Feeds, feelings, and focus: A systematic review and meta-analysis examining the cognitive and mental health correlates of short-form video use

The resurgence of short-form videos (SFVs), popularized by TikTok and Douyin, has transformed social media platforms, with features like Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts fostering their widespread adoption. Although initially geared toward entertainment, SFVs are increasingly used in education, political campaigns, advertising, and consumerism, yet their design, characterized by endless scrolling interfaces, has raised concerns about addiction and negative health implications. Given the recent surge of studies on SFV apps, a comprehensive synthesis is needed to clarify how SFV use relates to different health indicators. This systematic review and meta-analytic investigation comprised data from 98,299 participants across 71 studies. Increased SFV use was associated with poorer cognition (moderate mean effect size, r = -.34), with attention (r = -.38) and inhibitory control (r = -.41) yielding the strongest associations. Similarly, increased SFV use was associated with poorer mental health (weak mean effect size, r = -.21), with stress (r = -.34) and anxiety (r = -.33) showing the strongest associations. These findings were consistent across youth and adult samples and across different SFV platforms. Relatively few studies examined cognitive domains beyond attention and inhibitory control (e.g., memory, reasoning), highlighting critical directions for future research. Interestingly, SFV use was not associated with body image or self-esteem, which may reflect the diverse content and creators featured on these platforms. Further research is therefore needed to clarify how different types of content exposure may shape these associations. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of understanding the broader health implications of SFV use, given its pervasive role in daily life and potential to impact health, behavior, and well-being. By synthesizing current evidence, this study provides a critical foundation for future research to explore understudied health domains (e.g., cognitive health, physical health) and offers insights to guide public discourse and the development of research-informed approaches for promoting more balanced engagement with SFVs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).