Probably,

all of you know what TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels are. Just in case, I will tell you what these are anyway. These services are video hosting platforms, but their videos are not standard horizontal videos with 5-20 minute lengths; their videos are short and in vertical format. Furthermore, instead of selecting and watching videos, users just swipe videos, up to see the next video and down to see the previous one.

The idea,

of such types of videos is actually great because users can more quickly get useful information instead of watching 20 minute videos with 16 minutes of "water," thanks to swiping, the algorithm, and video length (which is usually less than 1 minute). 

Also, this type of video can serve as entertainment; besides useful information, users can find dances, let's plays, blogs, and memes there. Overall, it is one more form of entertainment in the digital world.

Talking about the algorithm,

I can say that it is the most important part of a vertical video platform because users need to be engaged in watching videos; the video which the user will see next by swiping up should be interesting to keep the user swiping and swiping. So, vertical video services need to know what kind of videos the user is interested in; to know this, the platform collects data about the user: what types of videos the user is liking, what videos the user is sharing, what videos the user has searched, and what videos the user has watched more. 

The platform also considers trends and popular hashtags, and after all, it all comes together to pick up the next video for a specific user — this is called the algorithm. The algorithm analyzes the user's interest profile to show similar videos and keep the user engaged.

Addiction concerns

are a frequent problem of vertical video platforms. This happens due to the algorithm because it shows interesting videos, and users just keep scrolling endlessly. This problem can lead to bad consequences, such as the loss and waste of time, loss of connection with real life, and forgetting about important things.

Young people especially can be addicted to vertical videos, causing them to basically get stuck in a digital world. Platforms are trying to address this issue by adding options to limit time spent or adding parental control options, so parents can control how much time their children spend online.

Brainrot

is defined as an inability to think clearly caused by excessive consumption of low-quality online content and has become another problem of vertical video platforms because of the selection of meaningless content by the algorithm. To speak broadly, this kind of video could be interesting but it is fully deprived of any meaning and quickly gets boring, but the user subconsciously continues to scroll, hoping that the next video will be interesting; however, the next videos are equally meaningless. 

This can lead to doomscrolling(defined as spending excessive time online scrolling through news or other content that makes one feel sad, anxious, angry, etc.). All of this negatively influences your mind, and may lead to stalled self-development and an angry or sad mood.

But why

does meaningless content exist? The answer is very simple: creators. Video creators' goal is to get as many views, likes, and shares as possible because they get paid for this. The most effective way to get views is by creating meaningless videos because they easily spread and attract attention.

I can give you an example: streams on TikTok where nothing happens. This can even be a pre-recorded video where a "streamer" promises to do something interesting after reaching a certain amount of likes, subscriptions, donations, etc.; and after reaching these goals, nothing happens — the "streamer" continues to raise the bar, and people keep watching. In essence, streamers do nothing, just repeating the same things many times, promising something, and getting paid, while people waste their time.

Similar things exist in simple videos, where unfunny and meaningless videos or memes are posted for the already tenth time, and people somehow keep watching; the creator keeps getting paid. So, creators, in pursuit of more engagement, are posting brainrot content.

In conclusion,

everything I can say is that people need to control what content they are consuming online and control the time they spend online. Meanwhile, platforms need to more actively fight against meaningless content which is supposed to farm engagement. Generally, vertical videos are a good idea which, unfortunately, is becoming another way to monetize people's attention, which was gained not in the best way.