Short-Form Videos and Symptoms of ADHD: Associations with Attention, Working Memory, and Cognitive Control

This study investigated the effects of short-form video usage on working memory, attention, and cognitive control. Approximately 196 participants completed a self-report survey, one of three randomly assigned experimental conditions, and a series of cognitive tasks. The video condition viewed approximately five minutes of short-form videos from TikTok. The image condition viewed a comparable number of images sourced from Instagram. The control condition proceeded directly to the cognitive tasks (Simon, N-Back, and Psychomotor Vigilance tasks). I hypothesized that exposure to short-form videos would be associated with decreased attention, working memory, and cognitive control, even after controlling for symptoms of anxiety and depression and social media use. This research will contribute to the understanding of how short-form video use interacts with cognitive functions and ADHD symptomology, aiding in updating guidance for social media use, developing more efficient clinical screening methods, and assisting practitioners in recommending interventions.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychological Science

Grantor

Texas Woman's University

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Locke, Brianna

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Rivers, Alannah Shelby

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Babineau, Addison
• Rosen, Lisa

• ADHD
• Working memory
• Attention
• Social media
• Cognitive control
• Short-form videos

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/11274/17841

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:twu-ir.tdl.org:11274/17841