Swiping through online videos to relieve boredom may actually make people more bored and less satisfied or engaged with the content, according to research published in the . The study included seven experiments with a total of more than 1,200 participants from the United States or college students at the University of Toronto. In two baseline experiments, participants switched from one online to the next when they were bored, and they predicted they would feel less bored by switching videos instead of watching them in their entirety.
However, the study found that digital switching—watching short snippets of videos or fast forwarding through them—actually made people more bored, said lead study author Katy Tam, Ph.D., a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Toronto.
"If people want a more enjoyable experience when watching videos, they can try to stay focused on the content and minimize digital switching," Tam said. "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." In one experiment with two segments, all the participants watched a 10-minute YouTube video without having the option to fast forward.
In another segment, they could freely switch through seven five-minute videos within 10 minutes. Participants reported feeling less bored when they watched the single video and found the viewing experience to be more satisfying, engaging and meaningful than w.