Time is tight, fleeting, and finite. According to the ancient Greek philosopher, Theophrastus, it is both the most valuable thing a man can spend, and its waste is the most extravagant and costly of all expenses.
With the widespread rise of internet usage and social media platforms, we have found a novel—and highly problematic—way of spending our leisure time: short-form video (SFV) consumption. According to 2025 statistics, 85% of internet users watch short-form videos online, with the average person watching over three hours a day of SFV content on Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and other social media platforms. Hyper-optimized algorithms deliver an endless supply of SFVs designed to grab and hold our attention, keeping us watching for hours on end.
What’s the Harm?
The reality of SFV consumption is far from benign. Consumption of SFV content, according to researchers around the world, is negatively impacting our mental health and eroding our ability to focus and concentrate. It delivers endless dopamine hits that keep us coming back for more, and leave us progressively more disconnected in an increasingly hyper-connected world.
According to research published in 2025, “Dopamine-scrolling: a modern public health challenge requiring urgent attention,” the small doses of dopamine released while watching SFV content and the varying reward schedules are similar to the “reward uncertainty … that makes many behavioral patterns compelling and potentially habit-forming.”
As for the impact of prolonged SFV consumption on the brain, research published in 2025 that explored the cognitive impacts of over-consumption of what researchers described as “low quality digital content” found that it leads to “emotional desensitization, cognitive overload, and a negative self-concept” and is associated with negative behaviors such as doomscrolling that are “linked to psychological distress, anxiety, and depression.”
A September 2025 meta-analysis confirms these findings and suggests the need for the development of a research-informed approach to creating a healthy and balanced approach to SFV engagement.
Memory, Focus, Fatigue
That’s not all. Many recent studies on the impact of the use of social media on our attention spans have established clear negative outcomes, including reduced academic performance and impulsivity, while cautioning that current research lacks the benefit of long-term longitudinal studies.
In a March 2026 opinion piece in the New York Times, Cal Newport, a Georgetown University professor of computer science, and author of Deep Work, highlighted the negative impact of digital technology on our ability to think. He cautions that our ability to focus is in serious decline, citing research from Gloria Mark, Ph.D., professor of informatics at the University of California, Irvine, which indicates a decline in our ability to focus, from two and a half minutes in 2004, to 75 seconds in 2012, to 47 seconds in the past six years. This reveals a clear negative correlation between excessive social media use and attention-related issues, such as impulsivity and diminished academic performance. Other studies show more nuanced outcomes, with some finding no direct connection. The evidence suggests that while social media has the potential to harm attention networks, its impact is not universal.
While the phenomenon of and research into the impacts of SFV consumption are relatively new, the writing is on the wall. It is critical that we press pause, reflect on the time we spend in the thrall of SFV engagement, and take steps to manage our time and attention to create healthy boundaries around our SFV engagement.
Steps to Help Control the Scroll
Track your daily SFV content use for one week. Reflect on any real-life issues, like missed deadlines, a loss of social engagement, or struggles with concentration on tasks you have noticed.
Commit to decreasing the time you spend watching SFVs for a short period of time. A couple of weeks of minimal engagement will help you see its impacts on your life.
Use your devices to help you manage your exposure to SFV content. Turning off notifications and using the focus feature on your smartphone are easy tools to use. YouTube, for example, allows you to set a shorts limit or turn off shorts altogether. Consider limiting your exposure to SFV content to the middle of the day.
Plan for success. Use time normally spent viewing SFV content to connect with friends, or engage in real-life hobbies and enjoyable pastimes.
Structure times to concentrate on reading, meditation, walking, or enjoying longer-form entertainment, like listening to a podcast, watching a movie, or attending a live performance. Notice the positive changes in your mood, your ability to focus, and your productivity. Celebrate and reflect on these positive changes.
Continue to be diligent about limiting the time you spend watching SFV content.
The research on social media’s impact on attention span and overall mental health is diverse and ongoing. Further research is necessary to fully understand its long-term consequences.