Most people have their phone within reach at all times and tend to pick it up mindlessly when they have a few spare seconds. When they’re bored, they may check the news, scroll through social media, or swipe through videos online, but that last one may not be helping at all. According to a new study, watching short snippets of videos or fast-forwarding through them - known as digital “switching” actually increases boredom.
The research involves seven experiments with more than 12-hundred participants who switched from one online video to the next when they were bored. They thought they’d feel less bored by switching videos instead of watching them all the way through, but it turns out, they felt even more bored and less satisfied or engaged with the content.
When participants watched entire videos, they felt less bored, and found the viewing experience more satisfying, engaging and meaningful, according to researchers. “Digital switching may make the content of online videos seem meaningless because people don’t have time to engage with or understand the content,” explains lead study author Dr. Katy Tam. “Just like paying for a more immersive experience in a movie theater, more enjoyment comes from immersing oneself in online videos rather than swiping through them.”
Source: Talker