YouTube is continuing its push for pace. In a new experiment, Premium users will be able to quadruple the speed of its videos. That’s up from YouTube’s previous ceiling of double speed. Meanwhile, TikTok users can up the tempo with a simple push-and-hold. And on Spotify, which is pushing to become a video platform with its drive toward filmed podcasts, the speed cap is 3.5x.

Ever since TikTok gained dominance, social media companies have worked quickly to shorten their video offerings. Meta and X pumped out TikTok clones for their seconds-long clips. YouTube’s iteration even has length in the title: “Shorts.” But YouTube’s 4x-speed play could signal a new frontier for social video. Our feeds are getting snappier, both in length and pace.

Social video’s push for speed

By signing up for YouTube’s new features, these paid users can now boost their videos to 4x speed, up from a previous cap of 2x. The average MrBeast video is around 30 minutes. Now, imagine being able to watch that content in a mere 7 minutes, 30 seconds. Of course, the audio would be almost incomprehensible. But YouTube still wants to let you try it.

It’s not YouTube’s first foray into speed changes. In 2023, it started letting users press-and-hold on the right side of their screen to immediately hit double speed. The feature was then just for Premium users; now, it’s available for the masses. Playback speeds were once relegated to increments of 25% (1.25, 1.5, 1.75, etc.), but in October, the company introduced a dial for greater granularity. Now users can control the pace down to 5% changes, just in case they were craving Dude Perfect specifically at 1.65x speed.

YouTube’s press-and-hold model mimics that of TikTok, another company that’s been toying with playback speeds. One press against the top right side of the screen—around where many mobile users’ fingers land naturally—will send the TikTok into double time.  It also has more granular-speed options in the video settings.

For far longer, the audio industry has had speed changes available for its listeners. Audiobook enthusiasts can hear their novels at almost any speed, across their many platforms. Spotify offers the same feature for its podcasts, with a current cap of 3.5x speed. But now Spotify wants to compete with YouTube. It’s pushing podcasters to film their episodes, turning these preexisting speed tools into video accelerators.

Is quick-paced media good for us? 

While cranking a video’s speed to 4x may make it end quicker, there’s still debate about whether it’s an effective way to consume content. The pace demands that viewers skim-watch their videos, not collecting the same level of detail. But does that matter for, say, a YouTube beauty tutorial?

Most research shows that there’s a cap on understanding sped-up video. In 2021, UCLA psychology researcher Dillon H. Murphy led a study on students watching lectures at a quickened pace. The students maintained almost the same level of learning up to 2x speed—but beyond that, performance declined. Murphy then repeated the study in 2024, finding that the drop-off point had ascended to 2.5x speed.

So no, you’re not processing all the information in that YouTube video essay when it’s set to 4x speed. But, at the still-quick 2.5x speed, you might be able to. If you’re a Premium user, that’s now an option.