現在刷短視頻已經成為一種主流娛樂方式，很多人每天都刷到無法自拔。然而研究發現，刷短視頻，尤其是不斷地快進或跳過視頻，事實上會讓人感覺更無聊。

Browsing videos on TikTok or YouTube can be a hit-and-miss affair, with gems lurking amid mediocre efforts. But researchers have found that switching to another video, or skipping forwards and backwards in the same one, actually makes people more bored.
刷短視頻就是在碰運氣，刷半天或許可以刷到一個有趣的視頻。但是研究人員發現，不斷地切換視頻，跳到下一個，或者返回上一個視頻重復觀看，事實上會讓人感到更加無聊。

Dr Katy Tam at the University of Toronto Scarborough, the lead author of the research, said boredom was closely linked to attention.
該研究的首席作者、多倫多大學士嘉堡校區的凱蒂·塔姆博士表示，這種無聊感和專注度密切相關。

"We feel bored when there’s a gap between how engaged we are and how engaged we want to be,” she said. “When people keep switching through videos, they become less engaged with the videos and they are looking for something more interesting. This can lead to increased feelings of boredom.”
她說：“當我們的專注度和我們想要專注的程度之間有落差時，我們就會感到無聊。在人們不斷切換視頻時，他們對視頻的專注度開始下降，心里想下一個視頻會不會更有趣？這會讓人們感覺更無聊。”

The results appear to chime with other studies: as the team notes, previous research has suggested that while boredom relief is a driver for people to use social media or smartphones, the use of such technology appears to make the feeling worse.
這一研究結果和其他研究的結論不謀而合。研究團隊指出，先前的研究發現，無聊促使人們去使用社交媒體或智能手機，而這些技術的使用似乎又讓人感到更加無聊。

Writing in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, Tam and colleagues report how they carried out seven experiments involving a total of more than 1,200 participants.
塔姆和同事在《實驗心理學雜志：總論》中介紹，他們開展了7項實驗，參與者超過1200人。

The first, involving 140 participants, revealed that people tended to switch between videos more when they rated the content more boring, while the second – an online survey involving 231 participants – suggested people thought having the option to skip through a video or switch to another would make viewing a video less boring.
第一項實驗有140人參與，結果表明，當人們覺得視頻內容無聊時，人們會更頻繁地切換視頻。另外一項網上開展的調查共有231人參與，結果表明，人們認為，可以選擇跳過或切換到另一個視頻會讓觀看視頻不那么無聊。

However, the team’s subsequent experiments suggest this is not the case.
但是，該團隊接下來的實驗卻發現，事實并非如此。

Data from a group of 166 undergraduates suggests participants felt more bored when allowed to skip about within a video than when they were not able to, while results from 159 undergraduates revealed they reported higher levels or boredom when given a collection of five-minute videos they could switch between, compared with a single 10-minute video.
一項收集了166名大學生的數據的實驗結果發現，當參與者能夠隨意切換視頻時，相比不能隨意切換的情況，會感覺看視頻更加無聊。另外一項對159名大學生的實驗結果發現，當他們能夠隨意切換著看一組單個時長5分鐘的視頻時，相比只看一個時長10分鐘的視頻，參與者感覺更無聊。

"Our research shows that while people fast-forward or skip videos to avoid boredom, this behaviour can actually make them feel more bored,” she said. “Just as we pay for an immersive experience in a movie theatre, enjoyment often comes from immersing ourselves in videos rather than swiping through them.”
塔姆表示：“我們的研究表明，當人們為了避免無聊而快進或跳過視頻時，這種行為反而會讓自己感到更無聊。就像我們付錢去享受影院的沉浸式體驗一樣，觀看視頻的快感往往源于全身心的投入而不是不斷地切換。”

英文來源：衛報

編譯：丹妮

審校：董靜、齊磊