During my GCSEs last summer, I found myself hooked on Instagram Reels, spending an average of five hours a day scrolling. That was time I could have spent revising for my exams, yet nothing seemed to stop me from continuing.
The “big three” platforms are Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and the largest of them all, TikTok. Since its launch in 2018, TikTok has been downloaded over 6.75 billion times and has nearly 2 billion monthly users. Unlike many other social media platforms, TikTok’s algorithm is not primarily based on who you follow.
Instead, it learns from how you interact with videos, especially how long you watch them. Every interaction – whether it’s liking, sharing, commenting, or simply watching a video for longer – helps the algorithm decide what to show you next. The longer you engage with a certain type of content, the more of it you are likely to see.
Content is designed to keep you scrolling
Short-form content has been carefully refined by technology companies over many years. Features that successfully capture people’s attention are kept, while less engaging ones are removed, gradually creating platforms designed to maximise user engagement. There is also very little friction when using these apps.
On Netflix, for example, you are presented with thousands of films and TV shows, making it difficult to decide what to watch. On TikTok, however, you have only two choices: watch or scroll.
This design takes advantage of what psychologists call a variable-ratio reinforcement schedule. Each swipe could reveal something entertaining, so users continue scrolling in search of the next rewarding video.
This is similar to the reward system used in slot machines, which are considered one of the most addictive forms of gambling. Just as casinos are designed without clocks or windows to make people lose track of time, short-form content platforms provide very few reminders of how long you have been scrolling.
You may have heard the term “brain rot”, which was named Oxford word of the year in 2024. It is defined as “the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging.” Research from LMU Munich found that participants asked to recall information after spending ten minutes on TikTok performed worse than those who had spent the same amount of time on YouTube or Twitter.
Studies suggest that highly stimulating, fast-paced content can reduce sustained attention and make it harder to concentrate on longer, more demanding tasks. It can also contribute to impulse fatigue, making it more difficult to put down your phone.
The app blocker saved my exams
There is no single solution to the problems associated with short-form content. I have discussed its time-wasting nature and its effects on attention, but these are only part of the issue. Algorithms can also amplify misinformation, encourage risky behaviour, promote political polarisation, and contribute to anxiety and depression. Simply locking away your phone or deleting social media altogether is unrealistic for many people; it certainly was for me.
Instead, I downloaded an app blocker, and it ended up saving my exams. I set limits on how often I could open Instagram and how long I could use it before it automatically locked after fifteen minutes. Over time, this reduced my daily short-form content consumption from around five hours to approximately one and a half hours.
It is not a perfect solution, but it tackles one of the biggest problems with short-form content: mindless scrolling and losing track of time. Having the app lock automatically turned endless scrolling into intentional, limited sessions. I also found that disabling notifications made a significant difference, as I was reminded to open the apps far less often.
Social media does not have to be avoided completely, of course.
With good time management, healthy boundaries, and an awareness of its effects, it is possible to enjoy its benefits without sacrificing your focus, productivity, or mental wellbeing.
Really it is!
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