People often spend their time scrolling through social media, perhaps hoping to find some interesting videos to pass the time of their boredom. But new research has found that endless swiping can actually have the opposite effect.

Rapidly scrolling through online videos makes people more likely to become bored and less satisfied with or interested in the content, according to a study released Monday by the American Psychological Association.

The study, which included seven experiments with 1,200 people from the US and Canada, specifically examined the effects of “digital switching,” when people watch short clips of videos or fast-forward through them. Participants predicted they would be less bored when switching between videos than when they watched them in their entirety, but the opposite was true.

In a two-part experiment, participants were asked to watch a 10-minute YouTube video without being able to fast-forward it. They were then allowed to freely switch between seven 5-minute videos over a 10-minute period. They said they were less bored watching the 10-minute video than when they were able to scroll through several shorter videos. They also reported that watching the 10-minute video was more satisfying, engaging, and meaningful.

“With the digital shift, the content of online videos can seem meaningless because people don’t have time to engage with or understand the content,” said lead study author Katy Tam.

The researchers said the study’s results may not be representative of the U.S. population because several experiments involved Canadian college students, and results may therefore vary depending on age or experience with digital media.

The study did not examine whether shorter attention spans contribute to more boredom or switching between digital media, but there has been growing concern about declining attention spans in recent years. The problem is exacerbated by the multitude of social media platforms and messaging apps designed to capture users’ attention. The constant temptation of phone notifications forces the brain to switch back and forth between tasks. This causes the brain to become accustomed to constant distractions and even begin to seek them out habitually, Time magazine reported last year.

The negative effects of time spent on social media are well-documented. In April, the American Psychological Association warned of the risks of scrolling and push notifications – especially for young people, whose brains are still developing. They are more vulnerable to distraction and less able to disengage easily from addictive experiences.

Either way, many people go to great lengths to avoid feelings of restlessness or emptiness triggered by boredom, researchers say. And short videos on platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram provide an easily accessible way to do that. People can also get caught up in “doomscrolling,” or mindlessly spending a lot of time consuming negative news. According to the Cleveland Clinic, this habit can worsen mental health issues or lead to insomnia.

Tips to stop mindless scrolling

There are ways to limit bad scrolling habits. Put your phone away, schedule specific days where you’re completely offline, delete apps you don’t plan on using often, and carry a book or journal with you on the go so you have something else to occupy your attention.

You can also set scrolling time limits using your phone’s alarm feature, the Focus app, or options like Instagram’s “take a break” feature. Scrolling helps you get the most out of what you’re watching and avoid boredom by watching videos in their entirety.

“If people want to have more fun watching videos, they can try to focus on the content and minimize digital switching,” Tam said. “Just like paying for a more immersive experience in the cinema, it’s more fun to immerse yourself in online videos rather than swiping through them.”