Sample description.

Short videos have gained widespread popularity among elementary school students in China. As a form of entertainment media, their usage has steadily increased among adolescents in recent years. This phenomenon has sparked extensive discussions in society, especially against Chinese parents’ high concern for their children’s academic performance. Therefore, this study collected 1052 valid questionnaires from elementary school students, attempting to explore the possibility that their short video usage might negatively impact their academic performance. Besides, the mechanism of this relationship was also examined from the perspective of children’s attention and environmental factors of parents’ short video usage. The research findings indicate that the more elementary school students use short videos, the lower their academic performance, with attention mediating in this relationship. The longer the parental short video usage duration, the exacerbating effect it has on elementary school students’ negative impact on attention caused by short video usage due to its positive moderating effect. This study provides crucial insights for parents, educators, and short video platforms, offering valuable references for formulating more scientifically and logically grounded educational strategies.