Short videos: creative tool or addiction? , In the big data era, the turnout for short videos has increased and has spread overwhelmingly recently, and many individuals have been spending hours watching video after video tirelessly or bored. So much so that we are ignoring a 10-minute video for example because of time constraints, but at the same time we spend more time than that in front of an enormous number of videos that do not exceed 30 seconds. As well as using these videos in the content industry process as a successful way to promote different products and services. So what is the story of these videos?

The secret to the spread of short videos

TikTok first spark for short videos! Since the launch of the TikTok app in 2017, it has made fantasy profits because of the millions of people who use the app to watch and create short videos. The main purpose of these passages was to amuse the public, relieve pressure and give them a good feeling.

When the TikTok experience succeeded in attracting large numbers of audiences, rival platforms resorted to creating similar videos for enormous profits. Hence, these videos have become an important tool for promoting brands and companies and creating a positive relationship with their customers and communicating with them.

But it didn’t stop there, the main goal of social media sites is to earn money, and ultimately they are only projects that use certain strategies to sell user data to companies to market their business to them through algorithms that track user behavior to customize ads and services that are appropriate for them. Because of the intense competition of social media platforms, these videos have gone viral to increase the number of followers on each platform.

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Why are we attracted to this kind of content?

This simple tool allowed ordinary people to express themselves and their opinions and show their characters through a simple video, and there are also other factors that led to the boom and spread of these clips across all platforms

Algorithms

Have you ever thought what counterpart you pay for this free content and why all platforms seek to get your attention so far?

Algorithms play a prominent role in attracting consumers to different platforms. When you sign up for any Social Media app you find varied content that is not personalized, but once you start interacting with the content provided the app understands the types of content you prefer and shows you more of it. The more time you spend watching these videos the more you earn the platforms. In this way, audience time has become translated into money and secret in algorithms that seek to attract your attention in whatever way you can to collect your data.

A study on the Doyen app – the app opposite TikTok in China – showed that when people watch dedicated content they activate reward centers in the brain as in addiction-related areas and do not activate these areas when viewing public videos.

Search for Happiness

Addicting anything can be a sign of a psychological or emotional problem and the need to feel loved or cared for. Watching these videos can be a reliever of pain and trauma and a means of escapism.

Since most of the content of short videos is amusement and pleasure, it is normal for the rates of the hormone happiness to rise. Some TekTok followers say that when they see videos of children or pets serotonin rises and are pleased. Not only does serotonin cause happiness, it also enters dopamine, which has a significant impact on the brain’s reward and addiction system.

Summary and simple content

One of the most important factors that led to the prevalence of this type of content is its short duration. They are generally 15 to 30 seconds long and sometimes up to a minute long. In the age of speed, people’s preoccupation has become the search for the summary or, as we say, “Zatuna,” the idea of searching for information or patience to read a long article or watch a video has become rare. These videos feature easy and seamless content not exceeding one minute to meet an individual’s entertainment needs!

Summary and simple content
Summary and simple content

In early 2022 in an attempt by TikTok to extend the duration of the video to 10 minutes as a form of diversification in its advertising, marketers had another view as they realized that short videos were the most attractive type of content for young people and teenagers. So TikTok decided to have maximum video time between 21 and 34 seconds.

Negative effects of short videos

Although there are some benefits from watching featured short videos, excessive use of them has led to growing concerns about possible negative consequences, with some young people and children facing problems arising from the use of this technology, including:

Lack of focus

Short videos affect short-term memory, and some TekTok fans have stated that they can no longer focus on long videos, and 50% of them have stated that these videos feel nervous. The nature of quick videos helps reduce attention because we watch one clip after another quickly and ignore any clip where someone speaks slowly, making our focus worse than it really is. These videos can harm children whose brains are still growing because children usually have difficulty controlling distractions and maintaining their focus.

Addiction to short passages

Researchers found that dopamine excreted when using drugs is present in reward centers in large quantities when watching short videos on TikTok. But after watching these videos the dopamine rates in the brain decrease, a person turns to watching more of these videos to produce dopamine. When releasing large amounts of dopamine, the brain recognizes this activity as an equivalent activity and urges its recurrence. In case of dopamine deficiency, the person suffers from symptoms of depression and anxiety and it turns into addiction.

The problem of overuse of the Internet among Chinese youth has also caused the government to propose a series of censorship policies to monitor harmful habits in the use of online applications. In addition, young people’s addiction to short videos has become a major concern for experts in education and the general public, indicating that short video addiction remains a subject of research and study.

Immediate achievement

Short videos program our minds for instant results, every 30 seconds content awaits us with new information and new achievement. What happens to us is that we have come to terms with everything happening quickly in just 30 seconds, when we start work, study or something new, we lose patience and we want to make quick achievements, because our brains are programmed on that basis. When a student starts memorizing his lessons, after reading only two pages, his mind will change the book he reads because he is accustomed to the immediate result or changing the entire content.

Neglect to read

Our brains absorb visual information easier than read, perhaps that’s why videos outweigh text information. The TikTok platform is most harmful to the refinement of reading skills especially in children because the platform does not contain any written text. Not only can TikTok be blamed as all well-known social media platforms have begun copying TikTok features to attract younger audiences with attractive video content. YouTube introduced shorts, and Instagram increased Reels, all aimed at replicating TikTok’s experience and staying connected to the public.

Behaviour deviation

These clips are very dangerous for children and adolescents because of the existence of many inappropriate videos, which leads to their feelings or the blind tradition of what they see. In addition, constantly being exposed to other people’s lives can create unrealistic expectations, promote feelings of inefficiency and also encourage loss of self-esteem. The desire to draw attention may lead to the creation of trivial and superficial content to achieve fame only without a depth or substance to attract attention.

Practical solutions to address the problem

It is easy to lose the sense of time while browsing short videos so this habit has to be dominated by some simple activities, such as:

Dopamine fasting

Some experts suggest resorting to dopamine fasting rather than completely discontinuing these videos. Set a time to close social media during the day, start doing anything else away from the phone and then after the deadline you can go back to your phone. This method will help you control impulsive behaviors that increase your access to mobile phone.

Building new habits

People initially turn to networking sites out of boredom and curiosity until it turns into a bad habit or addiction. The best way to get rid of bad habits is to crowd them with other good habits that grow your skills and occupy your time. Think about the hobbies and things you love and don’t find time for them and try to devote your time to them instead of being preoccupied with videos and social media. It states that building habits is more difficult than demolishing them.

Exercise

Exercise is a great way to overcome the desire to watch quick videos because it improves mood and helps you get rid of boredom, anxiety and stress. It takes your mind away from thinking about negative thoughts, reduces stress hormones such as cholesterol and adrenaline, and releases happy hormones such as androfen. Experts advise exercising for 150 minutes a week to improve mental and physical health.

In short, the proliferation of short videos via social media is one of the most recent phenomena in the Internet world, which provides an opportunity for users to produce and share content easily and simply. However, using these passages excessively and irresponsibly can cause serious harm to the individual and society in general, such as addiction to them, deviation of ideas and behaviors, and reduced attention, focus and productivity. Therefore, individuals and communities must take action to reduce the use of these passages and enhance everyone’s awareness of their potential negative effects on mental and mental health.

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