This claim is true through observation and study, as well as my own personal experience. The way this form of media has been designed easily engages the viewer or audience through quick hits of dopamine to the brain through exciting, short content. For example, a review found that the distraction level is increased as soon as an app such as this is opened. One quick video can easily turn into 5, which can then turn into 10s of hundreds of quick videos. Viewers are always looking for that next "hit" which can be described as a short burst of entertainment, rather than staying focused on one specific task. A study proved this and noted that “individuals would prioritise short-term cravings (watching short-form videos) compared to long-term success (academic achievement)… resulting in attention control being impaired.” In summary, the social feed is optimized towards high engagement snippets, and when hundreds of these snippets are consumed by the user, longer tasks such as reading a book or staying in a college lecture can be difficult for the brain to endure, as it feels less interesting for the person.
