Short-form video apps are creating a generation of mind jolts, shrugs, and slugs – and what that means for global politics: If you could sustain enough attention to read that long headline, you’re on the right track.

Recently, I’ve caught myself growing nonchalant about who holds my data – shrugging off both the Optus and Qantas breaches with an “if everyone already has my details, what’s one more leak?” At the same time, I’ve been gaming my Instagram and TikTok feeds – double‑tapping fitness reels to keep depressing war coverage from my recommendation algorithm.

These problematic trends reflect a generational malaise of younger people who have never known a world without social media. It struck me that our brains are marinated in a digital soup of snackable videos, trading deep engagement for emotional jolts and superficial swipes, leaving us ill‑equipped to grasp the stakes of wars, nuclear struggles and cyberattacks.