The Impact of Short-Form Videos on Some Cognitive Abilities among Saudi International School Students

Abstract

During a period where digital technology became integral to the lives of individuals, short-form videos have developed to become one of the most dominant forms of media in the market. However, with their unprecedented growth, many studies raised concerns about potential negative correlations with cognitive functions. This study investigates the relationship between short-form video consumption and two primary cognitive functions—selective attention and memory—among adolescent males aged 12–14 from Horizon International School in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Participants completed a Stroop task to assess attention and both forward and backward digit span tasks to evaluate memory. Then, a Spearman’s correlation analysis was performed, which revealed weak negative correlations between the daily time spent watching short-form videos and cognitive task scores; the correlation coefficient was found (p = 0.15 for Stroop task, p = 0.21 and p = 0.07 for the forward and backward digit span tasks, respectively) did not reach statistical significance (p < 0.05).