"yes. Well, according to literary arts, ANYWAY." --Alice stewart, 6th grade
As brainrot, Generation Alpha’s slang, becomes more popular, could it also be harming people’s mental health? Well, to answer that question, first we need to get into what brainrot IS.
What Is Brainrot?
As you probably know, brainrot is Generation Alpha slang that consists mainly of nonsense words such as “skibidi” or “sigma.” While some of these terms have roots in things such as the Greek alphabet, others, like “skibidi,” are pure nonsense. Brainrot is born from online culture, having spread from Youtube to games on Roblox. Additionally, Skibidi Toilet, the Youtube show that came up with the word “skibidi” and is one of the starting points of brainrot, has gotten up to 77 episodes, with the first having 4.6 million likes. The creator, Alexey Gerasimov (also known as his Youtube channel’s name, DaFuq!?Boom!) has 45.2 million followers. Plus, by the time you read this article, these stats will probably be even bigger! However, not everyone likes brainrot.
What Is Brainrot?
As you probably know, brainrot is Generation Alpha slang that consists mainly of nonsense words such as “skibidi” or “sigma.” While some of these terms have roots in things such as the Greek alphabet, others, like “skibidi,” are pure nonsense. Brainrot is born from online culture, having spread from Youtube to games on Roblox. Additionally, Skibidi Toilet, the Youtube show that came up with the word “skibidi” and is one of the starting points of brainrot, has gotten up to 77 episodes, with the first having 4.6 million likes. The creator, Alexey Gerasimov (also known as his Youtube channel’s name, DaFuq!?Boom!) has 45.2 million followers. Plus, by the time you read this article, these stats will probably be even bigger! However, not everyone likes brainrot.
When Literary Arts was surveyed about brainrot, the results were impressively negative, with one student calling it “the bane of my existence.” One extremely detailed response said that “[brainrot is not a good thing] cuz… kids are about to walk up to people saying "RAISE YOUR YAAAAAAYA YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"...people r gonna rely on aura to get a job or get into collage… there are 1 yr old kids on youtube who probably had "Skibidi" as their first word…” However, not all of the responses were negative.
In the survey, there was one respondent who was very enthusiastic about brainrot, stating brainrot is “a form of life.” While not quite as stubborn, Sophie Wilkinson, the author of the British Vogue article “Brain Rot Isn’t Always A Bad Thing. Here’s Why,”, states that “my time for brain rot always comes just at the end of the day, when I’m rewarding myself with some ultra-light entertainment and don’t want to be troubled by much.” However, Wilkinson agrees that “people – including me – [are] legitimately scared of what short-form videos might be doing to us, our attention spans, cortisol levels and, yes, our brains.” Which brings us to our next question: Could brainrot be harming people’s mental health?
Is Brainrot Negatively Impacting Mental Health?
Yes. Well, according to Literary Arts, anyway. In the survey, 56.4% of respondents said brainrot was impacting mental health. Additionally, 68.9% said that you could still be impacted by brainrot even without actively consuming it. But exactly how? Well, one survey respondent said that “[brainrot is] making it harder for [them] to pay attention, makes [them] zone out more often, makes [them] crave more distracting happiness” while another claims they are “losing brain cells.” Josephine Stewart, a second grader at Lincoln Elementary, agrees, stating that “Sometimes [she] hear[s] people FILL a sentence with brainrot like it's the only words they know.” Brainrot definitely is impacting communication, as sometimes being behind on slang can mean not understanding entire conversations.
Also connected to brainrot is doom scrolling, where people get sucked into a rabbit hole of sorts, scrolling and viewing content without actually absorbing it. According to What is brain rot? The science behind what obsessive scrolling does to our brains, “A certain part of the brain, called the habenula, is responsible for getting stuck in endless scrolling. …when activated, this area can… “kill our motivation to try,” [Behavioral neuroscientist Dr. Kyra Bobinet] noted. Scrolling on social media is also a way to “disassociate” and give the brain a rest after a long day, Bobinet said. This is an “avoidance behavior,” which the habenula controls.“Anytime you’re avoiding something, you know this area of the brain is on,” she said.” Also, according to “The effects of ‘brain rot’: How junk content is damaging our minds,” “...psychologist Carlos Losada offered advice to EL PAÍS on how to avoid falling into the trap of doom scrolling… His recommendations included recognizing the problem, making a conscious effort to disconnect, and engaging in activities that require physical presence, such as meeting friends or playing sports.”
Related to both doom scrolling and brainrot is brain fog. How Brain Rot Impacts Your Mental Health claims that brain rot, or brain fog, a condition induced by “extended exposure to activities that we either do mindlessly or passively,” can cause, among other things, “Decreased Productivity—not [being] able to complete tasks competently [or] procrastinating and feeling overwhelmed by upcoming deadlines.” It can also cause “Increased stress or anxiety that leads to poor performance at work or school.”
Another symptom of brain fog is “mental fatigue—loss of interest in activities that were previously fun [as well as]... persistent feelings of mental ‘fog’ or dreariness due to overstimulation.” This may also include being “Unable to think creatively and struggling to come up with innovative ideas.” Another symptom is cognitive decline. According to PsychLogs, “Critical thinking abilities are adversely affected; [people may have] gaps in memory and difficulty in paying attention to details.” Social skills are also affected, like people having the “tendency to prefer digital communication over interacting in person,” as well as the fact that “having engaging and meaningful conversations can prove to be demanding because of reduced social skills.”
Also, “mood swings or mood dysregulation can occur as there is a lack of contentment. For example, frustration or anger over trivial matters that they normally wouldn’t react to.” Lastly, brain fog can even bring physical issues, such as problems sleeping, obesity, or headaches and eyesight problems.
Wow, that’s a big list of symptoms! And watching brainrot is definitely an “activity that [some people] either do mindlessly or passively,” with one survey respondent saying they watch brainrot solely because it shows up on their For You feed. Plus, people are consuming a TON of it, with British Vogue stating that “According to research from Opal, an app designed to reduce your screen time, the average Briton spends five hours and six minutes on their phone every day.” The stats are even worse for the United States. According to Phone Screen Time Addiction & Usage - New Survey Data & Statistics, Americans spend an average of 5 hours and 16 minutes on their phones per day, and Gen Z spends 6 hours and 27 minutes.
Another symptom of brain fog is “mental fatigue—loss of interest in activities that were previously fun [as well as]... persistent feelings of mental ‘fog’ or dreariness due to overstimulation.” This may also include being “Unable to think creatively and struggling to come up with innovative ideas.” Another symptom is cognitive decline. According to PsychLogs, “Critical thinking abilities are adversely affected; [people may have] gaps in memory and difficulty in paying attention to details.” Social skills are also affected, like people having the “tendency to prefer digital communication over interacting in person,” as well as the fact that “having engaging and meaningful conversations can prove to be demanding because of reduced social skills.”
Also, “mood swings or mood dysregulation can occur as there is a lack of contentment. For example, frustration or anger over trivial matters that they normally wouldn’t react to.” Lastly, brain fog can even bring physical issues, such as problems sleeping, obesity, or headaches and eyesight problems.
Wow, that’s a big list of symptoms! And watching brainrot is definitely an “activity that [some people] either do mindlessly or passively,” with one survey respondent saying they watch brainrot solely because it shows up on their For You feed. Plus, people are consuming a TON of it, with British Vogue stating that “According to research from Opal, an app designed to reduce your screen time, the average Briton spends five hours and six minutes on their phone every day.” The stats are even worse for the United States. According to Phone Screen Time Addiction & Usage - New Survey Data & Statistics, Americans spend an average of 5 hours and 16 minutes on their phones per day, and Gen Z spends 6 hours and 27 minutes.
People besides middle schoolers are affected by brainrot, too. Plus, weird internet memes definitely aren’t a new thing—when Daniel Stewart was interviewed, he said that this video “is 100% brainrot but was made 15 years ago.” In the video, titled “Cycles,” giant teddy bears climb up a pier onto the street and attempt to cross the road, with most crossing successfully but a few being hit by cars. The video only gets weirder from there, including a teddy bear bonking a giant pigeon with a light pole. This chaos ends with cars in places they definitely shouldn’t be, including driving off a cliff, as giant teddy bears glitch onto an upside down, gravity defying highway and even bigger teddy bears reminiscent of the AT-ATs from Star Wars storm the pier. If that isn’t brainrot, nothing is. Watch the video to fully understand this paragraph.
Also, the concept of brain rot wasn’t invented for Skibidi Toilet, or even Cycles. In fact, according to British Vogue, “the phrase was actually coined in 1854 by the writer Henry David Thoreau. Bemoaning society’s slip into stupidity, due to what he saw as a decline in people’s intellect, he said, “While England endeavours to cure the potato rot, will not any endeavour to cure the brain-rot – which prevails so much more widely and fatally?””
Conclusion
In summary of all that, yes, watching brainrot may be harming mental health. However, there are a few things you can do. According to What is brain rot? The science behind what obsessive scrolling does to our brains, “[Dr. Don] Grant, [national adviser of healthy device management at Newport Healthcare in Los Angeles], also urges people to be more strategic about spending time online, splitting it up into 80% ‘meaningful, legitimate’ content and 20% entertainment.”
This seems like good advice, since, after all, the internet can be a good thing. For instance, the author of this article, Sophie Wilkinson, who says that she’s attempting to prioritize her time by building “other, better habits…not checking socials first thing, having a morning routine (TikTok creators providing the inspo!), and carving out space to prioritise long-form content like books, magazines, TV, plays and films.” This might be a good move to not only reduce brainrot consumption, but also to avoid falling into the trap of doomscrolling. And besides morning routines, social media can also provide things such as weird food combos that are actually good or makeup tips or… basically anything.
In conclusion, while mindless content is harming mental health, there are lots of ways to make the most of your time, including helpful screens.
Also, the concept of brain rot wasn’t invented for Skibidi Toilet, or even Cycles. In fact, according to British Vogue, “the phrase was actually coined in 1854 by the writer Henry David Thoreau. Bemoaning society’s slip into stupidity, due to what he saw as a decline in people’s intellect, he said, “While England endeavours to cure the potato rot, will not any endeavour to cure the brain-rot – which prevails so much more widely and fatally?””
Conclusion
In summary of all that, yes, watching brainrot may be harming mental health. However, there are a few things you can do. According to What is brain rot? The science behind what obsessive scrolling does to our brains, “[Dr. Don] Grant, [national adviser of healthy device management at Newport Healthcare in Los Angeles], also urges people to be more strategic about spending time online, splitting it up into 80% ‘meaningful, legitimate’ content and 20% entertainment.”
This seems like good advice, since, after all, the internet can be a good thing. For instance, the author of this article, Sophie Wilkinson, who says that she’s attempting to prioritize her time by building “other, better habits…not checking socials first thing, having a morning routine (TikTok creators providing the inspo!), and carving out space to prioritise long-form content like books, magazines, TV, plays and films.” This might be a good move to not only reduce brainrot consumption, but also to avoid falling into the trap of doomscrolling. And besides morning routines, social media can also provide things such as weird food combos that are actually good or makeup tips or… basically anything.
In conclusion, while mindless content is harming mental health, there are lots of ways to make the most of your time, including helpful screens.