The Impact of Short-Form Content

By Mai Omoto

There is a variety of research surrounding social media and mental health. Social media has long been a topic within the discourse, as, predominantly, it is such a new and pervasive part of the lives of children, adolescents, and new adults, who are rapidly undergoing developmental and psychological changes. With social media being such a novel aspect of the internet, it is difficult to know exactly how it impacts the development of the youth. For example, some of the pre-existing literature examines how seeing posts from peers and appearance-ideal individuals impacts the mental health of younger individuals. Young women are particularly susceptible to negative impacts on their mental health from viewing appearance-ideal images or videos online, despite knowing that this content may have been edited (Gurtala & Fardouly, 2023). Gurtala and Fardouly’s findings also indicate that exposure to this type of media correlates with negative effects on women’s body image. However, social media is extremely multifaceted. There are many different types of social media and everyone engages with it in a different way. Users often engage with social media for two different types of need gratification: entertainment and social interaction needs. One aspect of social media that I would like to focus on in my research is short-form videos. Short-form videos are often used to satisfy entertainment needs as opposed to social interaction needs. This can often be more addictive than traditional social media. I would like to examine if there has been research that examines how the various qualities of short-form videos impact individuals. 

Short-form content has become increasingly prevalent since the creation of TikTok, with Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts also gaining popularity. From personal experience and anecdotal evidence from friends and peers, I feel that short-form content has an addictive nature that allows individuals to consume it for hours. Short-form video addiction has increasingly become a topic of interest for many psychologists. The term “short-form video addiction” refers to the persistent or recurring pattern of obsession resulting from frequent use of short-video platforms such as TikTok, characterized by strong and ongoing cravings and a feeling of reliance (Liao, 2024). 

There are many aspects of short-form videos that contribute to its addictive quality. Short-form video platforms design their algorithms by collecting information on user preferences, interests and behavioral records to recommend highly attractive content to various users. These algorithms allow platforms to predict what type of content each user would like to view, eliminating the need for users themselves to actively search for content. Within seconds, the algorithm can adapt to the tastes of the user, allowing for the platform to be highly dynamic and versatile (Liao, 2024). Because of the elimination of active searching, users may become dependent on the luxury of not having to put in any effort in order to find attractive content. This allows the platform to easily immerse users in short-form content for longer periods of time. 

Additionally, because the videos are so short, users feel that they can find a short burst of entertainment by opening the app. With the fast-paced nature of today’s society, many individuals feel that they do not have enough time to sit down and dedicate more than five minutes of their time to watching a longer form video. With short-form videos, individuals can find stimulation that is rich in information in short bursts. Platforms have designed their videos to present themselves to be eye-catching. With lively music, and eye-catching text, this rich stimuli engages users at a higher frequency and duration as they activate a sense of pleasure and help to alleviate negative emotions (Liao, 2024). 

Not only are the videos themselves highly engaging, but the platform attempts to maintain user engagement for as long as possible by utilizing a full-screen playback mode. This means that the video itself takes up the entire screen, which does not allow users to be interrupted while they are utilizing the app. Users are also kept guessing on the content of the next video. The anticipation of another highly stimulating video is highly addicting for users, as they feel drawn to consume new information and stimulation (Roberts & David, 2025). Additionally, because the videos vary in their durations, it becomes difficult for users to gauge how much time they have spent on the app  (Liao, 2024). 

Studies have also found that when students are exposed to large quantities of short-form content, there is a correlation between frequent exposure and decreased control of attention, as well as cognitive overload, resulting in negative effects on academic performance (Haliti-Sylaj & Sadiku, 2024). Because short-form content is designed to allow users to quickly understand and digest information within a minute, users become unable to focus on longer videos (Liao, 2024). When individuals choose which type of media with which to engage, scholar Shrum created a formula: Probability of choice = Potential rewards/ Effort required (Liao, 2024). This formula means that individuals will almost always choose the platform that delivers the most engaging stimulation with the least amount of required effort. In order to access highly stimulating and information-rich content, users merely have to swipe up on their screens. These qualities further contribute to the risk of short-form video reliance and addiction (Liao, 2024). This over-reliance on short, digestible content makes it especially difficult for individuals to focus on tasks at hand that are not as stimulating, such as academic work. These studies imply that short-form content consumption may be correlated with increased difficulty maintaining attention and filtering distractions, both of which can negatively impact academic outcomes, which may consequently affect an individual’s self-esteem. Individuals, particularly students, may feel less efficacious in their ability to focus on readings or class lectures, as these require individuals to pay more attention for longer periods of time.

There are also psychological qualities of the users that contribute to their susceptibility for short-form video addiction. Often when users do not feel psychologically fulfilled in their lives in some way, they turn to short-form videos to immerse themselves in a digital space that alleviates negative feelings (Liao, 2024). Additionally, when individuals struggle with self-control in other aspects of life, they are more likely to become addicted to short-form videos. Yan et al. (2024) found that when individuals struggle with self-control and executive control, the ability to regulate thoughts and and actions to achieve goals, may have increased difficulty managing appropriate usage of short-form content. 

Research has also suggested that the prolonged viewing of enjoyable, recommended short-form videos stimulates the area of the brain responsible for pleasure and reinforcement motivation. This is the same area of the brain that is associated with cravings and addictions (Liao, 2024). While short-form video addiction is not a formal diagnosis, research has shown that like other behavioral addictions, short-form video addiction impacts an individual’s ability to the control system that impacts attention (Yan et al., 2024). 

Studies have shown that these addictions have negative impacts on both individuals and their families. Zhu et al. (2024) found a positive association between short-form video usage and depression, mediated by short-form video addiction. Because short-form videos are, by nature, highly addictive, it seems that addiction exacerbates the likelihood of an individual becoming depressed as short-form video engagement increases. Adolescents are particularly at risk for developing depression, as this is a period in development where depression can develop rapidly (Zhu et al., 2024). This makes combating addiction in adolescents particularly difficult because one common strategy is to take away their phones. However, because children have become so dependent to their phones, they are at an increased risk of developing depression and anxiety. To cope with these negative emotions, children may turn to short-form content, further exacerbating the addiction (Yang et al., 2025). Moreover, Yang et al. also state that short-form content’s addictive qualities can contribute to increasing divides between children and their parents, which can also negatively affect mental health.

In a world where short-form video platforms have become deeply embedded in the daily lives of individuals, it is clear that this type of content is a unique form of entertainment. It has the ability to shape the way we think, feel, and function. What makes short-form videos so compelling is how they provide easily accessible, stimulation-rich content tailored exactly to our preferences, often at the cost of our attention spans, emotional regulation, and potentially, mental health. As someone who has personally experienced and observed the addictive nature of this content, it is evident that this is not just a casual habit for many users—it is a growing dependency with real psychological consequences. While existing research has made strides in connecting short-form video use to issues like cognitive overload, decreased attention control, and even depression, especially among adolescents, there's still much that is not fully understood. Given how rapidly these platforms are evolving and how deeply they affect generations still in critical stages of development, further research is necessary. It is vital to understand the impacts of short-form content in order to recognize its influence and figure out how to help users engage with it in healthier, more mindful ways.

Works Cited

Gurtala, J. C., & Fardouly, J. (2023). Does medium matter? Investigating the impact of viewing ideal image or short-form video content on young women’s body image, mood, and self-objectification. Body Image, 46, 190–201. https://doi-org.ccl.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2023.06.005 

Haliti-Sylaj, T., & Sadiku, A. (2024). Impact of short reels on attention span and academic performance of undergraduate students. Eurasian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 10(3), 60–68. 

Liao M (2024) Analysis of the causes, psychological mechanisms, and coping strategies of short video addiction in China. Front. Psychol. 15:1391204. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1391204  

Roberts, J. A., & David, M. E. (2025). Technology affordances, social media engagement, and social media addiction: An investigation of tiktok, instagram reels, and youtube shorts. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. https://doi-org.ccl.idm.oclc.org/10.1089/cyber.2024.0338 

Yan, T., Su, C., Xue, W., Hu, Y., & Zhou, H. (2024). Mobile phone short video use negatively impacts attention functions: an EEG study. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 18, 1383913. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2024.1383913 

Yang, C., Du, J., Li, X., Li, W., Huang, C., Zhang, Y., & Zhao, Y. (2025). Association between parental phubbing and short-form video addiction: A moderated mediation analysis among Chinese adolescents. Journal of Affective Disorders, 369, 523–530. https://doi-org.ccl.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.10.023 

Zhu, C., Jiang, Y., Lei, H., Wang, H., & Zhang, C. (2024). The relationship between short-form video use and depression among Chinese adolescents: Examining the mediating roles of need gratification and short-form video addiction. Heliyon, 10(9), e30346. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e30346