the short form content epidemic

I don’t know if you’ve noticed but Social Media has been changing.

Last night I laid down in bed and uninstalled Instagram on my phone so I can’t go watch reels (I install and uninstall Instagram at least 3 times/day, trying to only use it to post and then delete again 😄 )

Result? I opened up the YouTube app and watched 30 minutes of YouTube shorts instead (might have been longer idk).

During those “30 minutes” I told myself at least 4 times: “ok this is the last one”. But I kept going because let’s be honest: These Internet reels are hilarious and creative.

YouTube shorts, Instagram Reels, and TikTok are heavily entertaining and hands-down the most addictive activity I ever did.

Once I start it’s so hard for me to stop. Haven’t experienced that with anything else in my life (not even with chocolate and I love chocolate).

But it’s even worse:

When I do then finally stop I feel nervous, agitated, and awake (which is not good when you watch them right before sleeping time).

And I know my triggers… Sometimes I’m so exhausted from thinking - the business, the reading, the talking - at the end of the day I just want to turn off my brain and watch something on Youtube - mostly it’s UFC/BJJ fights, comedy clips, and football highlights. 😅😅.

But what happens if I don't find the perfect fitting video in the first 10 seconds? The YouTube shorts button is right there - I click on it and from then on it's the road to hell. They got me. AGAIN.

Kind of embarrassing to admit all this but just wanted to share with you how devastating short-form content has been for me. And many can relate. How do I know?

I posted about it on Threads and people agreed:

But also in private, I see it everywhere. People are scrolling on buses, trains, in restaurants, drinking coffee, waiting for the busses, and even when talking to each other. The reel scrolling is everywhere - once you focus on it you cannot unsee it.

And why are they so successful?

Short-form 15-to 60-second videos are the perfect solution to short-time boredom. 
Often we have some minutes to spare. Instead of being bored people open the app and scroll through reels - the perfect activity when waiting.

And I get it - they are fun. Too much fun tbh. They are getting better and better and there is now a whole culture about sharing the funniest and best reels with your friends (I do that myself, I cannot help it).

But: I’m convinced they are breaking our brains. And it’s on us to protect it.

Reels are designed to hook and keep our attention - the videos switch rapidly, and changing the video is easy, making stopping watching them VERY hard.

I’m honestly so surprised at how effective they are - they are more powerful and destructive than anything else I consume.

Because long-form content is not the problem - Netflix, regular YouTube videos, podcasts - they are not the problem. They are not damaging people’s lives.

What is damaging people’s lives is the short-form consumption of reels. The introduction of reels is one of the most devastating things that happened in the last few years.

They are designed to distract your brain, constantly switch, eliminate the need for patience, and aim at CONSTANT entertainment. This constant rush of dopamine cannot be good.

And you can also see it in the strategy of the social media platforms: On Instagram it’s impossible to grow unless you do reels. Instagram recognizes that reels are the best way to keep people glued to their app - so they reward them.

Solution? We need to rebel. Especially us online creators.

Focus on long-form content. Newsletters, Podcasts, long-form threads, YouTube videos, etc… Produce high-quality long-form content that aims at teaching people.

Of course, short-from will always be part of the strategy but don’t make it your main one. Because I promise you - short-form content might get you traction and followers faster but long-form content is what’s gonna grow you a sustainable and profitable brand.

And just to be clear:

There are many Instagram accounts with 100k+ followers making NO money (I know cause they reach out to me).

Why don’t they make money? Cause they only focus on short-form and don’t funnel people into their long-form content.

Long-form content is where you convert followers into customers. Because think about it:

The more people spend time with your content the more they gonna know you. The more they gonna know you the more they gonna like you (hopefully 🫠 ) and the more willing they will be to invest in your brand.

Long-form content is the way. It’s the healthiest for the brain and also the one that builds trust with your audience the most.

So idk where social media will go in the future. But I don’t think it will be good. It will reward short-form content more and more.

Because their goal is not to make their creators money. Their goal is it to keep people on the app - and you do that by stimulating them with as much diversity and excitement as possible.

Short form content teaches distraction, non-commitment and shallow knowledge. Long-form content teaches commitment, deep knowledge and focus.

So please - I will try in the future to stay off Shorts and reels as much as possible and I recommend you do the same.

Let’s rebel against this short-form epidemic together. It’s clearly not good for humanity. The impact it has is probably far more stretching than I’m even aware of.

Any comments? I’d love to hear your thoughts, reply to this email and I get back to you.

With love,

Heythem

P.S.: I recorded a Podcast with Tim Schreiber. Some of you know him - he is a great guy, very knowledgeable, and one of the first people I connected with when I started on social media. You can give it a listen here (it’s a long-form video hehe): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ammwQAhMKI