“Alarming Study Reveals Post-Millennium Generation’s Addiction to ‘Rails’ Videos”

Addiction to phones and tablet screens has become normal for adults before children, especially in a rapid technological era and increasing reliance on artificial intelligence technologies, and perhaps this justifies the addiction of “Generation Z” or the post-millennium generation, to “Reels” videos on social media platforms.

What is new in this study?

What is shocking about the results of the new American study is that it revealed alarming statistics regarding adolescent addiction to Rails videos. Results included:

• 60 percent of young people are addicted to Real Communication platforms for 3 consecutive hours a day, which then makes them feel sad and guilty, and feels that their time is wasted.
• All social media platforms are designed to keep users engaged, because they include engaging features such as infinite scrolling, auto-play, and personalized and age-based content.
• This strategy works very successfully with generations between the ages of 8 and 23.
• Rails addiction affects students’ concentration, attention span and concentration in general.
• 65 percent of the students also felt guilty after long periods of watching the video, especially during exams.

What are the causes of “rails addiction”?

• Experts have concluded that the reason for young people’s addiction to these videos may be escaping from real-world problems.
• But psychiatrists confirmed that this leads to serious psychological and mental problems, including poor sleep quality due to exposure to blue light emissions, decreased attention span, and difficulty maintaining focus on longer content..

What does a psychiatrist say?

The psychological and educational consultant, Nihaya Al-Rimawi, commented on the study in an interview with “Sky News Arabia”, saying:

• “These short videos work on the flow of the dopamine hormone and thus give a feeling of temporary happiness, which the person seeks, as in the case of an addict.”
• “After watching these videos, the child returns to reality, and here a gap occurs in the brain, because the dopamine hormone responsible for feeling happy stops flowing, and is replaced by anxiety, stress and anger.”
• “The feeling of guilt also overwhelms these teenagers greatly, especially when they take advantage of the time that was allocated to study, to watch the rails, and they are not able to accomplish what is required of them.”