SCROLL, SWIPE, REPEAT: THE COGNITIVE AND SOCIAL IMPACT OF SHORTFORM CONTENT ON UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
Students & Supervisors
Student Authors
Supervisors
Abstract
The rapidly growing popularity of short-form content viewing has changed the manner in which people engage with the media, especially university students. In this research, the effort is made to know the cognitive and social effects of short-form viewing, particularly with distraction, attention span, attention efficiency, and social interaction. The research employed the cross-sectional survey method with 250 university students as a sample and correlation analysis and Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression to quantify data. The results are in accordance with the conception that prolonged exposure to brief content is the cause of distraction, reduces sustained attention, and is detrimental to attention efficiency. Students who frequently watch disjointed digital content are less academically and socially involved. The results of the regression indicate that mean time on brief consumption, loss of attention, and cognitive distraction are all strong predictors of distraction. These results suggest that there is a need to engage students in systematic digital literacy training in order to build attention control strategies. Future research should investigate the longitudinal nature and interventions for cognitive distractibility with regards to short-form usage.
Keywords
Publication Details
- Type of Publication: Conference
- Conference Name: 3rd International Conference on Mechanical Engineering and Applied Sciences, 2025
- Date of Conference: 17/07/2025 - 17/07/2025
- Venue: MILITARY INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
- Organizer: MILITARY INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY