Long-term viewing of short videos does not have to directly lead to a decline in intelligence, but it can negatively affect attention, self-control and efficiency when performing everyday tasks, according to the results of a new study.
So far, there is not enough evidence that regularly watching content on platforms with short videos directly reduces intelligence or IQ. The problem is primarily associated with a long stay in an environment composed of short, unrelated information and immediate rewards.
Such a way of consuming content can make it difficult to maintain attention, reduce motivation for more complex tasks and weaken the user’s ability to devote himself to one activity for a longer period of time.
Short videos can weaken concentration and self-control
Researchers emphasize that intelligence and IQ are not the same. Intelligence encompasses a broader set of abilities, including learning, memory, reasoning, processing information, and adapting to new situations.
From the point of view of cognitive neuroscience, constant exposure to short and rapidly changing content can affect the systems responsible for controlling attention and executive functions of the brain.
The consequence can be weaker concentration, less ability to delay immediate gratification, and more difficult maintenance of self-control. It is precisely such changes in the user that can create a subjective feeling that they have become slower or less able to think.
Short videos usually represent a series of separate contents without a clear timeline, cause-and-effect relationship or wider context. The user therefore constantly moves from one topic to another, without enough time to process the information in depth.
Even when he watches a large number of educational videos, such a superficial viewing does not mean that the content will be permanently remembered or later practically applied.
The brain needs attention, connection of new information with existing knowledge, repetition and processing time to learn. Continuous scrolling of short content generally does not provide such conditions.
The research therefore does not confirm that short videos directly “reduce intelligence”, but indicates that excessive use can weaken the ability to concentrate and control behavior. This effect can reduce work efficiency and create the impression of mental slowness, writes mydrivers.