A surprising new report from the psychology and neuroscience departments at Tianjin Normal University in China links short-video addiction (SVA) with an increased tendency for substance use disorders (SUDs).

The research, published in the June issue of the journal, NeuroImage, relies on the impact SVA has on loss aversion. Loss aversion is a measure of the willingness to take risks. According to a systematic review of the literature, “users of addictive substances show less loss aversion than nonusers.”

The sequence researchers are postulating is that SVA erodes loss aversion, increases risk-taking behavior, and leads to engagement with addictive substances in higher-than-average numbers. The first part of this formula is SVA, which degrades a person’s self-control, making them more willing to take potentially harmful risks.

The study involved a small sample size of 49 students suffering from SVA. One-fourth of the participants were booted for various infractions, leading to a final 39 students completing the study. Initial MRI scans were made of all participants.

To assess the connection between SVA and loss aversion, participants performed a “gambling task” where they were informed that the wins would be added to their compensation and the losses subtracted. Previous research has estimated that the average person is twice as sensitive to the possibility of a loss as they are to the potential for a similar-sized gain.

For each gamble, participants are required to make a decision under a three-second time limit. During the study, participants were lying down on a scanner bed with their heads stabilized while fMRI scans were produced. Analysis found:

[A] significant negative correlation between SVA and loss aversion, indicating that individuals with higher addiction symptoms tended to exhibit lower sensitivity to loss.

Regarding the impact of SVA on decision-making capabilities, researchers found that “individuals with higher addiction symptoms tend to accumulate decision evidence more rapidly.” Using fMRI, researchers could watch activation in the brain regions associated with each step of decision-making, including recognizing that a decision needs to be made, accumulating evidence, making the decision, and assessing the decision.

Researchers could also see with some degree of gradation how responsive individuals were to the magnitude of the losses or gains involved in the gambles. The strength of SVA correlated with a lack of interest in smaller gambles. The researchers concluded:

[I]ndividuals with higher SVA symptoms may underestimate losses relative to gains, potentially contributing to compulsive short-video consumption despite awareness of its negative consequences.

Finally, the researchers attempt to close the loop and show how an addiction to watching short videos can degrade a person’s ability to resist self-destructive substances and behaviors. Here’s the theory:

This cognitive bias may arise from short-video platforms’ algorithm-driven exposure to immediate, high-intensity sensory stimuli, reinforcing “rapid-switching and instant-feedback” behavioral modes and leading to accelerated evidence accumulation in decision-making tasks.

In short, excessive watching of short videos leads to impatience when assembling the evidence necessary to make a decision. Making impulsive, risky decisions is correlated with all kinds of problems, including substance abuse, unwanted pregnancy, and squandered finances. It’s a long walk, however, from scrolling videos to doing time in jail, and not all the steps along the way have been convincingly demonstrated.

Written by Steve O’Keefe. First published July 16, 2025.

Sources:

“Loss aversion and evidence accumulation in short-video addiction: A behavioral and neuroimaging investigation,” NeuroImage, June 2025.

“2 Ways ‘Short-Video Addiction’ Changes Your Brain, By A Psychologist,” Forbes, July 11, 2025.

“Decision Making in Addictive Behaviors Based on Prospect Theory: A Systematic Review,” Healthcare, August 31, 2022.

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