TikTok: The End of Attention Spans
- Deema Jony
- Nov 28, 2023
- 4 min read
Last weekend, my friends and I spontaneously came up with the idea of watching the new Five Nights at Freddy's movie just for the fun of it. Although labeled as a horror film, FNAF stirred up no emotion from the audience; most of the teenagers watching the movie blankly stared at the screen or began scrolling on their phones out of boredom. No matter how spine-chilling the scene was (spoiler alert: a girl's head literally gets chopped off), many people in the theater struggled to keep their eyes on the screen for more than a few seconds. This seems like the reality for many activities nowadays: no matter how entertaining or beneficial a pursuit may be, individuals are finding it harder and harder to anchor their attention and concentrate on a single matter. Scientists even discovered that humans now have shorter attention spans than goldfish: While goldfish have an average attention span of nine seconds, us humans have achieved a marvelous new record with an average attention span of eight seconds. Somehow, the tiny orange specks that float inside of ten-inch glass bowls and usually end up getting flushed down a toilet have greater attention spans than humans, who literally traveled to space and landed on the moon. And if you think that this resulted from a gradual decrease over a few centuries, sadly, you're wrong. According to CNN Health, between 2004 and 2023, the average attention span on a screen declined by around 103 seconds. That is one minute and 43 seconds diminshed from basic human attentiveness in less than twenty years.
Many scientists blame all forms of modern technology for the gradual decrease in attention spans, however, the real cuplrit is the endless cycle of fifteen-second videos that TikTok generates for its 1.5 billion users. In fact, people using TikTok have been given the term "TikTok Brain" to emphasize how the app literally messes up your brain to the point that you can't spend more than a few seconds concentrating on anything. And no, it's not something you can simply fix by being aware of it. Although I'm very aware of my
own "TikTok brain", I can guarantee that I went on my phone at least three times while writing the past few sentences. Even though I enjoy writing, a single notification alert from TikTok can instantly steal my attention away. This is because my brain has literally been messed with by TikTok. You know those pre-vaping and post-vaping lung photos they show teenagers in attempt to prevent youth vaping? They should do the exact same thing with TikTok brains: photos of a brain before and after someone started using TikTok frequently. When you scroll on TikTok and find a video that makes you laugh, a large amount of dopamine is released, creating the same biological reaction that your body makes when you take cocaine or an amphetamine. When someone endlessly scrolls on TikTok, a dopamine machine practically floods dopamine into the brain. Once the brain reacts to that first initial hit of dopamine, you begin to crave more and more ebullience, creating the infinite desire to watch short and thrilling videos. Unlike thirty minute videos on Youtube where you have to patiently wait for the pinnacle, TikTok videos cut straight to the climax and cuts all the extra fluff and context you would usually find. It sounds weird to say, but when you scroll on TikTok you're essentially watching the pinnacles of a story over and over again. That's why the brain receives way more dopamine when distracted with short TikToks in comparison to longer videos on platforms like Youtube or Netflix. Scientists linked this fervor desire for dopamine with instant gratification. Instant gratification is the brain's psychological temptation to discard something that will reap great benefits in the future for something that will give you instant satisfaction with less work needed. The shorter attention spans seen in many adolescents stems from instant gratification: instead of spending their time focusing on success from work, school, and personal development, which would result in long-term satisfaction, many teenagers resort to spending their time on social media, technology, and other activities that produce instant happiness but no concrete long-term benefits. Although watching a movie isn't really linked to personal development, this explains why not a single teenager could focus their attention on the Five Nights at Freddy's movie. Why sit for two long hours to watch a movie when you can watch ten-second videos on TikTok and receive the same dose of emotion and dopamine?
Although this science stuff is all super concerning, what really annoys me is how TikTok has literally become its own world. I could literally make a language out of all the TikTok slang used. I wouldn't really mind the slang if it stayed in the app, but walking around school and hearing people have full conversations in TikTok slang is another level of crazy. I'll give you a few examples: "Wow, this food is so bussin'!", "We really caught him in 4K", "No cap, I'm saying the truth." For those of you who are normal, I'll translate this slang for you: "bussin'" means very delicious, "caught in 4K" translates to being caught red-handed, and "no cap" is another way to swear that you're saying the truth. As you can see, TikTok has entirely built its own culture and language; being a user of this app is practically equivalent to being a member of a cult. Nowadays, any average adult would be concerned hearing a conversation between two teenagers. It's no suprise that this cult of an app has changed every teenager's brain. If you're a teenager who can relate to this blog, trust me, you need a TikTok detox.
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