Analyzing the impact of short-form video consumption on attention focus and language comprehension
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64268/jllm.v1i02.7Keywords:
Short-form video, Academic Language Comprehension, University Students, Digital MediaAbstract
Background: The rapid development of short-form video platforms has transformed university students’ media consumption patterns and given rise to a new digital learning ecology in higher education. Although short-form videos are frequently used as sources of informal learning, their fast-paced, repetitive, and highly stimulating characteristics raise concerns about students’ ability to maintain sustained attention, which is a crucial prerequisite for academic language comprehension. However, empirical studies that integrate short-form video consumption, attentional focus, and language comprehension within a single, comprehensive explanatory model remain limited, particularly in the context of Indonesian higher education.
Objective: This study aims to analyze the effect of short-form video consumption on university students’ language comprehension and to examine the role of attentional focus as a mediating variable in this relationship.
Method: This study employed an explanatory quantitative approach with a cross-sectional survey design. Data were collected from 312 undergraduate students enrolled in Indonesian higher education institutions using a Likert-scale questionnaire. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics, multiple regression analysis, and mediation testing with a bootstrapping approach.
Results: The findings indicate that short-form video consumption has a significant negative effect on students’ language comprehension. In addition, short-form video consumption negatively affects attentional focus, while attentional focus has a positive and significant effect on language comprehension. Mediation analysis demonstrates that attentional focus serves as a partial mediator in the relationship between short-form video consumption and language comprehension.
Conclusion: This study concludes that short-form video consumption not only has a direct impact on university students’ language comprehension but also exerts an indirect effect through a reduction in sustained attentional focus.
References
Alfatih, M. F., Nashwandra, N. B., Nugraha, N. I., Banyubasa, A., Simangunsong, G. A., Barus, I. R. G., & Fami, A. (2024a). The influence of tiktok short-form videos on attention span and study habits of students in college of vocational studies ipb university. Edutech, 23(2), 202–212. https://doi.org/10.17509/e.v23i2.69229
Asif, M., & Kazi, S. (2022). Examining the influence of short videos on attention span and its relationship with academic performance. Open Access, 13(4).
Attruk, M. F. H., & Yasin, M. I. (n.d.). A critical review of tiktok’s role in motivating indonesian students to learn foreign languages.
Azzahro, S. Z. N., Ahada, I., Hermagustiana, I., & Amarullah, A. K. (2025b). Students’ experiences using tiktok for developing english listening skills: pengalaman mahasiswa menggunakan tiktok untuk pengembangan keterampilan mendengarkan bahasa inggris. Indonesian Journal of Innovation Studies, 26(4). https://doi.org/10.21070/ijins.v26i4.1834
Chiencharoenthanakij, R., Yothamart, K., Chantathamma, N., Sukhumdecha, W., Charoensri, S., Thanyakulsajja, B., & Anuroj, K. (2025). Short‐form video media use is associated with greater inattentive symptoms in thai school‐age children: insights from a cross‐sectional survey. Brain and Behavior, 15(7), e70656. https://doi.org/10.1002/brb3.70656
Chiossi, F., Haliburton, L., Ou, C., Butz, A., & Schmidt, A. (2023). Short-Form Videos Degrade Our Capacity to Retain Intentions: Effect of Context Switching On Prospective Memory. Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1145/3544548.3580778
Gong, Q., & Tao, T. (2024). The relationship between short video usage and academic achievement among elementary school students: The mediating effect of attention and the moderating effect of parental short video usage. PLOS ONE, 19(11), e0309899. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309899
Kirschner, P. A., & De Bruyckere, P. (2017). The myths of the digital native and the multitasker. Teaching and Teacher Education, 67, 135–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2017.06.001
Levy, H., & Hanulíková, A. (2023). Spot It and Learn It! Word Learning in Virtual Peer‐Group Interactions Using a Novel Paradigm for School‐Aged Children. Language Learning, 73(1), 197–230. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12520
Mao, M., & Liao, F. (2025). Undergraduates short form video addiction and learning burnout association involving anxiety symptoms and coping styles moderation. Scientific Reports, 15(1), 24191. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-09656-x
Mayer, R. (2020). Multimedia Learning (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316941355
Ophir, E., Nass, C., & Wagner, A. D. (2009). Cognitive control in media multitaskers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(37), 15583–15587. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0903620106
Rahmat, H., & Assafari, M. M. (2025). University students’ perception and challenges of using tiktok as creative platform in learning speaking. 15(1). https://doi.org/10.20414/cordova.v15i1.14097
Sana, F., Weston, T., & Cepeda, N. J. (2013). Laptop multitasking hinders classroom learning for both users and nearby peers. Computers & Education, 62, 24–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2012.10.003
Saputri, S. W. H., Sari, H. P., & Primasari, Y. (2025). The efficacy of tiktok short video to elevate the students’ achievement on the vocabulary learning: the experimental study in smp negeri 3 sutojayan. 6. https://doi.org/10.37478/jpm.v6i1.4738
Šimkutė, D. (2025). Neurocognitive correlates of internet use: Psychological measures and electrophysiological signatures from resting-state and task-based EEG in a sample of healthy regular internet users [Natural Sciences, Vilnius University]. https://doi.org/10.15388/vu.thesis.872
Storesund, A., & Helle, K. B. (1975). Practolol, caffeine and calcium in the regulation of mechanical activity of the cardiac ventricle in Myxine glutinosa (L.). Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. C: Comparative Pharmacology, 52(1), 17–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/0306-4492(75)90006-4
Suzuki-2022-Grammar-ID. (n.d.).
Sweller, J. (2011). Cognitive Load Theory. In Psychology of Learning and Motivation (Vol. 55, pp. 37–76). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-387691-1.00002-8
Uncapher, M. R., & Wagner, A. D. (2018). Minds and brains of media multitaskers: Current findings and future directions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(40), 9889–9896. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1611612115
Ward, A. F., Duke, K., Gneezy, A., & Bos, M. W. (2017). Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of One’s Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, 2(2), 140–154. https://doi.org/10.1086/691462
Wira Hestiningrum, H., & Susanto, F. (2025). University students’ perceptions on tiktok as a digital learning platform for pronunciation learning. JEELL (Journal of English Education, Linguistics and Literature), 12(3), 316–328. https://doi.org/10.32682/jeell.v12i3.101
Xie, J., Xu, X., Zhang, Y., Tan, Y., Wu, D., Shi, M., & Huang, H. (2023d). The effect of short-form video addiction on undergraduates’ academic procrastination: A moderated mediation model. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1298361. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1298361
Yan, T., Su, C., Xue, W., Hu, Y., & Zhou, H. (2024). Mobile phone short video use negatively impacts attention functions: An EEG study. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 18, 1383913. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2024.1383913
Yang, Y., Zhang, C., Zhang, S., & Shen, J. (2025). TikTok in higher education: A systematic review of disciplinary applications, learning outcomes, and implementation factors. Interactive Learning Environments, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2025.2564736
Zhao, X., & Wang, D. (2023). Grit in second language acquisition: A systematic review from 2017 to 2022. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1238788. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1238788
Downloads
Published
Versions
- 2026-02-03 (3)
- 2026-02-03 (2)
- 2025-12-08 (1)
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Muhammad Arief Rizka
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
