Where do attention-deficient young people watch their shows and movies? Netflix? Hulu? Illegal streaming websites? YouTube? All of the above and more – including a far more interesting phenomenon that has developed in the past few years – Instagram Reels, TikToks and YouTube Shorts.  Almost always in vertical format, these videos are usually under three minutes and are the kind that tend to get highbrow cinephiles in a tizzy over diminishing attention spans and decreasing interest in longer-form productions. 

In July 2024, the United Kingdom’s Office of Communications conducted a study that concluded that there was a “stark generational divide,” as less than 50% of Gen Z (13 to 28-year-olds) watched broadcast TV in an average week in 2024 (76% watched TV in 2018). In comparison, 84% of middle-aged viewers watched TV every week in 2024 and 95% of viewers who were 65 and above did the same.

Furthermore, many preferred watching entire movies in 25 parts on Instagram or watching TV shows that have been recommended by fans adept at splicing together videos of their favourite characters and uploading them with catchy background music. The logic goes something like this: why waste time watching an entire movie or TV show season when you can watch hundreds of clips of the best scenes instead? Even I haven’t been immune to the allure of fan edits and how fun they make shows seem. In fact, the edits can sometimes be better than the show itself, highlighting the most attractive or interesting moments and cutting away the boring bits. 

In their attempt to share these shows with their fellow fans, video editors often end up sharing quite a bit of the show online. This isn’t limited to content from Hollywood or South Korea, which has a huge fan following on social media. Fans on both sides of the border make videos on their favourite Pakistani dramas too – Sehar Khan and Hamza Sohail’s Fairy Tale was an instant Instagram hit, with videos pairing their characters together. More recently, Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum starring Hania Aamir and Fahad Mustafa became the talk of the town, with videos of their moments together taking over Instagram feeds or Explore pages, depending on where you get your content. Hum TV, ARY Digital and Geo Entertainment all post clips of their shows on Instagram as well as on YouTube and YouTube Shorts. So is it really that bad? 

It’s a double-edged sword because, on one hand, these short videos are like teasers of sorts, urging people to watch the show. However, for people with shorter attention spans and little interest, why not watch the videos rather than head to YouTube or turn on their TVs and watch the actual show? Why bother when they have basically grasped the premise from an abundance of short videos? So, do creators of big-name shows, such as Ishq Murshid or Tere Bin care about this? Yes and no. 

It’s a complicated topic, says Jerjees Seja, CEO of ARY Digital Network, the company behind Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum. With the proliferation of social media, media companies are facing new and different problems as they go along, and in his view, “sharing clips from our shows on social media adds to our content, rather than taking away from us.” 

The scope for content has increased dramatically in the past few decades, growing from only being available on dish-antenna systems to being available all over the internet. The way content is consumed has both increased and changed. 

For example, Instagram is a great way for companies to market their dramas and according to Seja “it is the easiest way to tell people something new is coming.” However, for every positive, there is a negative and for production companies, the negatives are that people try to illegally monetise their content, something which Seja says “we are always trying to cut down.” He adds that fan edits, reviews and memes are a different beast altogether. “[If it is] within limitations, that helps elevate our content,” – and who doesn’t want that? These videos help promote the show to audiences who don’t necessarily follow the channel’s official page and may not come across it otherwise. For example, the edits made from Kabhi Main Kabhi Tum helped boost the drama’s viewership and some were even re-shared by the stars themselves. The problem, says Seja, occurs when people reproduce their content on their pages or give away major spoilers. “It’s an ongoing issue and there’s no concrete answer.”

The propensity to use one’s phone to watch content has led to the creation of Pakistan’s first ‘vertically shot series,’ aptly titled Crossroads. Starring up-and-coming stars Khushhal Khan and Mamya Shajaffar, along with veteran actor Simi Raheal, as well as Asad Alvi, Hussain Rajput, Anam Husain, Mahnoor Shah and Areej Tariq, the series was filmed in a 9:16 aspect ratio with short episodes of approximately 10 minutes, making it ideal for mobile viewing. 

At the end of the day, the reception of the show is not as important as the trend it is setting – producing content created specifically to be watched on a mobile phone. Some may consider the popularity of these shorter, vertical videos merely a trend, but with the way content is being created, it seems unlikely that this ‘trend’ is going away any time soon.

Siham Basir is Managing Editor, Dawn Images.