People with short-video addiction show altered brain responses during decision-making

People with short-video addiction show altered brain responses during decision-making

People who frequently use short-video apps like TikTok may show reduced loss sensitivity and impulsive decision-making, according to a new neuroimaging study that links addictive use patterns to changes in brain activity during risky choices.

psypost.org

A new fMRI study in NeuroImage finds that people who report feeling addicted to TikTok-style short videos are less sensitive to financial losses and make snap, impulsive choices—just like folks with gambling or substance addictions. By having 36 students gamble on hypothetical wins and losses while measuring decision speed via a drift diffusion model, researchers showed that higher “video-addiction” scores meant lower loss aversion and faster evidence accumulation. Brain scans revealed that these users had dialed-down activity in the precuneus (a self-control hub) when weighing gains, but cranked-up activity in motor/sensory areas (cerebellum and postcentral gyrus) during loss evaluation.

While the findings suggest that endless, dopamine-hit short clips might rewire our risk radar—underestimating time waste, sleep loss or ever-lasting impact—caveats remain. The small, student-only sample and simulated gambles limit broad claims, and it’s still unclear if binging videos reshapes the brain or if certain brain styles draw you to the scroll. The team’s next moves? Longitudinal designs, more realistic tasks and a “brain-imaging + psychology + molecular” mash-up to predict and maybe curb this digital habit.