In this case they are tools of propaganda and time suck. The shorts format of quick scroll controlled by the YouTube or TikTok algorithm is a net negative. But short content of quality might be the only way we will get to pass on information to some people. Worth keeping the format but increasing the quality.

youtube is the best learning platform in the world, if you use it right. i've learned so much from it over the yrs. im talking about youtube shorts.

Tiktok was good before trump got involved. The political content that isn't pro Trump and pro Israel now gets heavily censored and the algorithms have changed to show less educational content and more pro Trump pro Israel propaganda and brain rot. I was completely addicted to tiktok and now I do not use it at all it's gotten that bad.