Frequent short-video viewers show altered brain function
Young adults who spend at least an hour daily on apps like TikTok show increased connectivity across multiple brain networks compared to lighter users, according to new research.
The study, published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, reveals that frequent users of short-video platforms demonstrate altered brain function compared to those who use them less frequently. Researchers from Chongqing Shapingba Mental Health Center in China conducted a study on 55 healthy adult participants, recruited from China.
Participants reported their daily short-video usage, with 20 individuals classified as lower users (less than one hour) and 35 as higher users (one to three hours). After assessing brain activity through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while participants rested, researchers found that higher-use participants exhibited stronger communication across various brain systems, including those responsible for movement, bodily sensations, vision, hearing, attention, cognitive control, and internally directed thought.
Specific communication differences were noted in sensorimotor, auditory, subcortical, and cingulo-opercular networks. Further analysis showed that higher-use participants had greater spontaneous activity in the left precentral gyrus, associated with movement and sensorimotor processing, but reduced activity in the right inferior frontal gyrus, involved in behavioral control.
Additionally, the higher-use group demonstrated increased global and local brain efficiency, more tightly clustered brain regions, and shorter communication pathways. The authors suggest that intensive exposure to fast-paced audiovisual material may change brain systems involved in sensory processing and attention. However, they caution that greater efficiency does not necessarily indicate harm, as similar patterns have been linked to intelligence and working-memory performance.
The study acknowledges limitations, such as unmeasured factors that could influence brain activity, but emphasizes the need for future research to determine whether the observed brain network organization has cognitive benefits or represents a risk factor for maladaptive outcomes.
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