A Look At The How Changing Medium Influences Our Minds

amcm collaborator
Aug 3
6 min read

This article explores how videos on platforms like YouTube grab and hold our attention. We will examine the neuroscience behind video engagement, the design choices of technology companies, and the crucial legal and ethical implications for industry and society.

Think about the last time you watched a video on your phone. What made you click on the next one? Was that decision entirely your own?

Part 1: The Brain and Video Narratives

Watching a video is a complex process that involves your entire brain, not just one small part. Neuroscience shows us how different brain regions work together to help us process and remember what we see.

When you look at a screen, visual information is first processed in the occipital cortex. As the renowned neuroscientist Stanislas Dehaene explains, "The occipital and ventral temporal cortices are initially recruited for object and motion recognition." Simultaneously, your brain's "dorsal attention networks" act like a spotlight, directing your gaze and focus. Eye movements often precede shifts in attention, guiding where you focus.

A small, seahorse-shaped part of your brain, the hippocampus, acts like a master storyteller. It takes all the separate moments from a video and links them into a single, coherent narrative. As a study in Nature Reviews Neuroscience notes, the hippocampus "integrates events into a coherent narrative structure." This is what allows you to understand a story as a whole. Your brain is also wired to find patterns, naturally linking sequential events into cause-and-effect chains. As research cited in Cognitive Science emphasises, "narratives are defined by their causal connections across time." This is why stories feel logical and are easy for us to follow.

Think of a film or TV show where the story was confusing. How do you think that affected your brain's ability to create a clear narrative? What design choices could a video producer make to help viewers follow a story more easily?

Part 2: The User Experience on Digital Platforms

The way we interact with technology, like watching YouTube on an iPad, shows how platform design and our brains work together. This interaction is about more than just watching—it includes touch, sound, and the app's overall design.

A high-quality display and audio create a rich sensory experience that engages your brain's visual and auditory pathways simultaneously. According to MEG studies, attending to a video stream amplifies its processing. Your brain then coordinates this audio-visual information to create one immersive experience. When you tap to play or swipe through recommendations, these interactions can provide a small burst of dopamine in your brain’s reward circuits. This positive feedback reinforces the action, making you more likely to keep engaging with the app. A smooth and responsive user interface helps strengthen this reward loop.

YouTube's powerful recommendation algorithm is designed to maximise engagement. Features like autoplay and the "Up next" queue are powerful nudges. By default, the next video begins playing unless you stop it, creating a natural momentum that steers you toward continued viewing. Behavioural economists and Nobel laureates Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein refer to such design choices as "nudges," which can predictably influence our behaviour. When autoplay is on, you might find yourself watching videos that become progressively more specific, or even extreme—a phenomenon often called the "rabbit hole."

Researchers have found that opaque recommendations and autoplay can send viewers "down the rabbit hole" of content without them consciously intending to watch it. Giving users control over autoplay can restore awareness, causing them to question the feed’s curation.

YouTube offers a multitude of settings so that the user can define their experience. The next time you're on YouTube, try turning off autoplay. Does it change how you watch? Do you find yourself being more thoughtful about what you click on next?

Part 3: The Neuroscience of Persuasion

Marketers and designers often use these brain science principles to create more effective content and advertisements. This field is sometimes called neuromarketing.

Persuasive cues can powerfully boost our attention and memory. Research shows that pairing a product with an expert dramatically enhances encoding and memory. This is because "expert endorsement evokes left prefrontal elaboration and hippocampal engagement, resulting in stronger memory for and more favorable attitudes toward the object," as one study explains. Similarly, eye-tracking studies in marketing show that ads with personal elements (like your name or photo) attract more fixations and longer viewing times. This increased attention makes the ad more memorable, although it can also feel more intrusive. As explained by psychologist Robert Cialdini, people tend to follow where others look. Content that includes people looking at a product can subliminally draw a viewer’s gaze and interest.

A recent review in Journal of Business Research notes that roughly 95% of decision-making occurs unconsciously. This means that targeted stimuli—like bright colors, emotive music, or subtle cues—can drive neural responses without our conscious awareness. These cues engage our brain's limbic and reward systems, strengthening memory and influencing our preferences.

Think about an advertisement you like. Can you identify any of the persuasive cues we've talked about? Is there an authority figure, a personal element, or a social cue at play? How do you think this ad is designed to influence you subconsciously?

Part 4: Legal and Ethical Considerations in the UK

Understanding these powerful persuasion techniques is crucial for anyone working in media or marketing. Using them without proper care can have serious legal and ethical consequences.

The UK Data Protection Act 2018, which incorporates the GDPR, is a strict law about data privacy. It states that collecting and profiling user data (including eye movements and viewing habits) requires a lawful basis, which for online advertising is typically explicit, informed consent. Guidance from the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) is clear: any tracking or profiling for online advertising requires opt-in consent. Covertly altering a video feed or measuring a user's gaze without informing them would violate these rules. You have the right to know what data is being collected and how it's being used. The ICO has actively fined companies for breaches related to "hidden tracking scripts" and lack of consent.

UK consumer protection law (the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008) prohibits unfair or misleading commercial practices. Deliberately manipulating content to influence beliefs could be seen as an "undue influence." For instance, serving political videos under the guise of entertainment without disclosure might violate these regulations. The "Cambridge Analytica" scandal illustrates the real-world consequences of misusing personal data. As the ICO’s investigation showed, harvesting Facebook profiles to target voters without clear consent led to significant fines and corporate scrutiny. This case serves as a powerful reminder that an experiment on "unwitting users" would breach consumers' privacy rights and autonomy.

Imagine you are a designer for a new app.

How would you design it to be engaging and persuasive, but still make sure you are being ethical and following the rules of GDPR? What three key principles would follow to ensure your app and ethos is compliant?

A Look At The How Changing Medium Influences Our Minds

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