Why I stopped watching shorts
I recently decided to stop, or at least severely limit, watching short-form content. I had already forgone Tik Tok almost two years ago because I was tired of the ecosystem. I liked to think then that I was absolutely free of its influence. It took me a while to admit that I was still very much a victim of it on Youtube. I spend a lot of time on Youtube, and Shorts became a huge chunk of my watchtime. I could spend almost hours scrolling mindlessly. As someone with ADHD, this was very much a sort of drug. It was all too easy to scroll on Youtube Shorts when I felt bored or restless.
Since September, however, I've felt a sharp decline in my attention span and hability to study. I think this has been the case for a good while now, but it became visible because I had so many projects to work on in a short amount of time. I have ADHD, but never before have I felt it so painfully. Short form content was the best way for me to get that dopamine hit easily. Cutting back on shorts has allowed me to regain some of my attention span, yet I can still feel it's not what it used to be...