In the age of YouTube University and TikTok tutorials, the default mode of learning has shifted rapidly from text to video. But is this shift making us smarter, or just more entertained?

When you strip away personal preference and look at the cognitive mechanics, the answer isn't a simple "better" or "worse"—it is a trade-off between information density and cognitive ease.

Here is what the research says about how your brain processes a page versus a pixel.

1. Speed and Information Density: Text Wins

If your goal is to acquire the maximum amount of raw information in the minimum amount of time, reading is statistically superior.

• The Speed Gap: The average adult reads at 250–300 words per minute (wpm). In contrast, the average speaking rate in an educational video is 150–160 wpm. Even if you watch a video at 2x speed (300 wpm), you are merely catching …