The world has changed in the past few years and I have been keeping a close eye on short video apps such as TikTok, InstaReel, and YouTube shorts. I look around me and see people using this highly addictive content to pass the time, and I believe it is a dangerous brainwashing tool that can drive people to stop thinking if they become addicted to it.
We would like to take a fresh look at the recent short videos that are melting away the time.
The Next Brainwashing Media after Television
In recent years, “short videos,” the next generation of content that has replaced television, have been attracting people’s attention. Many people have become obsessed with the appeal of short videos because they condense information and entertainment in a short period of time and can be easily enjoyed through smartphones and tablets.
Short videos, ranging from 15 seconds to several minutes in length, appeal to viewers with incredible information density and creativity, grabbing their attention. Short videos, deployed on a variety of platforms, are not only a new means of communication, but also sometimes have a brainwashing influence, and their potential foreshadows the future evolution of the medium.
In the recent digital age, more and more people are becoming captivated by the appeal of short videos. The growing number of “short video addicts” indulge in countless short videos every day in search of easy entertainment and information. However, this brief enjoyment can come at the expense of real-life responsibilities, interpersonal relationships, and healthy time management.
Short video addicts may eventually develop problems due to prolonged smartphone use and distractions, and social consequences are emerging. While we enjoy the fascinating world of short videos, we need to maintain the proper balance and value harmony with reality.
Algorithms that make us stop thinking
With the rise of short videos, our attention is faced with a new dilemma. Its name is the “thought-provoking short video algorithm. Platforms have built mechanisms that screen videos based on viewer preferences and behavioral history and automatically play them one after another. This creates the danger that we are unwittingly trapped in a bubble of information and our own consciousness is trapped in a narrow perspective.
This algorithm keeps us intrigued and sometimes provides an overload of stimuli, thereby inhibiting the spirit of inquiry that we pursue by thinking deeply and the curiosity to delve deeper into the structure of things. I have seen the effects of this evil of short videos in my own surroundings. A friend of mine, who had been an artist for many years, stopped his music career completely because he was immersed in short videos every day.
Don’t become a short video addict
The platform operators are trying to keep users addicted to their services in order to get them to spend as much time as possible on them. How should we deal with the danger of short videos on social networking sites? There are two main things that I am aware of when I watch the Internet these days.
- 1. separate the content for fun from the content for knowledge.
I try to limit the number of short videos on YouTube, TickTok, and Instagram to one or two, and I also use text-based social networking and news apps to read a little bit of the world’s news. - 2. use “Hide” and “Do not recommend this channel.
Video creators upload the same videos to various video services to increase their view count, so if you see the same video, click “Hide” or “Do not recommend this channel” to prevent it from being displayed again. - 3. Sometimes, I let go of my phone to read a book or just relax.
The widespread use of smartphones has made it possible to watch what you want to watch anytime you want, so sometimes I put my smartphone away and read a book or go to a place I don’t usually go to to get away from digital content.
Conclusion
Most parents do not think or try to learn about the risks of this social networking age. Instead, they seem to be immersing themselves in the consuming content with their children and becoming idiots.
The fact that social networking sites today, including short videos, do not have an instruction manual and can be viewed at any time and for any length of time sometimes puts people in the worst situation.
It may be easy to live without thinking, but I would like people to be aware of what is going on in the background and to balance knowledge and entertainment so that they do not melt their time just watching short videos.