Breaking the Loop: How to Beat Short-Form Video Burnout

We have all experienced it: It is late at night, and you planned to go to sleep an hour ago. Instead, your thumb is locked into a rhythmic, automatic twitch—swiping up, up, up through an endless ocean of TikToks, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels.

An hour later, you feel mentally fried, groggy, and strangely exhausted. Welcome to reels burnout.