Think back for a moment: when was the last time you genuinely enjoyed a TikTok clip, a YouTube Short, or an Instagram Reel? If you’re anything like me, you might struggle to pinpoint a recent occasion. Some short-form videos present facts or insights I might never have encountered otherwise, but they seldom feel truly satisfying. More often than not, they’re just interesting enough to keep me watching for a split second longer, yet they never truly astonish or delight.
In contrast, I recall my childhood fascination with watching full-length “How It’s Made” documentaries on YouTube—clips lasting twenty or thirty minutes without interruption. Back then, the longer runtime did not deter me; I was genuinely interested. Now, by comparison, I find myself wincing at the very thought of spending more than 10 minutes on a single video, so I either speed it up or skip it entirely. For context, the average short video length is a mere 30 seconds. Yet, people can spend hours on end watching these videos, one after another. The addictive music and colourful visuals with new content in every swipe keep adults and children alike glued to the screens.
This shift in content consumption is no accident. As Bruce Goldman of Stanford Medicine explains, dopamine—the chemical at the heart of addiction—is secreted when we engage in rewarding experiences, such as finding food, shelter, or a mate. Social media exploits this reward system by delivering a constant stream of dopamine hits, training our brains to seek novelty and instant gratification at the expense of sustained focus. However, as the law of diminishing returns will have it, the more we chase these dopamine hits, the less effective they are at satisfying us. We become like rats in a Skinner box, pressing a lever over and over and receiving ever-diminishing rewards.
I have personally seen this trend spill over into other aspects of my life. I find myself less patient with tasks that require sustained effort, less inclined to read long-form articles or books, and less able to focus on a single task for an extended period. The constant barrage of short-form content has trained my brain to seek novelty and instant gratification, eating away at my capacity for sustained focus and discipline.
I define discipline as doing something we know is good for us, even when we don’t feel like doing it in the moment. When we watch videos recommended by algorithms, we have the ability to swipe away at any time. The moment a video fails to entertain us, we skip it. If we don’t feel like watching it, we simply won’t. Over time, this behaviour can potentially erode our discipline, placing more emphasis on what we feel like doing rather than what we ought to do.
A little use of an “us vs. them” mentality might help us break out of this mental rut. We know that overconsumption is harmful, but who keeps pushing these videos onto us? In other words, while the “drug addicts” (i.e., due to a lack of self-discipline) bear some responsibility, we should also hold the “drug dealers” accountable. Social media (aka the “drug”) is simply a tool for connection and learning about different perspectives. However, in this analogy, the “drug dealers” are the social media companies, relentlessly promoting dopamine-inducing videos.
These companies understand that we are more likely to remain on their platforms if they keep us not just entertained but hooked with “brainrot” content. They prioritise increased viewership, which drives ad revenue, even at the expense of hours of their users’ lives—time that could be spent on more meaningful activities. In other words, they are maximising their personal interest while exploiting your time, energy, and ultimately, your life. Each second spent on their platform on meaningless content is a second you can never get back.
While the “us vs. them” mindset can be useful for sparking change, shifting blame entirely onto others for our lack of discipline is neither healthy nor a sustainable solution. It might work in the short term, but ultimately, it’s up to us to establish guardrails to prevent ourselves from becoming slaves to others’ (i.e., content creators, influencers, social media companies) pursuit of fame, attention, or profit. We must recognise the ubiquity of this issue and take conscious steps to reclaim our time and focus. Change begins with awareness of how these platforms exploit our reward systems.
Steve Jobs once said, “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” By spending hours on excessive social media consumption, we risk becoming passive participants in someone else’s story.
According to Statista, “the average daily social media usage of internet users amounted to 143 minutes per day” in 2024. That’s 30% of your free time (assuming post-work, waking hours of 8) that you’ll never get back, spent on being the literal eyeballs for another person’s need for attention or contributing to the influencers/social media company’s ad revenue. That’s 30% of your time that you could have spent on learning a new skill, spending time with loved ones, or pursuing your passions.
It’s time to take control. Reclaim your time with practical steps like setting app limits, turning off notifications, and breaking free from habitual social media use. Social media should empower you, not enslave you. I trust that, as you make these changes, you’ll soon notice once again the small yet beautiful details in the world around you—just as you did when you were a child.
Disclaimer: The ideas presented in this post are solely my personal perspective and have not been substantiated by any verifiable evidence. I’m not a therapist and I do not pretend to be one. Please form your own opinions on such matters. I’m merely reflecting on my current thought processes.