Social media shows lots of entertainment content like funny videos, memes, music, gaming clips, animals, and trends. These posts are popular because they’re easy to watch and share, so algorithms keep showing more of them.
This kind of content can be fun and relaxing. But because algorithms are designed to keep you watching, they may repeat similar videos again and again. This can make it easy to keep scrolling without realising how much time has passed.
Understanding how this works helps you notice when content is pulling you in and decide how you want to spend your time online — instead of letting the algorithm decide for you.
"I see a lot of motivational speaking videos on my TikTok that pop up quite a lot, a lot of things that really stick with me throughout my day… things that really like impact my day in a positive way and really just reflect on me. I like the dance videos, also things to do with friendships in positive lights. More things to do with friendship and definitely acting and dance and stuff like that."
"This was a man in a dress, taking pictures at a subway station, maybe, a train station, and people were coming up to him, and saying they loved his dress, and hugging him. It was really wholesome, so that made me happy. I think it was showing people being lovely, and just human, and supportive, which was very nice. I think I’d like to see it more. I don’t know if I do see positive stuff as much."
"I think, yeah, it makes me feel happy [to see cute animal content], because it's very wholesome content. So, maybe, if I'm sad, I might look at cute animal videos, but, even when I'm not sad, I look at them.."
A lot of social media is fun and easy to enjoy. Many young people like videos that make them laugh, such as memes, funny animals, or silly clips. Other posts can feel inspiring or uplifting, like dance videos, positive quotes, or stories about people being kind. Social media can also help you learn new things, discover new music, films, books, games, or recipes, and find people who like the same stuff as you.
This kind of content can boost your mood, help you relax after a long day, or make you feel less alone. For some people, it’s a nice distraction when things feel stressful or overwhelming.
But even fun content has downsides. Because apps are designed to keep you watching, it’s easy to scroll for much longer than you planned. This can sometimes lead to feeling like you’ve wasted time, or missing out on other things like hobbies, homework, reading, or time with friends and family.
Some people also notice that scrolling feels good in the moment, but a bit empty afterwards.
• Why is it so easy to keep watching entertaining videos without stopping?
• How do you decide when entertainment content is fun, and when it starts to take up too much time?
• Why is it so easy to keep watching entertaining videos without stopping?
• How do you decide when entertainment content is fun, and when it starts to take up too much time?
• Turn on app timers or downtime so scrolling doesn’t steal your evening.
• Disable autoplay (if possible) to stay in control.
• Save genuinely uplifting videos to a playlist/collection that you can watch on purpose instead of endless scrolling.
• Swap one scroll for one thing: After 10 minutes, do one small non-scrolling action (drink water, stretch, message a friend, step outside).
