Neuroscience and psychology
Why repeated consumption of short videos causes negative changes in the nervous system
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Ainhoa Pérez
Alumni
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MPH, MSc.
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Short video platforms such as TikTok, Instagram reels, and YouTube shorts induce impulsive audiovisual consumption that can lead to addictive usage patterns. Hence their design and success. The structure of these platforms produces a dynamic of signals and stimulus-response processes that generate a conditioning process on the nervous system. Neurobiologically, this process of immediate gratification is similar to the stimulation produced by gambling, inducing compulsive use. The main concern is that, given the adaptive nature of the brain, this repeated activity may produce chronic changes in neural processing through neuroplasticity, particularly in the developing nervous system, but also in adults.
Digital platforms have been built on the analysis of user interaction patterns to increase attention, interactions, and retention through the strategic design of rapid tactile scrolling, immediate feedback, personalized algorithms that adapt content to the user, etc. On the other hand, these platforms force users to produce audiovisual content that encourages interaction, rewarding through algorithms the visibility of content based on rapid transitions, emotional messages, and visual effects that encourage impulsive consumption, while penalizing the production of other types of content. The neuropsychological pattern of artificial gratification characterized by impulsivity, preference for novelty, low tolerance for delayed gratification, and difficulty maintaining attention, resembling other patterns of addictive behavior, has been called "TikTok brain."
At the neurobiological level, these videos and associated platform signals act as stimuli that trigger dopamine release responses through a cycle of attention to stimuli, physiological activation, desire, behavioral response activation (interaction), and consummatory pleasure (fun video, gossip, etc.). All elements of this cycle produce phasic spikes of dopamine, creating a cycle of expectation, consummation, need for new expectation, etc. This maintains compulsive viewing, reinforcing the constant cycle of consummation and search for new stimuli, mediated by dopamine spikes. This creates neuroadaptations, a reconfiguration of neurons that are trained to respond impulsively to short-term stimuli.
Many users report immediate pleasure, reduced stress, and temporary mood improvement. However, these short-term effects can have negative long-term consequences, as they reinforce neuropsychological patterns that lead to immediate satisfaction through audiovisual rewards, reducing the ability to sustain cognitive effort and potentially becoming dysfunctional emotional coping mechanisms.
Some studies conducted on university students have shown that those who consume more short videos have greater difficulty with tasks that require prolonged concentration, time management, and emotional regulation. It has also been found that participants with greater addiction to these types of platforms made more mistakes in sustained attention tasks and showed greater intra-individual variability in reaction time, suggesting greater variability in reaction time. The hyperactivation observed in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and cerebellum does not translate into better performance, but rather into an overload of the executive system.
On the other hand, the effect on the nervous system appears to be mediated by traits. In users with high scores on impulsivity, novelty seeking, or low tolerance for boredom, the neurocognitive effects are greater. A particularly relevant trait is dispositional envy, understood as a stable tendency to experience discomfort at the success of others. Some studies have found that this trait predicts greater addiction to short videos, mediated by the activation of regions involved in self-reference and emotional processing, such as the posterior cingulate cortex and the orbitofrontal cortex. This suggests that compulsive consumption is not limited to the pursuit of entertainment, but also responds to dysfunctional social comparison mechanisms.
Structural neuroimaging studies have found alterations in the orbitofrontal cortex in users with problematic short video consumption. In particular, an increase in gray matter volume has been observed in this region, as well as in the bilateral cerebellum. This region is key in decision-making, impulse control, and emotional regulation. These increases could reflect compensatory neuroplasticity processes or structural hyperactivation induced by repeated dopaminergic reinforcement associated with the highly stimulating content of these platforms.
At the functional level, resting hyperactivity has been observed in regions such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, precuneus, posterior cingulate cortex, cerebellum, and posterior temporal cortex, all of which are linked to executive functions and emotional regulation. This overactivation could represent an increased demand for self-regulation or a compensatory response to functional deficits. In addition, brain connectivity studies suggest a possible functional reorganization: networks involved in executive control, such as the frontoparietal network, may show less activation or efficacy, while the default network tends to be more active during rest states.
Some recent transcriptomic approaches have identified an overrepresentation of genes active in adolescence and in excitatory neurons of the cerebellum, suggesting a particular vulnerability at this stage of development. These results indicate that the effects transcend the functional level, reaching structural and molecular levels. However, it is important to understand the methodological limitations inherent in many of these studies: a substantial number of them are not experimental, relying on cross-sectional designs and self-reported measures with multiple confounding factors (sleep hours, etc.). Therefore, although the neurobiological mechanisms are well established, causality cannot be inferred from many of these studies.
Immediate and repeated audiovisual rewards generate changes in the nervous system that can erode the ability to represent long-term goals that are important to the individual. But they also affect emotional regulation, personal identity construction, social skills, etc. If this logic of immediate stimulation becomes established as the dominant means of gratification and emotional escape, cognitive, affective, and behavioral profiles dominated by the short term are formed. The loss of inhibitory control, a key component of executive functioning, has an impact on academic performance, emotional regulation, and the prevention of problematic behaviors. This compromises not only individual autonomy and intellect, but also integration into educational, work, and social contexts. However, it is becoming quite difficult to control the use of the entire digital structure that has been imposed on human beings.
Digital platforms have been built on the analysis of user interaction patterns to increase attention, interactions, and retention through the strategic design of rapid tactile scrolling, immediate feedback, personalized algorithms that adapt content to the user, etc. On the other hand, these platforms force users to produce audiovisual content that encourages interaction, rewarding through algorithms the visibility of content based on rapid transitions, emotional messages, and visual effects that encourage impulsive consumption, while penalizing the production of other types of content. The neuropsychological pattern of artificial gratification characterized by impulsivity, preference for novelty, low tolerance for delayed gratification, and difficulty maintaining attention, resembling other patterns of addictive behavior, has been called "TikTok brain."
ADAPTIVE MECHANISMS
Some studies have shown that prolonged use of short-form video platforms decreases performance on analytical tasks, especially when the content is emotional and the scrolling is fast. This implies an increase in automatic processing and a desensitization of the cortical circuits associated with reasoning, suggesting that brain systems that respond impulsively are being reinforced, which could create response patterns that become structured at the level of neural connections over time. On the other hand, the cognitive load of these platforms can overwhelm the limited capacity of working memory, which is overwhelmed by multiple and rapid stimuli (scene changes, music, simultaneous texts, transitions, response signals, interactions, etc.), impairing sustained attention and in-depth analysis in favor of attentional processing that reconfigures itself toward immediate signals and responses.At the neurobiological level, these videos and associated platform signals act as stimuli that trigger dopamine release responses through a cycle of attention to stimuli, physiological activation, desire, behavioral response activation (interaction), and consummatory pleasure (fun video, gossip, etc.). All elements of this cycle produce phasic spikes of dopamine, creating a cycle of expectation, consummation, need for new expectation, etc. This maintains compulsive viewing, reinforcing the constant cycle of consummation and search for new stimuli, mediated by dopamine spikes. This creates neuroadaptations, a reconfiguration of neurons that are trained to respond impulsively to short-term stimuli.
Many users report immediate pleasure, reduced stress, and temporary mood improvement. However, these short-term effects can have negative long-term consequences, as they reinforce neuropsychological patterns that lead to immediate satisfaction through audiovisual rewards, reducing the ability to sustain cognitive effort and potentially becoming dysfunctional emotional coping mechanisms.
NEUROANATOMY AND FUNCTIONALITY
Executive functions are high-level processes that enable planning, inhibiting automatic responses, maintaining sustained attention, and changing strategies when necessary. These skills depend largely on the prefrontal cortex, with the dorsolateral region playing an important role in coordinating working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility. Executive functions have significant genetic heritability and are not fully developed until well into adulthood. This means that some people are genetically more vulnerable to stimulating signals than others, and that children and adolescents are equally more vulnerable because their functions are not sufficiently developed.Some studies conducted on university students have shown that those who consume more short videos have greater difficulty with tasks that require prolonged concentration, time management, and emotional regulation. It has also been found that participants with greater addiction to these types of platforms made more mistakes in sustained attention tasks and showed greater intra-individual variability in reaction time, suggesting greater variability in reaction time. The hyperactivation observed in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and cerebellum does not translate into better performance, but rather into an overload of the executive system.
On the other hand, the effect on the nervous system appears to be mediated by traits. In users with high scores on impulsivity, novelty seeking, or low tolerance for boredom, the neurocognitive effects are greater. A particularly relevant trait is dispositional envy, understood as a stable tendency to experience discomfort at the success of others. Some studies have found that this trait predicts greater addiction to short videos, mediated by the activation of regions involved in self-reference and emotional processing, such as the posterior cingulate cortex and the orbitofrontal cortex. This suggests that compulsive consumption is not limited to the pursuit of entertainment, but also responds to dysfunctional social comparison mechanisms.
Structural neuroimaging studies have found alterations in the orbitofrontal cortex in users with problematic short video consumption. In particular, an increase in gray matter volume has been observed in this region, as well as in the bilateral cerebellum. This region is key in decision-making, impulse control, and emotional regulation. These increases could reflect compensatory neuroplasticity processes or structural hyperactivation induced by repeated dopaminergic reinforcement associated with the highly stimulating content of these platforms.
At the functional level, resting hyperactivity has been observed in regions such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, precuneus, posterior cingulate cortex, cerebellum, and posterior temporal cortex, all of which are linked to executive functions and emotional regulation. This overactivation could represent an increased demand for self-regulation or a compensatory response to functional deficits. In addition, brain connectivity studies suggest a possible functional reorganization: networks involved in executive control, such as the frontoparietal network, may show less activation or efficacy, while the default network tends to be more active during rest states.
Some recent transcriptomic approaches have identified an overrepresentation of genes active in adolescence and in excitatory neurons of the cerebellum, suggesting a particular vulnerability at this stage of development. These results indicate that the effects transcend the functional level, reaching structural and molecular levels. However, it is important to understand the methodological limitations inherent in many of these studies: a substantial number of them are not experimental, relying on cross-sectional designs and self-reported measures with multiple confounding factors (sleep hours, etc.). Therefore, although the neurobiological mechanisms are well established, causality cannot be inferred from many of these studies.
CONCLUSION, CLINICAL RELEVANCE, AND SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The simplest way to explain the nervous system is to understand it as an adaptive system, which means that neurons reconfigure themselves according to the stimuli they receive and the work they have to do, particularly in childhood and adolescence. If the brain constantly receives multiple and rapid stimuli, it reconfigures itself to respond to these types of stimuli impulsively. If the brain works on tasks that require sustained attention and deep reasoning, it reconfigures itself to improve its efficiency in tasks that require sustained attention and deep reasoning. This impacts the development of intelligence, executive control, the ability to have long-term goals and purposes that are important to a person's life, etc. Short videos are not neutral formats, nor do they represent only a change in consumption style, but rather a profound reconfiguration of attentional systems, reward circuits, and executive functions. Certain stages of development, such as adolescence, and certain psychological profiles, such as people with high impulsivity or greater dispositional envy, are more susceptible to negative effects. In these cases, a functional reorganization is observed that reinforces impulsivity, the search for immediate gratification, and attentional fragmentation.Immediate and repeated audiovisual rewards generate changes in the nervous system that can erode the ability to represent long-term goals that are important to the individual. But they also affect emotional regulation, personal identity construction, social skills, etc. If this logic of immediate stimulation becomes established as the dominant means of gratification and emotional escape, cognitive, affective, and behavioral profiles dominated by the short term are formed. The loss of inhibitory control, a key component of executive functioning, has an impact on academic performance, emotional regulation, and the prevention of problematic behaviors. This compromises not only individual autonomy and intellect, but also integration into educational, work, and social contexts. However, it is becoming quite difficult to control the use of the entire digital structure that has been imposed on human beings.
#socialnetworks #habits #dependencies #addictions
References:
Chen, Y., Li, M., Guo, F., & Wang, X. (2023). The effect of short-form video addiction on users' attention. Behaviour & Information Technology, 42(16), 2893-2910. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929x.2022.2151512
Chiossi, F., Haliburton, L., Ou, C., Butz, A., & Schmidt, A. (2023). Short-Form Videos Degrade Our Capacity to Retain Intentions: Effect of Context Switching On Prospective Memory. 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1145/3544548.3580778
Gao, Y., Hu, Y., Wang, J., Liu, C., Im, H., Jin, W., Zhu, W., Ge, W., Zhao, G., Yao, Q., Wang, P., Zhang, M., Niu, X., He, Q., & Wang, Q. (2025). Neuroanatomical and functional substrates of the short video addiction and its association with brain transcriptomic and cellular architecture. NeuroImage, 307, 121029. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2025.121029
Ma, L., & Jiang, Q. (2024). Swiping more, thinking less: Using TikTok hinders analytic thinking. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 18(3). https://doi.org/10.5817/cp2024-3-1
Ye, J.-H., Zheng, J., Nong, W., & Yang, X. (2025). Potential Effect of Short Video Usage Intensity on Short Video Addiction, Perceived Mood Enhancement ('TikTok Brain'), and Attention Control among Chinese Adolescents. International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 27(3), 271-286. https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2025.059929
* The news published on studies do not represent an official position of ICNS, nor a clinical recommendation.
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