Analyzing the impact of short-form video consumption on attention focus and language comprehension

Background: The rapid development of short-form video platforms has transformed university students’ media consumption patterns and given rise to a new digital learning ecology in higher education. Although short-form videos are frequently used as sources of informal learning, their fast-paced, repetitive, and highly stimulating characteristics raise concerns about students’ ability to maintain sustained attention, which is a crucial prerequisite for academic language comprehension. However, empirical studies that integrate short-form video consumption, attentional focus, and language comprehension within a single, comprehensive explanatory model remain limited, particularly in the context of Indonesian higher education. Objective: This study aims to analyze the effect of short-form video consumption on university students’ language comprehension and to examine the role of attentional focus as a mediating variable in this relationship. Method: This study employed an explanatory quantitative approach with a cross-sectional survey design. Data were collected from 312 undergraduate students enrolled in Indonesian higher education institutions using a Likert-scale questionnaire. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics, multiple regression analysis, and mediation testing with a bootstrapping approach. Results: The findings indicate that short-form video consumption has a significant negative effect on students’ language comprehension. In addition, short-form video consumption negatively affects attentional focus, while attentional focus has a positive and significant effect on language comprehension. Mediation analysis demonstrates that attentional focus serves as a partial mediator in the relationship between short-form video consumption and language comprehension. Conclusion: This study concludes that short-form video consumption not only has a direct impact on university students’ language comprehension but also exerts an indirect effect through a reduction in sustained attentional focus.