Do videos with excessive motion help kids pay attention, or are they just distractions?

A recent study looked into a rising trend in children’s content — and the results suggest that educators should proceed with caution. Researchers at the Indian School of Business and Santa Clara University tracked eye movements on educational videos with moving backgrounds and found that those videos both command attention and deflect it onto the noisy backgrounds.

The study spanned more than 32,000 videos that were tagged as being “made for kids.” The researchers tracked the eye movements of kids between the ages of six and ten and noted the view rates for those clips. Then, background motion was added to those videos, and viewing habits were measured again.

While a wide range of videos were included in the study, the idea of an educational video with unrelated background motion conjures up images of some specific content formats. Perhaps you’ve seen them: They’re videos that pair dense explanations with overlaid footage of oddly satisfying compilations or Minecraft gameplay sessions.

Thanks to so-called “pdf-to-brainrot” generators, those mash-ups have become study aids for some students. They’ve even made it into the realm of politics. In 2024, for example, the Kamala Harris campaign paired World of Warcraft gameplay with a Tim Walz rally.

Clearly, the adults using this split-screen approach believe it keeps eyes glued to the screen, even among viewers with short attention spans. According to the recent study, that idea is only half true. The researchers found that videos with “high motion” had 2% higher view rates compared to more inert content. But those viewers weren’t necessarily keeping their attention on the educational parts of those videos. Instead, the researchers noted that their subjects’ eyes would follow the moving backgrounds rather than the didactic foregrounds.

Distracting as these videos may be, they can serve a beneficial purpose. The researchers suggested that educators should apply the results to harness the attention-grabbing nature of moving backgrounds.

“Motion is a powerful design lever, but it must be used intentionally,” said Madhu Viswanathan, an Associate Professor of Marketing at the Indian School of Business. “Rather than maximizing continuous stimulation throughout a video, creators should use targeted motion to facilitate attention recovery during moments where attention drift is most expected.”

Several apps have already committed to the “TikTokification” of contemporary education. Revyze and ScrollEd are two platforms that try to keep kids focused by presenting them with kinetic learning environments. The popularity of those apps shows that the concept of fast-paced educational videos is catching on with students, but the recent research shows that a methodical approach will be important if students’ scrolling behaviors is to translate to positive learning outcomes.

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