Impact Of Short-Form Video Platforms On Attention Span And Cognitive Function In Adolescents

Background: Short-form video (SFV) platforms use brief, rapidly changing content, autoplay, personalized recommendations and continuous scrolling. These features may shape attentional habits during adolescence, a developmental period characterized by ongoing maturation of executive control. Recent syntheses suggest that heavier SFV exposure is associated with poorer attention and inhibitory control, although causal inference remains limited. [1-5]Objective: To examine the relationship between daily SFV exposure and attention, working memory, inhibitory control, sleep duration and academic performance in adolescents.Methods: A hypothetical cross-sectional study of 240 adolescents aged 13–18 years was structured using self-reported daily SFV exposure and standardized cognitive tasks. Participants were grouped as <1, 1–2, or >2 hours/day.Results: In the simulated dataset, increasing exposure was associated with progressively lower attention scores, shorter working-memory span, longer Stroop completion time, shorter sleep duration and lower academic scores. The >2-hour group showed the least favorable profile.Conclusion: The pattern is consistent with emerging observational literature but should not be interpreted as proof that SFV exposure causes cognitive decline. Longitudinal and experimental research using objective exposure measures is needed. [1,2]