{
  "abstract": "Short-form video platforms expose users to rapid streams of novel content; these features are posited to place heavy demands on cognitive processes. In a preregistered online study, we used device-reported screen time to examine whether short-form video use is associated with sustained attention and episodic memory in participants aged 18-24 yrs (N = 502). During a sustained attention task, participants made indoor/outdoor decisions on scene stimuli, with 90% frequent trials and 10% infrequent trials; the subsequent surprise recognition test assessed memory for these items. Among participants with device-reported TikTok or Instagram use (N = 398), short-form video use was not associated with attention performance. By contrast, greater short-form video use was associated with poorer episodic memory; this relationship was driven by poorer recognition of infrequent-category items. These findings connect heavier short-form video consumption with poorer episodic memory in young adults, showing how daily digital habits co-vary with memory function.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Stanford University"
  ],
  "article_type": "New results",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "K. K. Chen"
    },
    {
      "name": "D. S. Miller"
    },
    {
      "name": "K. K. Nguyen"
    },
    {
      "name": "A. D. Wagner"
    },
    {
      "name": "T. T. Tran"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0v7xpg3x2pd72.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.64898/2026.10.07.757368",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.07.757368v1.full",
  "id": "0v7xpg3x2pd72",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.07.757368v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "biorxiv",
      "neuroscience"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1706|Digital Media and Philosophy"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221996841",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.07.757368v1.full.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-07",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0v7xpg3x2pd72.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:27:54Z",
      "native_id": "10.64898/2026.10.07.757368",
      "source": "biorxiv",
      "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.07.757368v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "biorxiv:neuroscience",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    }
  ],
  "title": "The Cost to Scroll: Short-form Video Use and Episodic Memory",
  "title_text": "The Cost to Scroll: Short-form Video Use and Episodic Memory",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:27:54Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/0v7xpg3x2pd72",
  "venue": "bioRxiv",
  "versions": []
}