause and reflect on whether we’re happy with the use of the technology,” says Etchells.
“If there’s concerns there, it’s worth thinking about what you can do to eliminate your frustration, knowing that you’ll benefit a lot from these technologies.”
About our expert, Professor Pete Etchell
Pete is a professor of psychology at Bath Spa University. His research focuses on how playing video games and using social media affects our mood and behavior. He is the author of I got lost in a good game We are currently investigating whether game mechanics can promote gambling behavior in other parts of our lives.
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