Love YouTube Shorts? So do we! But let’s face it—many of us spend more time scrolling than we intend to.
The infinite scroll design used by platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok is engineered to keep users engaged. Each swipe delivers a new video, often tailored to your interests, making it difficult to stop. This design taps into the brain’s dopamine reward system, reinforcing the behavior and encouraging prolonged use
.Studies have shown that excessive screen time—especially with short-form content—can lead to:- Reduced
attention span
- Sleep
disturbances
- Increased
anxiety and stress
- Decreased
productivity.
How the Shorts Scrolling Limit Works
- Users can set and adjust a daily time limit for scrolling through Shorts by going to the Settings menu.
- Once the limit is reached, a dismissible prompt will appear, pausing further scrolling for the rest of the day.
Parental Controls Coming Soon
While the current version of the feature is user-controlled
and dismissible, YouTube has announced plans to expand it to supervised
accounts later this year. This means:
- Parents
will be able to set non-dismissable limits on Shorts viewing for their
children.
- These
settings will apply to supervised accounts, which are already used
to manage content access and screen time.
- The
goal is to give parents more tools to guide their kids’ digital
consumption and promote balance.
This move is especially significant given the rising
concerns about youth mental health and the impact of social media on
children and teens.
The feature may take time to roll out to all users. If you're curious, head to Settings > General > Shorts Scrolling Limit to check if it's available on your device. Multiple sources confirm this is where the option will appear.
Swipe less, live more!
You can find official post here.
