Are you addicted to watching video clips on your device? Many people watch short-form content through applications such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, etc. In March 2023, from the 9th to the 13th, Opensurvey investigated the rate of short-form consumption in Korea of nearly five thousand people from the ages of 15 to 57 years old. The rate of shortform consumption in this survey was 68% in 2023, which was a jump of 12.4% from last year.

After Using Short-form

Kwon Min-soo in the Department of English Language & Literature and Kim Eun-ji in the Department of Korean Education shared their experience watching short-form content.

1.  How long do you spend watching short-form content and why do you spend your time watching it?
Kwon:  “I watch video clips between three and four hours a day on the weekends and holidays, and from a half-hour to an hour everyday during the semester. It is a lot of fun to watch.”
Kim:   “I watch video clips for over an hour every day. I watch it subconsciously because videos appear automatically on my feed when I go on social media. In addition, it’s an easy way to kill time when I have some free time.”

2. How do you think short-form content affects you?

Kwon:   “I think I can gather a lot of intensive information about society, economics, and drama in a short amount of time. On the other hand, whenever I watch these short clips, my concentration and patience run thin.”
Kim:  “Consuming short-form media has the benefit of exposing me to a variety of topics in a short time span. I can watch clips about many aspects of the world. In addition, short-form content briefly presents key information from a large amount of data. On the flip side, I think short-form is a prime example of ‘killing time’. That’s because there’s nothing remarkable about those videos when I think back on them. It makes it difficult for me to think critically and independently when I spend my time passively consuming a lot of stimulating content.”

Effects of Short-form Media

Noh Shin-young from Jeonju Public Media Center introduced the long-term effects of consuming short-form media. She stated, “Many modern people pursue effectiveness not only in business but in everyday life.” Short-form content is influential because it is very simple for producers and consumers to use, as people only need their phone to either make it or watch it, and it does not require a high amount of concentration. People typically watch various content in under a minute even if the videos are not about their interests. Since short-form videos have to deliver short and core information, it pursues stimulating intensity. She went on to explain the concept of “popcorn brain”. This is a phenomenon where people are so accustomed to a fast-paced stream of information that their minds are becoming increasingly more numb in handling the slower pace of reality and in handling emotions. Noh also mentioned that another effect of “popcorn brain” is that people cannot read long texts or watch videos for more than 10 minutes. The problem is that if people are constantly exposed to stimulation, they become resistant and long for more intense stimulation. If people get used to the temporary pleasures of short-form content, their brain is at risk of simply responding to external stimulation, and are at risk of not being able to think for themselves.

Short-form Marketing Focuses on Consumer Participation

Noh expressed her opinion on short-form marketing. “People have a tendency to focus on visual elements rather than the functions of the product, which incurs a financial burden for the marketers to produce. Thus, marketers prefer to produce short-form content because it allows for maximum efficiency at a minimum cost,” she stated. 

Since it is easy to produce and can encourage consumer participation, short-form content is used as the marketing for advertisements. ≪TikTok, Branding in Short-form≫ by Kim Ga-hyun and eight others explains three representative advertising examples from TikTok in Korea: branded content, hashtag challenges, and live commerce. Let’s take a look at branded content and hashtag challenges as examples of short-form marketing except live commerce because live commerce focuses on the function of real-time rather than short-form content.

The first marketing technique is “branded content”, which naturally includes a brand’s message in their content. Branded content raises consumers’ sympathy and interest and ensures voluntary viral marketing and sharing. A situation comedy or product promotion similar to the content, typically posted on the channel, is more suitable than describing the product in detail. The second marketing technique using short-form is the “hashtag challenges”. It has become part of the culture to re-create and upload content that is trending on the platform. You’ve probably heard the word “challenge” from the “Any Song Challenge” by Zico on TikTok. Using hashtag challenges in advertisements is linked to viral marketing. If more users participate in the hashtag challenges, which is part of an advertisement, this will become a trend. McDonald's Big Mac Song Challenge is one of the successful examples.

Perspectives from Creators and Consumers

Short-form content allows people to be in the role of both consumer and creator. Creating a short-form video is not complicated, so many people make videos. As the creator of a video, people need to think about how to deliver their topic effectively. This requires an ability to summarize the core information and display it in a short amount of time. Producing content requires developing time management and organizational skills. As a consumer, in order to be efficient, people should be careful not to simply pursue exciting content. To do this, consumers should be aware of the creator’s intention and of how the video is structured. "To know the inner workings of short-form content, you need to actively participate in making short-form videos yourself. Recently, educational and non-educational programs are holding various short-form making contests, so you can get valuable experience there. I recommend participating in it with your friends," Noh stated.

Noh stressed that as short-form media has been increasingly established in daily life, it is necessary to face the hidden side of this type of content. Shortform media is efficient in delivering key information in a short amount of time, but the side effect is that people are failing to think for themselves when watching these videos. Considering this, it seems necessary for us to critically think about how to properly use short-form media rather than passively consuming it as it is.
 

| Jo Soo-jin, Cho Min-hyeok Reporters