Are our devices the main reason for brain rot?

Are our devices the main reason for brain rot?

Brain rot is a condition of mental fogginess, lethargy, reduced attention span, and cognitive decline that results from an overabundance of screen time. But does it really exist? Or is it something made up just to scare us humans, and minimize the use of our devices?

Hours of scrolling on the internet and surfing through data, we consume most of the negative and meaningless news. Thinking that the reels on Insta and the old photos with our friends bring us happiness and make us feel relaxed. Trying to absorb and cope with massive amounts of content creates mental fatigue. All of this guides us into having a downfall in our focus, motivation, and energy over time, and this especially affects us young people.

What causes brain rot?

Brain rot is caused by the excess use of technology and media. That would be checking your mail every time, binge-watching shows on Netflix, scrolling through Instagram, and seeing what's up with your friends. All of this leads to one main issue, and that's brain rot. This happens when you over-stimulate your brain with a lot of information from the internet, causing brain rot.

But why are we so addicted and stuck on using social media so much?

Binge-watching Netflix and surfing through the internet spikes neurochemical dopamine in our brain. This produces the feeling of pleasure and satisfaction, resulting in us wanting more and more. Even though we know the side effects of using social media so much, this dopamine that's produced in the mind makes us feel greedy, leading to a compulsion to scroll through more information and data. This means that it's a behavioral addiction and that it can be controllable.

But coming to our main question, how does brain rot affect the young audience mentally and emotionally?

Spending hours and hours on the internet seems harmless and fun, but the negative effects that one can get are way more dangerous than it seems. It mainly affects one mentally and physically.

Doom Scrolling or doom surfing is the act of spending an excessive amount of time reading large quantities of news, particularly negative news, on the web and social media. Gaining negative news from the internet can cause a person to only see the bad things in all situations, not allowing them to feel excited and happy—they are always stressed about something. It also causes the person to be anxious all the time.

One study proves that doom scrolling can lead to high levels of distress and dangerously low levels of experiencing positive feelings. It even says that this causes poor mental and physical health.