Think about the last time you scrolled on any short-form video platform. It was likely today. If not, then surely yesterday. How much time did you spend in a virtual trance instead of doing your schoolwork?
Unregulated consumption of short-form videos directly leads to academic procrastination. Studies have shown that students prefer stimuli that grant immediate gratification over those that require time and effort, such as academics. Hence, students turn to these passively received sources of dopamine as an escape from the immense pressure they are under. However, this can often warp one’s perception of the passing of time, allowing students to spend hours watching videos without realizing it.
Short-form media addiction will also cause an increase in academic procrastination indirectly, through the mediating factor of attention control. Attention control is defined as a cognitive function that regulates the allocation of attention. The National Library of Medicine found that exposure to highly stimulating television that frequently and quickly changes focus impairs subjects’ capacity to maintain concentration on other tasks. Since short-form content is even more stimulating and quick to change focus, it even further damages attention control. Short-form content is not only an extremely unhealthy way to entertain and distract yourself, but also slowly rewires neural networks in the brain to reject long-term intellectual invest- ments and rather seek out useless, instantly satisfying stimuli.
Ultimately, short-form content can hurt academic performance, but more worryingly damages young adults’ minds, reducing their capacity to think and to indulge in other hobbies. Like any addiction, this should be addressed with care and patience.
Some suitable ways to tackle this issue are to replace the time normally allotted to scrolling with healthier hobbies like playing an instrument or a sport, talking to a counselor or other trusted adult or setting screen time goals together with your friends. Although it will be a difficult and draining journey, it is a necessary one.
