Microlearning apps promise to make you smarter in just 15 minutes. Do they?

Globe and Mail

7 hours ago

​Riding the self-help wave, a new class of microlearning apps promises to make you smarter in just 15 minutes — one bite-sized book summary at a time.
Apps such as Wiser, Headway, Blinkist, and Shortform distill thousands of nonfiction titles into quick, digestible audio or text summaries on topics ranging from productivity to psychology. Viral hits such as Atomic Habits and The 5 AM Club are trimmed down to their core takeaways, letting users squeeze in a dose of personal growth while folding laundry or commuting to work. The model is clearly resonating: Blinkist now counts more than 26 million users globally, while Headway boasts over 50 million downloads – evidence that microlearning is no longer a fringe habit, and these users are willing to pay $80 to $200 a year for it.
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For one avid user, Virginia-based podcast host and entrepreneur Mickey Mellen, microlearning apps offer a useful preview of a book before committing to the full read. His podcast, Stacking Knowledge, explores business and biographical books in depth, and he finds these platforms especially helpful for revisiting, recapping, and reinforcing ideas after finishing the original version. Mellen uses the apps for about 30 minutes each week, often to refresh key takeaways ahead of interviewing guest speakers. Still, as the summaries begin to feel increasingly AI-generated, Mellen admits, 'the satisfaction is fading.' Some microlearning apps, such as Blinkist and Headway, are indeed turning to generative AI for various features — Blinkist has recently rolled out an AI feature that turns user-uploaded content into summaries, while Headway has integrated AI-powered features into its advertising products.
But for Mellen, that shift blurs the line between what these apps offer and what tools like ChatGPT can already do — and do more interactively. 'I enjoy just talking to the assistant and having a conversation about a book,' Mellen, who occasionally uses the generative AI tool as a substitute for microlearning apps, says.
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Mellen's skepticism reflects a larger tension at the core of commercialized microlearning: while the concept is rooted in sound educational theory, some experts argue that its app-based incarnation prioritizes convenience over comprehension.
Dr. Adam Dube, associate professor of learning sciences and director of the Technology, Learning, & Cognition (TLC) Lab at McGill University, explains that these apps may be more effective at scratching the itch for productivity than fostering real understanding.
When we read, she says, new information enters our working memory and connects with what's already stored in long-term memory. We're not just absorbing words — we're actively drawing on past knowledge to make sense of them. These connections don't always happen instantly; they often emerge a few pages later or during moments of rest, when a memory resurfaces or a detail finally clicks. Microlearning, by contrast, delivers isolated bits of information and disrupts this slow, integrative process, making it harder to engage with ideas in a way that truly stays with readers in the long term.
Beyond efficiency, part of these apps' appeal lies in their gamified design — users are nudged to maintain reading streaks, complete curated challenges, and rack up trophies for hitting weekly goals — all tracked and compared against others. But these surface-level incentives, too, are contested by experts. Dube's research shows little evidence that they actually improve learning — gamification only works when it's tied to genuine cognitive effort or a learner's grasp of the material, he explains: 'You're engaging in the learning activity to get the reward, as opposed to understanding the concept.'
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Even though microlearning apps position themselves as antidotes to 'doomscrolling' on social media, many adopt features similar to those used by social media platforms, which can also deepen the very habits they promise to disrupt. Dr. Shimi Kang, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist, warns that microlearning apps may not replace doomscrolling so much as add to it — becoming yet another source of distraction in an already fractured digital environment.
'If someone is trying to study and learn a topic and gets distracted by their microlearning app beeping or notifications — studies show it takes at least 23 minutes to refocus on a task after an interruption,' says Kang, who is also an author of several nonfiction self-help titles, including The Tech Solution: Creating Healthy Habits for Kids Growing Up in a Digital World.
Constant toggling between tasks doesn't just erode focus, she adds — it triggers a stress response. 'When we have trouble focusing, our nervous system will ask: Why can't you focus? Is there a hurricane? Is there a predator? And it will fire cortisol, the stress hormone, just from switching attention rapidly.' Over time, that cognitive wear-and-tear, she says, can carry real consequences for both mental clarity and overall wellbeing.
​​That said, Kang acknowledges that microlearning isn't without merit. 'When you're only having to focus for, let's say, three to five minutes, it can be more achievable,' she notes. If the content is well-crafted and focused, it can reduce cognitive overload and offer a quick sense of accomplishment — especially for busy users or those who struggle with sustained attention. 'It fits with our understanding of neurodiversity,' she adds, pointing out that people absorb information in different ways — visually, auditorily, or logically. 'As long as the message isn't altered, I welcome any platform that gets good information out there.'
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Like Kang, Todd Cunningham, a professor in the Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, acknowledges the benefits of microlearning apps in certain use-case scenarios — particularly when they supplement, rather than substitute, long-form reading. One proven strategy for boosting comprehension and retention, he explains, is to briefly survey a text to 'get your brain thinking about what you're going to read.' In that sense, microlearning apps can function as a kind of cognitive warm-up. But he cautions that relying solely on summaries can create 'a false sense of learning.'
I decided to try one of these apps myself — listening to a summary of Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari on Wiser. There was undeniable satisfaction in being served up mini-nuggets of insight: a quick hit of intellectual nourishment. But that satisfaction came with a sense of loss. The experience felt flat — more mechanical than meaningful. Unlike a full audiobook on Audible, it wasn't thoughtfully narrated; instead, a baritone, automated voice delivered dense, jargony ideas with no room for imagination or interpretation. On the page, I often find myself imagining the narrator's tone, personality, even their wardrobe choices. There's the book, and there's my relationship with the book. Here, the latter was compromised. The rich fodder of the page was replaced by a kind of convenient fast-food takeout: efficient, digestible, but ultimately, forgettable.