Exploring the Science Behind Short Form Media’s Addicting Algorithm

By Ray Zhang
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Taking out our phones and spending a few minutes scrolling through an endless sea of content before bed has become a habitual part of many of our lives. This act not only puts stress on our sleep schedules, but also impacts our overall quality of sleep. Experts recommend not looking at blue light sources, such as cell phones, for at least an hour before going to bed. Blue light is similar to the natural light produced by the sun, which can confuse our circadian rhythm and disrupt our melatonin product. Since melatonin controls the REM cycles of sleep, scrolling through our phones before bed can make us feel wide awake despite our body needing rest. Yet despite the widespread teaching of these negative health impacts, actually putting down the phone before bed can be a challenge. ​

The increase in screen time usage can be attributed to the prevalence of social media usage. A 2021 study found that younger audiences often turn to social media content as a way to relieve perceived stress. The same study also found that students often use social media as a form of self-compensation motivation; when individuals are dissatisfied with their present circumstances or unhappy about reality, they will turn to social media as a way to alleviate stress. This in turn makes social media a double-edged sword: on one hand, the internet can make one less stressed but it can also condition one to use social media as a way to improve their mood.

Social media usage has also increased due to the rise of short-form content. Unlike traditional long-form media, such as movies, television shows, or YouTube videos, short-form content is usually 10 seconds to 3 minutes long and is crafted to capture the viewer’s attention through visual and audio hooks. These videos are also paired with an intelligent algorithm that feeds the user-curated content to keep them on the app as long as possible. As viewers interact with the content through likes and saves, the algorithm learns about the viewer’s preference and feeds similarly engaging videos onto the user’s page. The best of this is TikTok’s for you page, which “recommends content by ranking videos based on a combination of factors—starting from interests you express as a new user, and adjusting for things you indicate you’re not interested in.” These companies are incentivized to keep users on the app for as long as possible because ads are placed between the endless streams of videos, generating revenue. 

But why do they respond so well to short-form content, and why is it so hard to stop watching them? Viewing short-form content parallels the brain’s natural reward system. Studies have found that the ventral tegmental area of the brain, which releases dopamine, is activated when viewing TikTok videos. These short videos are present in a scrolling form, akin to a casino slot machine where the viewers scroll past boring videos with the hope of finding a dopamine release. As the brain receives dopamine for finding an entertaining video, it requires more dopamine to feel the same kind of satisfaction, making it difficult for real-world experiences to provoke the same feeling. Moreover, approximately 5.9% of young adult TikTok users exhibit addition-like behaviors, indicating a form of problematic use. Brain scans of individuals looking at personalized videos versus generalized videos found that those who viewed a personalized stream of short-form content had a higher activation of certain brain areas such as the dorsal posterior cingulate cortex and medial prefrontal cortex, which are positively correlated with addiction. This study found that “the severity of problematic TikTok use was inversely related to self-control in young adults,” which means that the less self-control an individual has, the more likely they are to spend time doom-scrolling through short-form media content. Since the prefrontal cortex remains underdeveloped until the age of 25, it is difficult for kids to refrain from going onto social media or limit the amount of time they spend on these apps. 

Beyond taking away a user’s time, studies have also found that short-form content consumption can negatively impact one’s attention span. According to an interview with Dr. Gloria Mark, a professor at UC Irvine, in 2004, the average attention span while using an electronic device was around 2 and a half minutes, this number diminished to only 75 seconds in 2012. This decline can be attributed to the oversaturation of content and the dramatic cuts used in short-form content to keep the viewers' attention. The most prominent example of the increase in content saturation is the rise of split-screen content, which allows viewers to look at several short-form videos at the same time. This makes it hard for users to focus on just one content: when viewers are bored with one video, they can just shift their attention to another video. Short-form media has trained our brains to seek instant gratification and decreases our focus on doing tasks that don’t provide immediate entertainment. 

If you feel guilty about constantly yearning to scroll through your phone, remember that these apps are designed to prey on neurological pathways designed to reward you for certain actions. The best way to reduce the time you spend on these apps is to set time limits on them and be aware of how long you are using them. Having a designated schedule for when you can and cannot use these apps also helps condition your brain to stay away from your phone for long durations of time, especially before going to bed. 

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