By skyforbes 
Have you noticed you find it hard to focus ever since you keep using TikTok?
Do you get easily bored? Like you can’t stay and watch any video above 60 seconds because you start to have the itch to scroll up or swipe to something new?
I noticed this happening to me recently, and it really bothered me.
I realized it started when I began spending more and more time on TikTok.
I can barely sit down and read a book now without having the itch to stand or do something else every minute
…and I call myself a bookworm!
I suspected these short videos I’m watching on TikTok must be affecting my brain in some ways, so I decided to look it up.
Here’s what I found out…
Memory loss, depression, stress, and anxiety.
A study on 3,036 Chinese Senior High School students reveals that constant exposure to TikTok results in memory loss, depression, stress, and anxiety (Sha & Dong, 2021).
These effects then compound because the more depression, stress, and anxiety we feel, the more we lose grip on our memories as well.
That’s a double negative triggered by the black app!
Higher cases of forgetfulness
TikTok specifically harms our Prospective Memory (PM) (Chiossi, et.al., 2023).
PM is our ability to remember something we plan to do while engaged in another task.
For example, before the TikTok era, we would make a mental note of doing slides for our class report, and we would remember it while washing dishes.
But now with TikTok, it basically feeds us with so much information in such a short time with its tiny videos that our brain is overloaded with information.
And what does our brain do when it’s overloaded with info?
It lets go of the previous memory stored in its drive.
There goes your mental note to do your slides for your report.
Our PM is no longer functioning properly.
Another study with the Jordanian youth presents the same results.
Short-form video content presents “risks on cognitive functions,” and academics have started calls for support in the form of digital literacy programs, mental health services,and policy interventions that “balance the digital media ecosystem and responsible media consumption” (Rahayu, 2025).
Low class performance, attentiveness, and participation
TikTok becomes so good at grabbing our attention that it is identified as one of the major culprits for students not paying attention in class.
In a study on distraction among college students, 3 groups were created to see how they would react to certain social media stimuli or the absence of them.
Group 1 & 2 are given phones, and Group 3, no phone at all.
And at the end of the experiment, can you guess the group that has higher focus and performance in class?
Group 3, yes!
The study found that students focus more WITHOUT a cellphone nearby and that even the presence of a cellphone, even if they are not using it, is a cause of distraction when completing their school work! (Mekler, 2021)
The study also notes how low-class participation also contributes to the students’ low self-esteem. Because students did not perform their best in class, they leave the class feeling less confident about their skills and abilities.
Many of us seriously underestimate the dangerous effects of TikTok on our brains and psyche.
This is true, especially for me.
But now that I know all these?
I’m planning to be intentional on my TikTok use starting today.
I’ll discipline myself to spend no more than 30 minutes on the app and then let it go in favor of offline activities to improve my memory.
Offline activities as “exercise for the brain”
To exercise my brain and improve my memory, I can start with this:
7-Day Boost Your Memory Challenge
It’s an “offline brain exercise” workbook specifically designed to improve a person’s memory and recall so you can perform better, both in academic and personal life.
Click here to purchase the 7-Day Boost Your Memory Challenge
References:
Chiossi, F., Haliburton, L., Ou, C., Butz, A., and Schmidt, A. (2023). Short-Form Videos Degrade Our Capacity to Retain Intentions: Effect of Context Switching On Prospective Memory. In Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ‘23). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, Article 30, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1145/3544548.3580778
Mekler, A. (2021). The effects of TikTok use on college student learning. Undergraduate Review, 16(1), 145–153.
Rahayu, F. S., Wulandari, K., Christianto, S., Marcelino, A. J., & Haryanto, I. (2025, July). Does Short Video Lead to Decreased Attention Span and Memory Impairment? a Study on the Impact of Excessive Use of It on Well-Being. In 2025 International Seminar on Intelligent Technology and Its Applications (ISITIA) (pp. 673–678). IEEE.
Sha, P., & Dong, X. (2021). Research on adolescents regarding the indirect effect of depression, anxiety, and stress between TikTok use disorder and memory loss. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(16), 8820.