Use it or Lose it: The Relationship Between Short-Form Video Use and Sustained Attention

Short-form video platforms such as TikTok are increasingly accused of negatively impacting users’ ability to sustain attention. In our study we investigate the relationship between objective and subjective measures of short-form video use on the one hand and objective and subjective measures of sustained attention on the other. Participants (N = 385) of our study completed a real-time response task and provided self-assessments of attention. According to our results, the use of short-form videos is related with attention deficits. With three out of the four subjective-objective combinations turning out significant, we resume that short-form video use may indeed have detrimental effects on sustained attention, but that a sensitive perspective has to be cast on the users’ own normative evaluation. We suggest complementing media literacy with the notion of attention literacy and discuss the latter as an option for further research in a world with an increasing number of choices to face when it comes to the distribution of attention.