The widespread, addictive consumption of short-form videos, which allegedly causes "brain rot," has become an urgent public concern. This study proposes that self-related cues serve as an intrinsic, self-reflective strategy that enhances self-control over media overuse. We developed an app that de-immerses users by periodically displaying different self-related cues (live camera, selfie, name in text, and black screen) and tested their effects in a laboratory experiment (N=84). Overall, findings show that self-related cues effectively disrupt mindless viewing, enabling users to voluntarily stop short-form video consumption. Interestingly, the black screen, intended as a control, elicited the greatest intention to use the app: Participants noted in the follow-up interview that they preferred the subtler reflection on a black screen over the explicit image from a live camera. The findings offer practical design guidelines for implementing self-awareness interventions in mobile contexts, including which modalities work best and how real-time contextual anchoring enhances effectiveness.

翻译：广泛且具有成瘾性的短视频消费，据称会导致“脑腐化”，已成为紧迫的公共关切。本研究提出，自我相关线索作为一种内在的自我反思策略，能增强对媒体过度使用的自我控制。我们开发了一款应用，通过定期展示不同的自我相关线索（实时摄像头、自拍照、文本中的名字及黑屏）来使用户脱离沉浸状态，并在实验室实验（N=84）中测试了其效果。总体而言，研究结果表明，自我相关线索能有效打断无意识观看，使用户能够自愿停止短视频消费。有趣的是，原本用作对照的黑屏引发了最强的应用使用意愿：参与者在后续访谈中指出，他们更倾向于黑屏带来的微妙反思，而非实时摄像头的直接图像。这些发现为在移动情境中实施自我意识干预提供了实用设计指南，包括哪种模态效果最佳，以及实时情境锚定如何增强干预有效性。