Do you skip through online videos when you feel bored? Try watching them fully instead, as a recent study suggests that rapid switching will only increase boredom.
In the latest study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, researchers analyzed the impact of digital switching on boredom and found that the habit of watching only short snippets of videos or frequently fast-forwarding through them can actually increase feelings of boredom.
"If people want a more enjoyable experience when watching videos, they can try to stay focused on the content and minimize digital switching. Just like paying for a more immersive experience in a movie theater, more enjoyment comes from immersing oneself in online videos rather than swiping through them," Katy Tam, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Toronto who led the study, said in a news release.
The findings were based on seven experiments conducted on a total of more than 1,200 participants who were from the United States or college students at the University of Toronto.
In one experiment, participants watched a 10-minute YouTube video where they were not given an option to fast forward. In another segment of the same experiment, they were allowed to switch freely between seven five-minute videos within a 10-minute timeframe. When the participants watched a single video without interruptions, they reported feeling less bored and found the viewing experience more satisfying, engaging, and meaningful than when they were switching videos.
The researchers noted similar findings when they conducted another experiment where participants watched a 10-minute video in one segment with the option to fast-forward or rewind through a 50-minute video for 10 minutes in another segment.
The boredom from digital switching happens when online video content feels meaningless, as people don't have enough time to engage with or fully understand it, Tam explained.
"Digital switching may be a related source of boredom, which could have negative mental health consequences. Chronic boredom is linked with depressive symptoms, anxiety, sadistic aggression and risk-taking," Tam noted.
However, since the findings are based on college students in Toronto, they may vary depending on age or experience with digital media and may not be fully representative of the broader population.
