TikTok should be banned, along with Reels and all the other short video platforms. They are pernicious to young people’s mental and cognitive health. They are essentially addictive and they are used to spread negative messages. Research has amply demonstrated the negative effects, but as usual our politicians are more interested in money than in doing what is right for the public. Many teachers are not particularly competent, particularly those who were taught in the woke educational programs at most universities. They turn to videos since they can’t teach themselves. Screen time and videos are not good for children, but then most public educators these days are like Randi Weingarten and don’t give a crap about the children they teach. Some adults use short videos to learn as well.
A new study examines the use of short videos in an educational setting. They are worse than longer videos, which I doubt are particularly good, in terms of actual learning, as they lead to poor retention of the information presented. Here is a novel idea; have students actually read material or listen to lectures and take notes in both cases. Then give them frequent quizzes, not necessarily graded, to help them improve retention and identify where they need to work more on a subject. (Nature Study)
