YouTube Shorts are a format on YouTube, showing short content. Originally under one minute in length, the current time limit of a short is 3 minutes. These numbers are liable to change and might not be current at the time of reading. Shorts are also shown in a "portrait" orientation, with about twice as much height as width.
YouTube Shorts are basically a way to respond to the popularity of TikTok (and Instagram Reels), showing short videos for short attention spans. Unlike normal YouTube, where videos are shown by search or browsing and selected, YouTube Shorts play automatically, based on, of course, some crazy algorithm hidden away somewhere. That leads to something like doomscrolling, only most YouTube Shorts are not very doomy, instead focusing on short explainers, personal stories, graphics, cute pets or animals, and often reused content from movies, musics or interviews. Viewers can idly scroll for hours, watching content that goes in one eye and out the
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