Rise of ‘split-screening’: Children are watching two videos simultaneously

By William On Mar 29, 2023

Children as young as eight regularly watch two videos at a time to meet their content needs, it has been reported, out of concern that attention spans are shrinking.

In a survey of social media habits, Ofcom revealed that a The phenomenon of ‘split screening’ is on the rise in children.

Young people often watched two videos side by side that were connected or complementary in some way.

But sometimes these videos were completely disconnected, with a 10-year-old watching both movie clips and random “satisfying” ASMR-style videos at the same time.

While the child claimed that split-screening allowed them to learn and enjoy a movie at the same time, others feared a shorter attention span.

Ofcom has revealed ‘split screening’ is on the rise among children online (file photo)

What is split screening?

Split screen social media posts allow kids to watch more than one short video at a time, on a single screen, side by side or stacked on top of each other.

This appears to be a progression from the “multi-screening” behavior we saw in previous waves of research, where children reported difficulty focusing on one screen-based activity at a time.

Sometimes the two split-screen videos watched by participants were related, such as influencers commenting and expressing their views on real-world events.

In other cases, the two videos had no apparent connection.

Source: Ofcom

The findings come at a time when children are struggling to sit through an entire movie or complete a single program episode, Ofcom said.

Jake Moore, a Global Cyberecurity Advisor at ESET, claimed that an increase in excessive multitasking could exacerbate this lack of focus and even add to the confusion.

He told MailOnline: ‘Children have grown up able to multitask better than generations before them, but if they get two videos at the same time, it may mean that neither video gets their full attention and therefore increases misunderstandings, confusion or wrong impressions.

“The potential dangers mean that split screeners could misinterpret what has just informed them. In terms of safety, this could harm the cyber awareness advice that young people so desperately need.”

Mr Moore believes that split screening could also exacerbate the prevalence of false information on the internet if viewers are not fully focused on what information is being shared with them.

He added: “Many people like to watch TV with their phones in their hands, but this can lead to an error of judgment when people receive scam emails and texts, which helps hunt down cybercriminals.

“Any lack of focus or attention is exactly what criminals rely on to carry out their scams, which are often very simple in terms of human interaction.”

Ofcom found that 96 per cent of children aged three to 17 watch clips on video sharing sites and apps, and 58 per cent of them also use live streamed content.

Eighty-eight percent of the children used YouTube, which turned out to be the most used platform.

This was followed by TikTok at 53 percent and Snapchat at 46 percent, both of which saw a boost in usage over the past year.

Much of the content consumed by young participants was characterized as “dramatic” – designed to grab attention, but requiring minimal focus.

Controversy, gossip and extreme challenge videos were some of them, with a particular focus on content popularized by influencers such as Mr Beast, Infinite and JackSucksAtStuff.

The two videos watched at the same time are often connected in some way. But sometimes kids were seen watching completely unlinked videos side by side (file image)

Eighty-eight percent of the children used YouTube, which turned out to be the most used platform. This was followed by TikTok at 53 percent and Snapchat at 46 percent, both of which saw a boost in usage over the past year

Amid the proliferation of this brief, child care expert Kirsty Ketley also shared her concerns about split screening.

She told MailOnline: ‘While it may seem that children are consuming different forms of media at once, in fact they are just switching back and forth, forcing their brains to work harder, which means their performance decreases, they become slower.

“Split screening is concerning in terms of how our children’s brains are exposed to content and how it affects their levels of concentration, and parents should set boundaries when their children use social media.”

Despite these fears, children’s coach Danielle Baron added that split screening could even be beneficial for neurotypical youth.

“Split screening may be beneficial for some neurotypical children who still have this type of multitasking brain to multitask and may be more efficient,” she told MailOnline.

“But it can also be detrimental to visual health if the screen is too small and the windows are too small, causing eye strain or fatigue.” It’s not a one size fits all dilemma and it’s about the individual and his needs.’

The NSPCC and TikTok have been approached for comment.

HOW MUCH SCREEN TIME SHOULD TEENS GET?

A San Diego State University study found that the happiest teens were those who limited their daily digital media time to just under two hours a day.

After this daily hour of screen time, the unhappiness steadily increased with increasing screen time.

Looking at historical trends from the same age groups since the 1990s, the researchers found that the proliferation of screen devices over time coincided with an overall decline in reported happiness among American teens.

Study participants born after 2000 were less satisfied with life, had lower self-esteem and were more unhappy than those who grew up in the 1990s.

Since 2012, the average teenager’s satisfaction, self-esteem and happiness have plummeted.

That year marked the point where the proportion of Americans owning a smartphone surpassed 50 percent for the first time.