Researchers have found that excessive engagement with short videos on TikTok and Instagram negatively alters brain function. This was reported in the journal "NeuroImage."
It is noted that individuals who actively watch short videos experience an expansion of the brain's "reward system"—neural chains that activate during alcohol consumption or gambling. In other words, the brain becomes "overstimulated by dopamine" and begins to respond poorly to ordinary sources of pleasure.
As a result, this leads to addiction, requiring increasingly stronger stimuli for satisfaction. The prefrontal cortex, responsible for decision-making and focus, is also damaged.
According to neurobiologists, such changes resemble cognitive disorders observed after excessive alcohol consumption.
Researchers particularly highlight the risks of watching TikTok or Reels at night. The bright screen light and emotionally intense content disrupt the circadian rhythm (the 24-hour biological clock in the human body), slow melatonin production, and interfere with the body's transition to sleep.
