How TikTok-style videos keep human brains hooked on content
Key takeaways
- Tik Tok, Instagram and You Tube clips are designed to overwhelm the brain's pleasure circuitry and keep people watching.
- Before getting out of bed, we might scroll through TikTok, Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts.
- Researchers at Germany's University of Bayreuth examined the phenomenon, especially in children and adolescents.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Tik Tok, Instagram and You Tube clips are designed to overwhelm the brain's pleasure circuitry and keep people watching. Researchers say short-form videos may only be the start when it comes to harvesting human attention.
https://p.dw.com/p/5Fi W0The competition between platforms has been described as 'a ruthless knife fight for human attention'Image: Pascal Deloche/Godong/picture alliance Advertisement For many of us, the day often starts with a swipe. Before getting out of bed, we might scroll through TikTok, Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts. A few clips become a few dozen. Minutes become an hour. Then, later in the day, we return for more.
Researchers at Germany's University of Bayreuth examined the phenomenon, especially in children and adolescents.