Browsing online videos does not alleviate residents’ boredom

(HealthDay News) Bored residents?

A new study shows that the time they spend watching online videos isn't helping them.

Watching short video clips or fast-forwarding through them bores people more than it bores them less, according to seven experiments involving more than 1,200 Americans and Canadians.

Such “digital switching” is less edifying than staying with a video and watching it to the end, says lead researcher Katy Tam, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Toronto.

The results showed that participants found the longer viewing experience more satisfying, exciting and meaningful than browsing through a series of videos.

Participants reported similar results when watching a 10-minute video rather than fast-forwarding or rewinding a 50-minute video for 10 minutes, the researchers said.

The new paper was published on 19 August in Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.

“With the digital shift, the content of online videos can seem meaningless because people don't have time to engage with or understand the content,” Tam said in a magazine press release.

These findings support growing evidence that smartphone use does indeed increase boredom and reduce enjoyment of social situations, the researchers said.

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