Study Reveals Danger To The Brain Due To Too Long Screen TikTok

Illustration of women playing cellphones (Photo: Freepik/undefinedstock)

JAKARTA - In the digital era, the habit of watching short videos has become increasingly common in people. TikTok, Instagram Reels, and similar platforms offer interesting content, but recent research shows that habitascrolling can have a negative impact on the brain.

A recent study shows the habit of scrolling short videos on social media continuously can have a bad impact, namely cognitive interference.

According to scientists from Tianjin Normal University in China and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the United States, people who are addicted to short videos not only show compulsive and uncontrollable behavior in using this platform, but also experience different brain structure changes than they are not addicted.

The researchers stated that people with addiction tend to consume excessive personalized content, disrupting other activities in their lives.

In a study involving brain scans of 112 people aged 17 to 30 years, it was found that short video addiction causes reduced concentration, difficulty learning and memory, and increases the risk of depression and anxiety.

This phenomenon, often called 'TikTok brain' or even 'rot brain', is often associated with the use of short video-based applications such as TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, to X (former Twitter) for a long time.

"Short video addiction has become an increasing problem of behavior and social activity, driven by the widespread use of digital platforms that present short, personal, and very interesting video content," the researchers wrote in the scientific journal NeuroImage, quoted from the South China Morning Post page.

Short video addiction is often not realized, as this platform algorithm is designed to continue to display content that attracts the attention of users. Recognizing signs of addiction, such as difficulty stopping watching, ignoring other activities, or feeling restless if you don't access the app, can be a first step towards reducing its impact.

If left unchecked, TikTok brain not only damages concentration and memory, but also has the potential to interfere with mental health. Therefore, limiting usage time, seeking alternative activities, and increasing awareness of the impact can be a way to avoid negative effects of short video addiction on social media.