TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram – Oh my! Isn’t endless scrolling FUN?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
“Digital switching” is the constant hopping between apps or videos. On average, a person does it about ONE HUNDRED TIMES a day!
But does all that digital switching lessen boredom, or feed it? University of Toronto’s Katy Tam and team investigated.
They divided nearly two hundred participants into two groups. One group watched one video for ten minutes. The other group switched freely between several videos. Afterwards, participants rated their experience.
So who felt MORE bored? The digital switchers! They also felt less satisfied and engaged overall.
In a world of scrolls and swipes, less really is more. Quality over quantity, hashtag people!!
Reference: Tam, K. Y. Y., & Inzlicht, M. (2024). Fast-forward to boredom: How switching behavior on digital media makes people more bored. Journal of experimental psychology. General, 153(10), 2409–2426. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001639