现在刷短视频已经成为一种主流娱乐方式，很多人每天都刷到无法自拔。然而研究发现，刷短视频，尤其是不断地快进或跳过视频，事实上会让人感觉更无聊。

Browsing videos on TikTok or YouTube can be a hit-and-miss affair, with gems lurking amid mediocre efforts. But researchers have found that switching to another video, or skipping forwards and backwards in the same one, actually makes people more bored.

刷短视频就是在碰运气，刷半天或许可以刷到一个有趣的视频。但是研究人员发现，不断地切换视频，跳到下一个，或者返回上一个视频重复观看，事实上会让人感到更加无聊。

Dr Katy Tam at the University of Toronto Scarborough, the lead author of the research, said boredom was closely linked to attention.

该研究的首席作者、多伦多大学士嘉堡校区的凯蒂·塔姆博士表示，这种无聊感和专注度密切相关。

"We feel bored when there's a gap between how engaged we are and how engaged we want to be," she said. "When people keep switching through videos, they become less engaged with the videos and they are looking for something more interesting. This can lead to increased feelings of boredom."

她说：“当我们的专注度和我们想要专注的程度之间有落差时，我们就会感到无聊。在人们不断切换视频时，他们对视频的专注度开始下降，心里想下一个视频会不会更有趣？这会让人们感觉更无聊。”

The results appear to chime with other studies: as the team notes, previous research has suggested that while boredom relief is a driver for people to use social media or smartphones, the use of such technology appears to make the feeling worse.

这一研究结果和其他研究的结论不谋而合。研究团队指出，先前的研究发现，无聊促使人们去使用社交媒体或智能手机，而这些技术的使用似乎又让人感到更加无聊。

Writing in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, Tam and colleagues report how they carried out seven experiments involving a total of more than 1,200 participants.

塔姆和同事在《实验心理学杂志：总论》中介绍，他们开展了7项实验，参与者超过1200人。

The first, involving 140 participants, revealed that people tended to switch between videos more when they rated the content more boring, while the second – an online survey involving 231 participants – suggested people thought having the option to skip through a video or switch to another would make viewing a video less boring.

第一项实验有140人参与，结果表明，当人们觉得视频内容无聊时，人们会更频繁地切换视频。另外一项网上开展的调查共有231人参与，结果表明，人们认为，可以选择跳过或切换到另一个视频会让观看视频不那么无聊。

However, the team's subsequent experiments suggest this is not the case.

但是，该团队接下来的实验却发现，事实并非如此。

Data from a group of 166 undergraduates suggests participants felt more bored when allowed to skip about within a video than when they were not able to, while results from 159 undergraduates revealed they reported higher levels or boredom when given a collection of five-minute videos they could switch between, compared with a single 10-minute video.

一项收集了166名大学生的数据的实验结果发现，当参与者能够随意切换视频时，相比不能随意切换的情况，会感觉看视频更加无聊。另外一项对159名大学生的实验结果发现，当他们能够随意切换着看一组单个时长5分钟的视频时，相比只看一个时长10分钟的视频，参与者感觉更无聊。

"Our research shows that while people fast-forward or skip videos to avoid boredom, this behaviour can actually make them feel more bored," she said. "Just as we pay for an immersive experience in a movie theatre, enjoyment often comes from immersing ourselves in videos rather than swiping through them."

塔姆表示：“我们的研究表明，当人们为了避免无聊而快进或跳过视频时，这种行为反而会让自己感到更无聊。就像我们付钱去享受影院的沉浸式体验一样，观看视频的快感往往源于全身心的投入而不是不断地切换。”

编辑：陈丹妮 董静 齐磊

来源：卫报、中国日报双语新闻