People Don’t Say “Short-Form Video” Anymore. That’s How Marketing Teams Talked in 2019.
When was the last time you heard someone say “short-form video”?
Not in a meeting. Not in a media study.
Just… in real life?
Exactly!
You might talk about a TikTok that made you laugh, a Reel that inspired you, or a YouTube Short that taught you something. But you probably never called it short-form video.
So why has the term “short-form video” aged so quickly, and what does that say about how fast digital culture evolves?
A Term Born in Boardrooms
The phrase short-form video came to life around 2018-2019, when brands and analysts needed a way to explain the sudden rise of vertical, feed-based content.
Back then, the internet was still divided neatly: long-form was for YouTube videos and Netflix shows; short-form was for Vine, Musical.ly, or Stories.
Marketers loved the term because it made the unknown feel manageable or a new box to measure and sell. It sounded smart, structured, “strategic.” But outside those slideshows, nobody said it. The people watching and creating simply called them videos, clips, or by the platform’s name.
From Format to Everyday Culture
Today, the old categories don’t hold up.
TikToks can run ten minutes. Reels stretch to ninety seconds. YouTube Shorts exist right next to hour-long documentaries.
It’s not about how long a video is anymore. It’s about how it feels: vertical, intimate, and algorithmically tailored. Calling them “short-form” now feels like calling a modern OLED display a “color television.” It’s not wrong. It’s just outdated, a leftover from when such a format was still novel.
Why Language Moves On
When I think about it, the term short-form video feels like translating culture into marketing.
It’s like describing pho 🍜 as “a hot liquid with protein and carbs.”
Technically true, but it misses the soul of it.
That’s what happened here: a real, living digital culture got flattened into a technical label. What used to be a format has become a language: loops, remixes, reactions, edits, and micro-stories that travel between apps and audiences faster than any strategy deck can keep up.
What We Say Instead
People have already moved on linguistically:
Creators say clips.
Brands say social videos.
Critics say scroll media.
Academics say vertical feed content.
And everyone else? They just call them TikToks, Reels, or Shorts.
Language always catches up to culture, not the other way around. We used to say “digital camera,” “smartphone,” and “flat-screen TV.” Now we just say camera, phone, and TV. The same evolution is happening here.
The Term Outgrew Its Purpose
“Short-form video” was useful when we were still figuring out what this new wave of content was. But once it became part of daily life, like the way people express humor, creativity, frustration, or identity, the label stopped fitting.
Now it sounds more like an artifact from a PowerPoint deck than a reflection of how people actually engage online.
A Final Thought
Language tells us what era we belong to.
Saying “short-form video” today feels like speaking from a time when people were still trying to tame the internet, when every trend needed a term, and every platform needed a label.
But culture doesn’t stay still long enough to be boxed in.
We don’t need to explain TikToks, Reels, or Shorts anymore.
We live them.
