Scrolling through online videos when you’re bored has a surprising effect: study

Better stick with that click.

Watching a short clip of an online video before moving on to another video and another — a move called “digital switching” — actually increases boredom rather than alleviating it, according to study findings published by the moon.

“Prior to conducting this research, I used a lot of ‘digital switching’ (ie, switching between and within media content). If a drama was moving too slowly, I would go ahead. If a YouTube video became less interesting, I would skip it,” study author Katy YY Tam, a postdoctoral fellow at the Work and Play Lab at the University of Toronto at Scarborough, explained to PsyPost last month.

“However, I realized I wasn’t really engaging or enjoying the content. I often missed plot details and spent a lot of time jumping from one video to another,” continued Tam. “This made me wonder how such switching behavior affects our feelings of boredom and pleasure.”

Tam’s team set up seven experiments involving 1,200 study participants, including University of Toronto students and online recruits.

In one of the trials, volunteers watched a 10-minute YouTube video without being able to move forward. They could then freely play between seven five-minute videos within 10 minutes.

In another test, participants watched a 10-minute video in one session. Later, they could fast-forward or rewind a 50-minute video in 10 minutes.

After both experiments, participants reported that they were less bored when they watched only one video. They found the viewing experience more satisfying, engaging and meaningful than when they flipped through different content.

There are more than 3.3 billion digital video viewers worldwide, the research shows. Some marketers recommend that videos be one to two minutes long to keep the audience engaged throughout.

Tam suggests users stay focused on the content at hand.

“Like paying for a more immersive experience in a movie theater, more enjoyment comes from immersing yourself in online videos rather than just wading through them,” she said.

There are some limitations to her study, published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.

The team did not examine the effect of short attention spans, and the participants were mostly Canadian students. Further research is needed to see if these conclusions hold for others.

Dr. George Alvarado, vice president of clinical operations for Zucker Hillside Hospital in Queens, likened the problem to non-stop channel surfing, except that the content is tailored to your interests.

Alvarado says that if you’re feeling bored, you should consider giving up your phone or limiting screen time that isn’t related to work or essential communication.

“That’s not to say apps like TikTok and YouTube should be abandoned, but if you experience boredom, then the rapid-fire, highly addictive forms of social media content are probably best consumed in limited quantities,” he told The Post. .