There are a few reasons why you might prefer to use the VARCHAR data type over the TEXT data type for short records in MySQL:

1. Storage size: VARCHAR is a variable-length string data type, so it only uses the amount of storage required to hold the actual data. In contrast, TEXT is a fixed-length data type that uses a fixed amount of storage regardless of the length of the data being stored. This means that VARCHAR can be more efficient in terms of storage when you are storing short strings.
2. Performance: VARCHAR can be faster than TEXT when you are performing searches or comparisons on the stored data. This is because the database engine can use indexes to more quickly locate specific VARCHAR values, whereas it has to perform a full scan of the TEXT data to find a match.
3. Constraints: You can use the VARCHAR data type to specify a maximum length for the stored data, which can be useful for enforcing data integrity. You cannot do this with the TEXT data type.

Of course, there may be situations where it makes more sense to use the TEXT data type, such as when you are storing very large strings or when you don’t need to perform searches or comparisons on the stored data. It’s important to carefully consider your needs and choose the data type that is most appropriate for your application.