Short-form videos could be harming young kids' minds

The constant flow of these online videos, typically 15 to 90 seconds long, can lead to compulsive scrolling and create patterns that negatively affect several aspects of preteen children's lives

- By Katherine Easton

Online short-form video has shifted from a light distraction to a constant backdrop in many children's lives. What used to fill a spare moment now shapes how young people relax, communicate and form opinions as TikTok, Instagram Reels, Douyin and YouTube Shorts draw in hundreds of millions of under-18s through endlessly personalised feeds.

These apps feel lively and intimate, offering quick routes to humour, trends and connection, yet their design encourages long sessions of rapid scrolling that can be difficult for young users to manage. They were never built with children in mind, although many children use them daily and often alone.

For some preteens, these platforms help to develop identity, spark interests and maintain friendships. For others, the flow of content disrupts sleep, erodes boundaries or squeezes out time for reflection and meaningful interaction. Problematic use is less about minutes spent and more about patterns where scrolling becomes compulsive or hard to stop. These patterns can begin to affect sleep, mood, attention, schoolwork and relationships.

Short-form videos (typically between 15 and 90 seconds) are engineered to capture the brain's craving for novelty. Each swipe promises something different, whether a joke, prank or shock - and the reward system responds instantly.

Because the feed rarely pauses, the natural breaks that help attention reset vanish. Over time, this can weaken impulse control and sustained focus. A 2023 analysis of 71 studies and nearly 100,000 participants found a moderate link between heavy short-form video use and reduced inhibitory control and attention spans.