The next video is exactly the sort of thing you came to see. So is the next one. The feed has done its job. Now it is 40 minutes later, and you are still waiting for a natural moment to leave.
A study released September 7 found a revealing mismatch. Adults reporting ADHD liked the recommendations about as much as other participants did. They also reported more trouble stopping, more time lost, and more regret afterward.
The problem may not be bad content. It may be a feed with no ending.
The videos fit. The stopping point did not.
Researchers at Graz University of Technology asked 302 adults about short-video feeds. Some reported an ADHD diagnosis, some identified as having ADHD without one, and others did not report ADHD.
All three groups generally liked what the feeds recommended. People reporting ADHD, though, more often said they watched longer than intended and struggled to stop.
They also more often described losing track of time and feeling frustrated afterward. This was a survey of reported viewing and ideas for stopping tools, not a record of phone use or a test of the tools.
A good recommendation tells you what to watch next. It does nothing to tell you when you are done.
Give the feed an ending before you open it
The researchers floated possible stopping points, including a fixed number of videos and breaks. Participants especially liked those two ideas.
A chapter runs out. A feed offers another clip before you have decided whether to stay. If you want an ending, you have to bring one with you.
Before you start, choose what you will do afterward and when. "I should stop soon" has no edge. "At 9:15, open the document" does.
If reminders are easy to swipe away, use your phone's screen-time controls or a screen-time control app to set a firmer limit. Set it before watching, not while bargaining with the next clip.
For more ways to make time visible, see Time Blindness: Why an Hour Feels Like Twenty Minutes with ADHD. Our previous ADHD news edition covered different research on daily stress and symptom ratings.
How to set up a return cue in Recordo
Before a break, add the next physical step as a Recordo task, such as "open the document," and set a reminder for the time you want to resume. When it arrives, the Home screen's Next Task can put that step back in view.
Recordo will not block the feed. The reminder gives the other thing you meant to do a chance to reappear.
The feed will always offer one more. It does not get to decide how your evening ends.
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