TikTok and Co.: Are short videos causing more concentration problems, stress and anxiety?

Short videos are ubiquitous. But what about their connection to attention, cognitive performance and mental health? A large meta-analysis checks the evidence.

The key facts about short videos:

The more intensively short videos were used, the poorer the average cognitive performance was. This was most evident in attention and impulse control.
Mental health was also affected: overall, higher usage values were associated with more stress and anxiety.
The meta-analysis found no clear correlation between body image perception and self-esteem and short video usage.

A total of 71 studies with 98,299 participants were evaluated. The researchers examined which aspects of cognition and mental health (e.g. attention, memory, depression, anxiety or body image perception) are particularly consistently associated with high short video consumption. They also investigated whether the method of measuring short video use, the platform (TikTok vs. general use) or the age of the study participants influenced the effect size.

Cognitive performance: reduced attention and inhibition control with frequent viewing of short videos

Across all endpoints, there was a moderate negative association between heavy short video use and cognitive performance (r = −0.34). This indicates that frequent viewing of these video formats is associated with poorer cognitive performance.

In particular, the variables such as attention (r = −0.38; 95% CI −0.52 to −0.22) and inhibition control (r = −0.41; 95% CI −0.46 to −0.36) were most strongly linked to higher short video use. In contrast, no significant association was found for reasoning (r = −0.13; p = 0.281).

Mental health: more stress and anxiety among heavy users

Overall, higher short video usage was associated with poorer mental health scores (r = −0.21).

Frequent users suffered more frequently from stress (r = −0.34; 95% CI −0.40 to −0.29) and anxiety (r = −0.33; 95% CI −0.39 to −0.26) on average.
In addition, depressive symptoms, negative affect, loneliness, poorer sleep quality and lower well-being were each negatively associated.

However, the authors found no significant correlations for body image perception and self-esteem.

Relevance of measurement type, platform and age

After considering cognition and mental health as a whole, the obvious question arises: what determines whether the observed correlations are stronger or weaker? The researchers analysed the age of the test subjects, the type of measurement used to assess usage behaviour and the video platform – and came to the following conclusions:

The correlations between short video usage and cognition or mental health were similar for adolescents and adults.
The associations were strongest when short video usage was measured using addiction scales and when general short video usage (rather than exclusively TikTok-specific usage) was examined.

Conclusion

This systematic review with meta-analysis shows that people who use short-form videos more frequently perform worse on average in several cognitive functions, including attention, inhibition control, language, memory and working memory. At the same time, higher usage is associated with poorer scores on many mental health indicators, such as anxiety and stress. However, no statistically significant correlation was found for body image and self-esteem.

At the same time, the authors emphasise the limitations of the evidence: many of the studies evaluated are cross-sectional, so no causal conclusions can be drawn from them. They therefore call for more longitudinal and experimental studies to better clarify the direction and mechanisms of the observed associations between short video use, cognition and mental health.

Source

Nguyen L, Walters J, Paul S, Monreal Ijurco S, Rainey GE, Parekh N, Blair G, Darrah M. Feeds, feelings, and focus: A systematic review and meta-analysis examining the cognitive and mental health correlates of short-form video use. Psychol Bull. 2025 Sep;151(9):1125-1146. doi: 10.1037/bul0000498. PMID: 41231585.