OpenAI CEO admits to being addicted to short videos, scrolls for 3 hours at a time: can only delete the app

The addiction to short-form videos has become a common困扰 for many people in their daily lives. Take a moment to ask yourself: how much time do you spend scrolling through various short-video platforms each day?

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently shared his personal experience in a public discussion. He initially started using TikTok to study the product design mechanisms behind it, but unexpectedly found himself gradually becoming addicted. One Saturday afternoon, he ended up lying on the couch and scrolling for nearly three hours straight. Eventually, unable to bear this loss of control, he simply deleted the app from his device entirely.

Altman said that initially, he only planned to spend about 10 minutes before bed each day opening TikTok for a quick look to understand the platform's content recommendation logic. However, his usage time began to uncontrollably increase. One night, he unknowingly scrolled for a full hour. Another Saturday afternoon with no work scheduled, he sank into the couch and unconsciously scrolled through short videos for three hours. Only when he came to his senses did he realize he had wasted a large chunk of time.

He frankly admitted that the core reason he finally decided to delete TikTok was that the attention-capture mechanism designed into the app was overwhelmingly powerful. Even as a top professional in the AI field, fully aware that this uncontrolled habit was detrimental to him, his fingers still instinctively kept swiping down the screen. Meanwhile, his brain continuously sought instant gratification similar to addictive behavior from the rapid-fire short content stimuli, unable to stop.

At first, he tried self-discipline, limiting his daily usage time back to 5 to 10 minutes each night. But he quickly discovered that this self-imposed boundary was easily breached, unable to withstand the constant pull of the product's design. Ultimately, he chose to completely stop using the app, cutting off the trigger path that made him unable to resist scrolling through short videos at the source.