Written by Sasha Richard. Edited by Addison Teschner.
Everyone online consumes some form of social media nowadays. It’s such an easy way to keep ourselves entertained; to sit down with a video in the background, and to lose all sense of time mindlessly scrolling on apps like TikTok, Instagram, or X (Twitter). Consuming these kinds of videos can keep us invested, since we only spend 30-60 seconds actually paying attention to a topic, and then we scroll and forget about whatever we viewed a minute ago.
Watching these short videos can increase the chances of increased ADHD, as stated in the study Understanding Problematic Social Media Use, a connection between use of social media platforms and ADHD characteristics in people, especially teens.
ADHD characteristics can include inattentiveness, and hyperactivity, which can be attributed to the fast-paced media we see in apps. This kind of exposure can even start as young as the toddler ages, as stated in the article, The Declining Attention Span of Our Kids, since kid’s shows utilize rapid frame changes to keep a child’s engagement, therefore ruining their attention span for more lengthy content.
After these children grow up, they become dependent on highly stimulating content, diminishing attention spans and they struggle with slow paced tasks. To help prevent this, parents and educators are urged to encourage children to communicate in person with their friends, and to read books so that less time will be spent damaging their brains on their devices. This can be said for teens and adults too, spending less time on devices generally has positive mental effects.
