You may have heard certain buzzwords like “skibidi toilet,” “rizz” and “sigma” being used by your children around the house. And while we’re not going to try to figure out exactly what all of those words mean, they’re all connected to another buzzword you may be familiar with called “brain rot.” Brain rot, the 2024 Oxford Word of the Year, is defined as the “supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as a result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content).” The keyword here is “supposed,” as studies and opinions from neuroscientists seem to not always agree with one another. So, what is brain rot, and is it something parents should worry about?
While some see brain rot as something that can happen from using any type of screen (how many times did your parents tell you to turn off the TV when you were a kid because it would “rot your brain”), generally the term is associated with long periods of time spent scrolling through short-form video content, or “doomscrolling.” Social media apps like TikTok and Instagram (Reels) have made this content popular, but you can find it on almost any social media site including Snapchat, YouTube and Facebook. Even X (Twitter) is trying to implement a video only section in its app. Short-form videos seem to be taking over the internet, but they may also be taking over your children.
What the Skeptics Say
According to the Guardian, Shane O’Mara, a professor of experimental brain research at Trinity College Dublin, says there is no such thing as brain rot. The idea that more people are engaging with the internet is nothing unexpected. “Humans have always been distractible…This is something people have always done, and we’re being a bit moralistic about it.” For O’Mara, the internet is no different from any of the other types of media that have captivated audiences through the centuries. Tony Chemero, a professor of philosophy and psychology at the University of Cincinnati, said “Technology may change cognition without necessarily harming it. This worry that people are having, Plato had as well, 2,500 years ago or so, writing about how the written word will make people stupid because their memories will be worse and they’ll be worse at telling stories.” However, brain rot is about much more than simply using technology. The epidemic of short-form videos isn’t shrinking.
How Do Short-Form Videos Affect Your Brain?
According to the Richmond Journal of Law and Technology, TikTok users spend an average of 95 minutes on the app per day. This high retention rate may have something to do with the almighty “algorithm” that feeds personalized content to users, creating high levels of addiction in users. Studies showed that watching short-form video content can lead to addiction and that some participants “had trouble even controlling when to stop watching.” Studies provided by the National Library of Medicine showed that this addiction led to academic procrastination in college students because it controlled their attention. These videos also increased dopamine levels, reinforcing an addiction to instant gratification and reducing attention spans, according to the Wall Street Journal.
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