Brainrot: What Happens To You When You're On Social Too Much (Badly)

Lower ability to concentrate, reflect and think critically. The meaning of the term “brainrot”, often used ironically, defines the “brain rot” that follows assiduous exposure to short, excessively simple and sterile content.

Seeing too much different content confuses you and wastes your energy; seeing the same content over and over again has similar effects and also makes you mentally shortsighted. We are our habits, because it is on them that our state of health depends to a large extent, biologically and psychologically speaking. Our daily actions and thoughts feed or waste our potential over time. And how are responsibilities distributed?

Drawing from research, scientific articles and books, let's discover the phenomenon of brainrot and try to answer the question. This is to understand what happens if we expose ourselves too much on social media in an uncontrolled way and what we can do to prevent it.

What is brainrot?

We said that it is often used in an ironic way… but this term indicates a worrying real phenomenon.

Brainrot occurs when a person consumes digital content excessively and repetitively.. This also applies to TV series marathons, for example, but here we focus in particular on short, simple and highly stimulating content such as those offered on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram e YouTube shorts. This type of stimulation can saturate our cognitive capacity, leading to a reduction in concentration and critical thinking..

As Nicholas Carr explains in The Shallows, prolonged use of the internet and fragmented digital content can weaken the brain, causing it to seek quick and immediate gratification rather than engage in deep reflection. Carr, a writer and essayist specializing in technology and culture, in fact argues that:

“Our brains adapt to the content we consume: the more we rely on superficial content, the harder it becomes to concentrate on complex tasks”.

Also the Cognitive load theory by Koehler and Sweller confirms that overexposure to fast and disordered information increases the risk of mental overload. Therefore, cognitive efficiency and the ability to learn are reduced.

Our Individual Responsibility

Le social platforms, as we will see in the next paragraph, can have a great responsibility in favoring brainrot. However, they leave a fairly significant room for maneuver and choice. Therefore, before declining all responsibilities to tools (which we use by the way) It is appropriate to ask ourselves whether we manage them adequately. On social media, if you want, you can see everything and no one physically forces you to stay in a certain way longer than necessary.

Our digital habits therefore play a very important role in maintaining our mental and cognitive health.

As Adam Alter points out in his book Irresistible, We are the ones who have to consciously manage the time spent in front of screens and limit ourselves in the use of contents that offer only quick and superficial gratifications. Alter, university professor specialized in psychology and marketing, in fact, claims that:

“Technological dependence is not inevitable, but arises from the way we interact with devices and content”.

This awareness implies the need to adopt personal strategies to balance social media use, such as setting time limits and engaging in offline activities that require more mental effort, such as reading or sports.

So brainrot can be prevented and in the end we will see exactly how.

Before closing the circle, however, let's understand what role platforms have.

The Role of Social Media in the Brainrot Phenomenon

Different platforms, due to their structure, can favor brainrot. In fact, social networks such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts are designed to capture and hold your attention for extended periods of time.

This is because they use algorithms that continuously show you short, engaging content. Algorithms, which are designed to fuel addiction, offering immediate gratification that triggers the release of dopamine in the brain, reinforcing the cycle of continuous consumption.

Again according to Adam Alter:

“Social platforms exploit psychological reward mechanisms to keep users glued to their screens, encouraging compulsive behaviors”.

These platforms therefore have a great ethical responsibility in creating digital environments that not only promote superficial content, but also encourage a balanced and conscious use..

At the moment, however, the priority is to maximize user engagement, thus contributing to the deterioration of cognitive abilities.

What can we do today to protect our brains?

It remains complex to establish how much this mechanism is Machiavellian and how much, instead, was not created with the contribution of users. Likewise, it is complicated to define the power that these stimulations biologically have on our rationality.

How much are we able to resist? How much are we able to choose? Is it necessary to start a witch hunt and demonize tools that can be used to meet, entertain, create constructive initiatives, inform, disseminate, make oneself known and do business?

Every tool has multiple faces and today, more than ever, individual choices can really make a difference. In fact, in recent years, the personalization of services has become a business model for a highly varied series of activities. So if a lot of people reject content of a certain type, that content is no longer encouragedThe difficulty lies in working on ourselves so as not to always give up on the easier choices.

By doing this we can make our voices heard and help change things.

The 12 best practices to try

If you feel that your mind has become lazy or if you fear that it might happen to you and those around you, try to put into practice at least one or more of these actions and strategies:

1. Set specific times for device use and stick to them. Use apps that block distractions during work, study, and social situations.
2. Replace some of your screen time with activities that stimulate your mind and body, such as reading, playing sports, or pursuing hobbies.
3. Follow reliable sources and vary your interests. Avoid content that makes you feel negative or unmotivated.
4. Don't take everything you read online for granted. Check the authoritativeness of sources and seek confirmation from multiple angles.
5. Delete or block accounts that spread misinformation, hate, or negative content.
6. When engaging in online discussions, express your opinion clearly and respectfully, even when you disagree with others.
7. Encourage others to reflect on the information they receive and not to passively accept everything.
8. Use the tools provided by the platforms to report content that violates the community guidelines.
9. Write to the platforms’ managers to express your concerns about the algorithms and the content present.
10. Join campaigns and petitions calling for greater transparency and accountability from tech companies.
11. Choose to use online services that respect user privacy and promote quality content.
12. Participate in forums and discussion groups that encourage constructive dialogue and digital well-being.