Micro Moments: The Evolution of Short-form Content

When the internet first came into fruition, the most popular apps were message boards and easily accessible/publicly available content that others published, such as YouTube and Instagram. However, as the internet evolved, apps like musica.ly and Vine became more popular, promoting the creation of short-form, quick, and witty content. There was a dip in this genre, however, when Vine and Musical.ly both shut down (find sources/confirm) but then, in 2019 TikTok began to take over.

It first started off as every internet trend does – with teenagers. It was first and most popularly known as a dancing app and many would take pride in the fact that they hadn’t yet “succumbed” to the wrath of TikTok as it gained popularity amongst all age groups. The onset of COVID-19 is truly what brought many onto the platform. With close to nothing to do, many downloaded the app out of boredom or curiosity, only to be quickly sucked in by the algorithm and the latest trends. It served as a way for people to bond during a time that seemed more fragmented and isolated than ever and its popularity continued to soar even after quarantine ended. As mentioned above, while it did start as a dancing app (launching famous TikTokers Charli D’Amelio and Addison Rae into fame), it slowly began to encompass all genres, from comedy that was reminiscent of Vine to lipsyncing that mimicked musical.ly to the wildest storytelling trends you will ever see. It was endless entertainment all in one place. 

Despite all these amazing benefits that TikTok served its community in a time of need, having too much of one thing is always a bad thing. Around 2022, people began talking about the side effects of TikTok and the ‘doomscrolling’ that often came with it. People had noticed that their attention spans were becoming shorter and shorter and would often scroll on a video after watching barely five seconds of it. 

It seems that despite its popularity, the allure of short-form content isn’t going away anytime soon, With shorter and shorter attention spans in a addition to the ease of publishing and re-purposing short form content, we will only be seeing an increase, rather than a decrease.