The main focus for week 3’s process post was to use social media as a learning tool. Since our inquiry focuses on how social media affects attention span, focus, productivity, and learning in digital environments, our group decided to engage with educational content on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube and reflect on our own experiences.

Throughout the week, I spent time watching educational creators on all three platforms. I explored content related to psychology, health and fitness, nutrition, education, and current events. One thing I noticed right away was that TikTok and Instagram were really good at sparking my interest in new topics. A short video could introduce an idea I had never thought about before and make me want to learn more about it.

However, I found that the short form content was often too short for deeper learning. While I was exposed to lots of information, I rarely felt like I was getting the full picture. One minute I could be watching a video about psychology, and the next I would be watching something about nutrition or fitness. The constant switching between topics made it difficult to stay focused on one idea for very long.

I also found that I often could not remember the details of the videos I had watched. Sometimes I would see an interesting educational TikTok, but after a couple more scrolls I could barely recall what the video had been about. Even though I was technically learning new things, I found myself continuing to scroll rather than stopping to reflect on the information. Based on my own experience, I felt that short-form content weakened my learning because I was consuming information so quickly that I was not always retaining it.

My experience also seemed to align with recent research on short-form video content. Haliti-Sylaj and Sadiku (2024) found that higher levels of short-reel consumption on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube were associated with shorter attention spans and lower academic performance among undergraduate students. The authors suggest that constantly consuming fast-paced content can make it more difficult to maintain focus on longer and more cognitively demanding tasks.

Figure 1. Relationship between short-reel consumption and attention performance among undergraduate students. Higher levels of reel consumption were associated with slower reaction times and more attention errors (Haliti-Sylaj & Sadiku, 2024). 

My experience with YouTube was quite different. The videos explained topics in more depth, provided more context than the short form videos. Since the videos were longer, I felt more engaged with a single topic and was naturally forced to keep listening rather than immediately move on to something new. I found I was actually able to retain more information. Although, after watching the short formed videos I found it more difficult to keep my focus for the longer ones.

Another part of this week’s learning involved evaluating the credibility of the educational content I was engaging with. When I came across information that seemed surprising or important, I did a little more research on that topic and found most of the information was generally accurate, but I noticed that some creators left out important details or oversimplified complex topics to fit into a short video. 

Connected this to one of our course readings on digital literacy. Before reading it, I thought digital literacy was simply knowing how to use technology. I learned that it also involves accessing, analyzing, and evaluating information, as well as using critical thinking to make informed decisions online. Fact checking the educational content I came across made me realize how important these skills are when using social media as a learning tool because not everything we see online can tell the whole story. 

Overall, this week helped me see both the strengths and weaknesses of educational content on social media. While TikTok and Instagram were excellent for introducing new topics and sparking curiosity, I personally found that YouTube supported deeper learning and better information retention. I believe these observations will help inform the research and personal reflection sections of our final group project.

References: 

Haliti-Sylaj, T., Sadiku, A. (2024). Impact of Short Reels on Attention Span and Academic Performance of Undergraduate Students. Eurasian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 10(3), 60-68. EJ1454296.pdf 

British Columbia Ministry of Education and Child Care. (2022, April 1). Digital literacy Digital Literacy – Province of British Columbia