What happens to the minds of those who are dependent on AI short films?

Short-form video platforms are thought to be the most harmful of the numerous online elements that are said to affect brain activity and cognitive function. Even Steve Chen, the co-founder of YouTube, a website that is growing quickly because to its Shorts feature, has acknowledged that he is cautious about allowing his kids to watch too many short videos because it can seriously impair their ability to focus.

However, there is a paradox shielding the internet behemoths: There is currently a dearth of official scientific study demonstrating the precise effects of short videos on the brain. Executives now have the ideal “shield” in this data gap. They readily use the “lack of concrete scientific data” as an excuse to avoid accountability when confronted with claims of product harm.

It is obvious that cognitive research is not keeping up with the rapid advancement of new technology. In actuality, it’s a normal practice to check Instagram every two minutes. In particular, Professor Gloria Mark discovered that knowledge workers regularly transition between work tabs (email, spreadsheets, documents, etc.) and social networking or messaging apps during their workdays from the 2000s to the present.

His 2012 study of 13 workers revealed that they spent an average of 75 seconds on each tab. But over time, this figure has dropped. When one of his students polled fifty people in 2020, he discovered that the average time had decreased to just forty-four seconds. According to Johann Hari, author of Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention – and How to Think Deeply Again , the brain’s limitations only allow humans to focus on one or two things at a time.

“Multitasking, or switching between work tabs, only leads to more mistakes, reduces creativity, and causes more fatigue,” the expert said. Therefore, the more multitasking a job requires, the more frequently employees need to take breaks.

Although no long-term research have demonstrated a change in the ability to concentrate, the book Stolen Focus makes the case that new technologies, such as cellphones, make it harder to focus.

However, there are many challenges in researching how brief videos affect cognition. Academics are hesitant to spend years investigating an application that might be out of date by the time the results are published, and human trials are frequently costly and time-consuming. With its extensive and exclusive data vaults, the social media sector could readily close this gap.

It is unthinkable, though, that these behemoths would support studies that would reveal the negative aspects of this very “money-making machine.” The majority of internal research on the negative impacts of short movies is severely hidden, according to Time.

Data reveals alarming findings regarding TikTok’s impact on mental health. A 2024 lawsuit uncovered internal documents showing that excessive use of the app is linked to negative effects such as reduced analytical skills, memory formation issues, diminished empathy, and heightened anxiety.

Research from the University of Bristol in 2025 highlighted that the frequent context-switching associated with short videos impairs “future memory” and correlates with poor mental health and attention span. Additionally, a study by Caty Enders showed intensive TikTok use adversely affects “working” and “retrospective memory.” A 2024 study from Sigmund Freud University pointed to cognitive abnormalities in individuals watching under 4 hours of videos daily, suggesting that the design of short videos overstimulates the brain.

Participants in a University of New Mexico study spent an average of 133 minutes daily on TikTok, indicating significant changes in behavior, according to Enders. The absence of critical scientific data hampers tech companies’ adjustments and complicates governmental policy-making. Some nations have enacted social media bans for minors based on inadequate data, threatening civil liberties, while the widespread sense of cognitive sluggishness among users raises concerns.

Neuroscientist Luiz Pessoa describes a “distraction pandemic,” highlighting the challenges of multitasking in modern life. The book The Age of AI—And Our Future as Humans discusses how AI is reshaping our relationships with knowledge, politics, and society, aiming to address the pressing questions we face regarding its implications.