Teen Brains at Risk From Short Video Addiction, Specialist Claims

Addiction to short-form videos can be confirmed using MRI scans, and in teenagers it may lead to reduced concentration and structural changes in brain regions responsible for self-control and emotions, said neuropsychologist and clinical psychologist Svetlana Kolobova. The specialist commented on a study by Chinese researchers examining structural brain changes in frequent viewers of short videos. Kolobova stressed that this is not merely a harmless habit or a fashionable leisure format, but a condition recorded at the neurobiological level and accompanied by real structural changes in brain function. "Addiction to short videos is not a metaphor, but a diagnosis that can be confirmed by MRI. In people with such dependence, scientists observed changes in brain areas responsible for self-control — in the prefrontal cortex — as well as in regions associated with emotions, such as the amygdala,” she explained.