As short-form videos continue to shape the way we consume content — from TikTok and Instagram Reels to YouTube Shorts — researchers are raising concerns about their potential impact on the brain.
Early studies are lending weight to fears of so-called “brain rot,” a term for mental or intellectual decline that was named Oxford University Press’ 2024 Word of the Year.
A comprehensive September review of 71 studies involving nearly 100,000 participants found that heavy short-form video use is linked to impaired attention, reduced impulse control, and overall declines in cognitive performance, according to NBC News.
The same review, published in Psychological Bulletin, also found connections between heavy viewing and higher levels of depression, anxiety, stress, and loneliness.
Another October paper that examined 14 studies reported that heavy consumption of short-form videos is associated with shorter attention spans and poorer academic performance.
Despite these findings, experts caution that the long-term effects of heavy short-form video use remain unclear.
James Jackson, a neuropsychologist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, reminded NBC News that society has a history of reacting strongly to new technologies and cultural trends, from video games to Elvis Presley’s famously controversial dance moves.
While Jackson urges caution against overreaction, he said many concerns about short-form video use are valid.
“The narrative that the only people who are worried about this are grumpy old grandpas who are yelling at you to get off their lawn or the idea that if you’re concerned about this, you’re not in step with the times, I think that’s really simplistic,” he said.
Current research suggests that heavy short-form video use may broadly harm the brain, though more studies are needed to clarify who is most at risk, how long the effects last, and the mechanisms behind the harm.
Rising attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder diagnoses in the U.S. add to the concern. By 2022, about 1 in 9 children had received an ADHD diagnosis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Keith Robert Head, a doctoral student at Capella University and author of the October paper, noted that the risks of heavy short-form video use overlap with ADHD symptoms.
“So one of the questions that would be interesting for researchers to study is: Are these ADHD diagnoses actually ADHD, or is it an impact from the continued use of short-form video?” Head told NBC News.
Experts say research is still emerging, but studies from around the world, including the U.K., Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, suggest links between heavy video consumption and attention problems, memory disruption, and mental fatigue.
However, most studies show correlations rather than causation and typically only capture a snapshot in time.
Dr. Nidhi Gupta, a pediatric endocrinologist who studies screen time, told NBC News that older adults may also be at risk. With more free time and less tech familiarity, they could be vulnerable to the effects of short-form content.
“It might be too early to claim universal doom,” Gupta said. “Research on alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs took 75 years or more to develop. But I would be surprised if, in the next five to ten years, we do not see similar signs validating the moral panic around short-form videos.”
Jackson, however, acknowledged that short-form videos can be beneficial, offering opportunities for learning and building online communities, but it all comes down to balance.
“There are people that engage with short-form videos in ways that are value-added, for sure,” he told NBC News. “But if their engagement is pulling them away from other, more healthy opportunities, if it is isolating them from other people, if it is creating situations where they’re less and less likely to just sit around and be bored, I think that’s a problem.”
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