The link shows up as shorter focus and more mind-wandering
The most direct evidence comes from studies of young people. In one, higher daily short-form video consumption was associated with a decrease in sustained focus duration and more mind-wandering [1]. In another, high school students who consumed more short-form video showed reduced attention spans, and the study tied this to their readiness for self-directed learning [2]. These are associations, not proof of cause, but they point in the same direction: the more short-form video in a person's day, the harder it seems to hold attention on one thing.
A separate survey of Chinese undergraduates adds a self-regulation angle. Students who used short-form video more heavily reported lower perceived control over their attention and less persistence [5]. That matters for studying because persistence — staying with a task after the initial interest fades — is exactly what long reading assignments require.
Why studying gets interrupted: time slips away
One study focused on problematic short-form video users and described a pattern called temporal dissociation — losing awareness of how much time is passing — which was tied to short-form video interference with study [3]. In plain terms, the videos can swallow time without the viewer noticing, leaving less time and mental room for study. This is a different mechanism from attention span itself: it is about the video pulling you away from the desk, not just making it harder to concentrate once you are there.
The study frames this as a problem mainly for people whose use is already problematic [3], so it does not tell us how much ordinary, casual viewing disrupts study. But it does suggest that the interference is not only about willpower — the format itself can make time feel different.
A short-term experiment finds changes in mood but not a clear attention test
Not all the evidence points the same way. An online experiment with 91 Chinese adults tested how video format (short-form versus other) and viewing duration affected sustained attention [4]. The summary notes that changes in mood scores were a supplement to the main focus, and it does not report a clear effect of short-form format on sustained attention itself [4]. That is a useful caution: a single lab session may not capture the cumulative effect of daily habits, and the experiment did not look at reading or studying at all.
So the strongest claims come from surveys of habitual use, while the one experiment does not confirm a short-term attention drain. The discrepancy could mean the effect builds up over time, or that surveys capture something else — like people with shorter attention naturally gravitating to short videos. The evidence so far cannot fully separate those possibilities.
What this means if you are trying to read or study
For a reader or student, the practical takeaway is not that short videos permanently damage your brain. The studies are correlational, and the experiment did not show an immediate attention hit [4]. But the pattern across surveys is consistent enough to be worth acting on: heavier use is linked to shorter focus and more mind-wandering [1], reduced attention spans in high schoolers [2], and lower persistence in undergraduates [5].
If you notice that long reading feels harder after a stretch of short videos, the evidence suggests that is a real pattern, not just imagination. The time-dissociation finding [3] adds a simple lever: being aware of how long you have been scrolling may help protect study time. None of the studies tested whether cutting back restores focus, so that remains an open question, but the association is strong enough to make limits on short-form video a reasonable experiment for anyone struggling to stay with a book or a problem set.
Sources used in this answer
Short-Form Video Consumption and Sustained Attentional Stability in Young People
Increased daily short-form video consumption was associated with decreased sustained focus duration and more mind-wandering in young people.
Impact of Short-Form Video Consumption on Sustained Attention Span and Self-Directed Learning Readiness Among High School Students
Higher short-form video consumption among high school students was linked to reduced attention spans and lower self-directed learning readiness.
When minutes become hours: temporal dissociation and study interference among problematic short-form video users
Among problematic short-form video users, temporal dissociation — losing track of time — was tied to short-form video interference with study.
Acute Effects of Short-Form Video Format and Viewing Duration on Sustained Attention in Chinese Adults: A 2× 2 Online Experiment
A 2×2 online experiment with 91 Chinese adults found changes in mood scores but did not report a clear effect of short-form video format on sustained attention.
A self regulatory model of short form video addiction and perceived attention control among Chinese undergraduates
In a survey of Chinese undergraduates, heavier short-form video use was associated with lower perceived attention control and less persistence.