Short-form video platforms trap users with ADHD in endless loops

A study by TU Graz shows that algorithms used by short-form video platforms are particularly effective at keeping people with ADHD engaged. This "engagement trap" often leads to wasted time and emotional stress. The EU is currently considering stricter rules for services such as TikTok.

Short-form video platforms such as TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts use an effective tactic to maximize the time their users spend on the platform: they feed one video after another into the algorithmically generated feed. As you scroll, new content loads automatically. This creates an endless loop of ever-changing content with no discernible end.

A study by Graz University of Technology (TU Graz) has now quantified the negative effects of these recommender systems on people with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), who, among other things, experience impairments in executive functions such as impulse control, time management and self-regulation. The researchers led by Elisabeth Lex from the Institute of Human-Centered Computing define the phenomenon of the "engagement trap" as a state in which algorithms capture users' attention so effectively that the ability to deliberately stop using the service is systematically undermined. "By the 'engagement trap', we mean a situation in which (video) recommendations are, on the one hand, perceived as highly relevant, but, on the other hand, people find it very difficult to tear themselves away from the screen and consciously control their own behavior." They lose control over when to stop and put their mobile phones away - and, unfortunately, this particularly affects people with ADHD, according to Elisabeth Lex.

Losing track of time and emotional strain following use

The results of the study, which involved 302 participants, highlight significant differences in the user experience between groups with and without ADHD. Everyone rated the content of the video recommendations as equally relevant to their personal interests. However, the consequences of its use varied considerably. Participants with ADHD suffered from a marked lack of the awareness of time and reported great difficulty in perceiving the time that had actually elapsed while scrolling. As a result, they often stayed online for much longer than they had intended and found it difficult to stop engaging with the short-form video platforms.

The negative effects do not end when the app is closed, but often result in emotional distress. The study shows that people with ADHD often experience intense feelings of regret and guilt after consuming short videos. They often feel that the time spent doing so was not valuable, important planned tasks had been put on hold, and they report that their mood deteriorated.

Our findings show that recommender systems optimized for engagement place a disproportionate emotional and behavioral burden on people with ADHD."

Elisabeth Lex, Institute of Human-Centered Computing, TU Graz

Calls for inclusive design solutions

In light of this systemic inequality, researchers at TU Graz are calling for the design of digital interfaces to be made sensitive to neurodiversity. The study found that participants were interested in support in the form of a fixed maximum number of videos per session or continuous visual time displays. Elisabeth Lex emphasizes the responsibility of developers: "To redress this imbalance, we must move away from optimization focused purely on engagement towards human-centred design practices that explicitly support users' sense of time and their intentional control." Such inclusive features could help to mitigate the negative effects of the engagement trap in the long term and strengthen digital self-determination.

Platform operators under pressure

These scientific findings from TU Graz come against the backdrop of an increasingly public, political and legal debate over whether platform operators such as Meta encourage compulsive or potentially addictive use through certain design elements and recommendation systems, thereby breaching their duty of care. In the US, Meta and Google were found negligent by a jury in a landmark case in March 2026 and ordered to pay a total of US$6 million in damages; TikTok and Snapchat had previously reached out-of-court settlements with the claimant. Developments have now also taken concrete shape at EU level: In February 2026, the European Commission identified preliminary breaches of the Digital Services Act by TikTok, and in July 2026 by Instagram and Facebook, due to 'addictive' designs. The focus is, amongst other things, on infinite scrolling, autoplay, push notifications and personalized recommendation systems, as well as their potential impact on physical and mental health, particularly that of minors and vulnerable adults.