A study from scientists at China’s Zhejiang University showed that short-form video content is directly impacting viewers’ attention spans… and not in a good way.
‘Brainrot‘ might actually be a real thing, not just Gen Z slang, according to research published in the scientific journal ‘Frontiers.’
The 2024 study has started to make waves online two years later thanks to its harrowing findings, which show that consuming short-form videos, such as TikToks, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, negatively affect your brain’s attention span and executive control.
Study shows correlation between short-form content and low impulse control
The study consisted of 48 participants, made up of 35 women and 13 men, with an average age of 21.8 years. All participants reported regular use of social media and consumption of short-form content.
These 48 people completed assessments and questionnaires about their tendency toward addictive short video use, as well as a Self-Control Scale that measured their capacity for behavioral self-regulation. They also underwent more scales that measured their impulsivity, stress, mind wandering, attention control, and anxiety/depression.
After that, the participants undertook an Attention Network Test, which consisted of 192 trials that measured how they maintained vigilance, spatial focus, and executive control via EEG.
Unsplash.com: Mindfield BiosystemsParticipants’ brainwaves were recorded during the study’s cognitive tests via EEGs.
What the study found is fascinating users on social media. Those who reported higher instances of consuming short-form video content were more likely to have less self-control, scored low on the test’s focus section, and showed weaker activity in the frontal midline region of the prefrontal cortex, the core of the brain’s focus and control center.
“These results suggest that an increased tendency toward mobile phone short video addiction could negatively impact self-control and diminish executive control within the realm of attentional functions,” the study reads.
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“This study sheds light on the adverse consequences stemming from short video consumption and underscores the importance of developing interventions to mitigate short video addiction.”
Unsplash.com: Souvik BanerjeeThe study found a correlation between people who regularly consume short-form content and those who scored low on tests measuring impulse control and attention span.
While this doesn’t literally mean that TikTok is actually destroying your brain, it does show a proven correlation between lower impulse control and lack of focus in those who regularly consume short-form videos.
This is the latest study of this kind to ring alarm bells on social media after a 2025 study from the American Psychological Association showed a similar correlation between social media use and attention and inhibitory control.