Though the rise of short-form video content has been a gradual transformation, the social media and video streaming landscapes have been undoubtedly altered to fit into its model. Content like Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, or almost any video you see on TikTok are all engaging in this digital cultural shift. Turning away from the long-form content of video essays and towards posts that likely don’t even last a minute, delivering a quick hit of satisfaction before inviting the user to keep scrolling in hopes of another good video waiting below. While the integration of social media into broader culture has been a boon to the interconnectedness of Generation Z and millennials, it’s also important to question whether the implications of short-form content are actually damaging young minds in ways that may not be immediately apparent.
It’s hard to doubt the effects a phone or computer can have on one’s ability to focus on a single task; you’re working on a paper or a project you need to finish, finally building a good pace up, but that buzz or chime of a notification takes you completely out of your workflow. Your attention is a resource, and the buying price is often as much as it takes for you to check a new post and go down the spiral staircase of a “For You” page. It’s profitable to companies like TikTok and Instagram to keep you on their apps for as long as possible, but it raises the question: How does that long-term usage of short-form content affect you?
Consider the kinds of content TikTok promotes, videos with fast pacing, voiceovers played at 2x speed and secondary videos playing just to give you something extra to look at. It’s not hard to find this content, one look at the app could tell you that it’s a stock market of user attention, each post investing in hopes of winning just a few seconds more from you. These forms of media condition us to seek more from these apps and to chase the highs of something new and engaging, as shown by Gen Z youth often reporting to spend several hours on social media daily. Students especially fall victim to having their attention stolen by these short-form apps; bigger sets of homework and assignments often have students dividing their work up and giving themselves breaks, the perfect invitation to lose 30 minutes or even an hour doomscrolling.
We should all be aware that this form of content and these habits are affecting ourselves and those around us at an astounding rate. Even a preliminary google search would tell you that levels of attention span are becoming increasingly negatively correlated with the amount of time spent engaging with short-form content. The “brainrot” of Gen Z and Generation Alpha is palpable, and fixing all the positive reinforcement developed on these apps will certainly take time. While there is no quick fix to all the youth’s incidental dependency, there are ways to work back to building up one’s natural span of attention.
If your dependency is tied to a singular app like TikTok, consider limiting your time spent with that app, whether that be setting a timer or even going as far as deleting it outright. However, even with distancing yourself from social media and its traps, you may feel drawn back to it and tempted to cheat on your plan. Replacing time spent doomscrolling with another satisfying activity will help give your brain the enjoyment it’s craving while still pulling away from quick fixes; pick up a new hobby, make plans with friends, and when all else fails and you can’t quite get away from your phone, try engaging in more long-form content. Sitting with a movie or a video essay can seem like more quick sparks of enjoyment, but in actuality engaging with more meaningful and significant content can help your brain become attached to seeking those answers more than “just one more reel.”
