TikTok and Instagram Reels Cause Real Brain Rot, Major Study Finds

Anyone using the “eye test” would probably find that short form video, popularized by TikTok and now found everyone online, is bad for the brain. But a new study from the American Psychological Association now directly ties short form video content with significantly diminished mental health. In short — pun intended — it’s rotting brains.

Previous studies have focused mainly on TikTok, which has limited the generalizability of findings across platforms. Since short form video content is now ubiquitous across social media (even LinkedIn is getting in on it, if any further proof of its spread is needed), so limiting studies to just one platform doesn’t paint a clear picture. Therefore, this study includes data from 98,299 participants across 71 studies and examines short form video’s effects on viewers beyond the progenitor platform.

The study examines engagement and attempted to find more nuanced insights than in previous studies and even assesses cognitive and mental health indices to identify specific health domains associated with short form video ingestion. The study also looks at age and offers findings into the differences of how this type of content affects youths and adults.

The findings are definitive. The study saw that heavy short form video consumption is directly associated with diminished cognitive functions, particularly a person’s ability to pay attention and control their inhibitions. In both younger and older age groups, higher ingestion of short form video (SFV) content is died to poorer attention spans.

To understand some of how these findings occur, the researchers reference the “dual theory of habituation and sensitization” from Groves and Thompsons’s study from 1970 called Habituation: A dual-process theory.

“According to this framework, repeated exposure to highly stimulating, fast-paced content may contribute to habituation, in which users become desensitized to slower, more effortful cognitive tasks such as reading, problem solving, or deep learning,” the study reads. “This process may gradually reduce cognitive endurance and weaken the brain’s ability to sustain attention on a single task. Simultaneously, SFV platforms may promote sensitization by providing immediate, algorithmically curated rewards, potentially reinforcing impulsive engagement patterns and encouraging habitual seeking of instant gratification.”

This type of content — specifically how it is delivered — stimulates the brain’s reward system, reinforcing habitual use. The study suggests that “excessive” SFV consumption can lead to social isolation, lower life satisfaction, and even self-esteem and body image (the researchers do admit that more research is required on that last note). Increased use of these platforms is also tied to poorer sleep, increased anxiety, and loneliness.

These are all side effects that are also associated with physically addictive substances, which highlights the study’s findings that SFV content is addictive and damaging. On that note, the study created a scale to measure addiction to SFV content that can be used in future studies on this topic.

“Overall, these findings highlight the importance of understanding the broader health implications of SFV use, given its pervasive role in daily life and potential to impact health, behavior, and well-being. By synthesizing current evidence, this study provides a critical foundation for future research to explore understudied health domains (e.g., cognitive health, physical health) and offers insights to guide public discourse and the development of research-informed approaches for promoting more balanced engagement with SFVs,” the researchers say.

In summary, SFV content is reducing attention spans and the ability for users to critically think, quite literally contributing to “brain rot,” as Modernity News puts it.

The full study can be downloaded from apa.org.

Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.