I don’t actually use TikTok or even the “sliding” function on youtube shorts, but I feel like my attention span has gotten much worse after they started getting popular. Even watching a 2 minute video feels dreadfully long, let alone a 10 or 20 minute video, so I end up watching a mostly short animation memes instead.
i think the way you get served videos also plays a big part. on short form, you have to keep scrolling to find a video that interests you. whereas on long form you get to decide what to watch beforehand, from a bunch of recommendations
This makes sense, I read somewhere recently that there actually is no evidence that people’s attention span is getting shorter, it’s just crap people say.