it's more than just a buzzword it's a silent epidemic as screens dominate our lives attention spans are shrinking memory is weakening and mental health is declining could the endless scrolling and viral memes be rewiring our brains in ways that we can't undo what's really happening to our minds and can we fix it before it's too late this is how to cure brain rot Ohio but not the state if you're 12 you know what I mean and if you're not I can explain Ohio is a slang word that gen alpha kids born between 2010 and 2024
used to describe something weird cringy or random you might say only in Ohio or your so Ohio or you might throw out skibidi Ohio Riz Riz is the opposite of Ohio and skib means whatever you want it to are you following Ohio was the second most Googled meme in 2023 now this entirely new vocabulary P gen Alpha is entertaining and may be a little confusing depending on how old you are but is it a symptom of a larger Trend that's potentially concerning brain rot isn't just a popular term it's recently been linked to a serious
mental phenomenon that researchers at Boston's Children Hospital describe as problematic interactive media use or pimu according to Dr Michael Rich a pediatrician and founder of the hospital's digital Wellness lab the term sums up the effects of excessive online activity users Afflicted with brain rot tend to filter their daily experiences through the lens of online content shaping their communication and behavior accordingly problematic media use can look like compulsive or overuse of digital and interactive media to the point where it interferes with a Young Person's regular life it's often correlated with poor school performance increased family conflicts
reduced relationship satisfaction and challenges with emotional well-being and since nearly a 100% of teens report having access to a smart phone or home computer and nearly half of them say they're online almost constantly this kind of excessive media use isn't theoretical now real life exists simultaneously with online life of course online technology can be positive it helps us engage with new friends and exposes us to new ideas it's a forum to express ourselves that might not exist in real life do those benefits outweigh the effects of overuse is brain rot really as bad as many
adults paint it out to be is Gen Alpha just a product of it environment perhaps the idea of brain rot is just a generation's response to spending some of its most formative years in the depths of the covid pandemic either way the content that can lead to brain rot negatively impacts our minds is there any way to fix it or is it just a new reality that we just have to adapt to lately when I've been thinking about brain rot I keep coming back to this painting it's the 2,000 yard stair a World War II
depiction of a soldier with a blank unfocused gaze A visual representation of emotional detachment after enduring the horrors of War but what does this have to do with brain Rod Tik Tok users have pointed out a strange similarity between this gaze and the blank look we get while Doom scrolling through all the bad news you see daily it's not a Perfect Analogy but when you consider the amount of overwhelming content fed directly into the hands of gen C and gen Alpha it starts to make sense these are the most anxious Generations in history and while
brain rot content might feel like a distraction it's often making the anxiety worse so how do we fix the C itive effects of our Tech saturated lifestyle one approach is medication but while the stigma around mental health treatment is fading many people still don't feel the best about taking pills especially when anxiety itself can make something as simple as swallowing a tablet feel overwhelming luckily one biotech company called geltech is working to solve that problem they're revolutionizing how we take medicine with a gel-based drug and nutrient delivery system imagine consuming your medication in a portable
food like pouch simple discreet and perfect for those struggling with pill swallowing nearly a billion people worldwide face pill swallowing challenges believe it or not and geltech gel technology makes medication easier while also allowing for Taste masking higher dosages and controlled release timing it's suitable for human and animal health with Pharmaceuticals neutraceuticals and Pet Care applications right now geltech is focused on the neutraceutical market with 70 plus products and they're working towards FDA approval for their drug delivery platform they're even publicly traded on the nas de under gels this could be the next big leap
in drug and nutrient delivery poised to disrupt a market worth nearly half a trillion dollars if you want to learn more about how geltech improves lives click the link in the description while these medications may help fixing something like brain rot might ultimately come down to making meaningful lifestyle changes and healthier choices for our minds but where do we start Rain r isn't an amorphous concept according to research from the group y pulse 65% of 8 to 12y olds have an iPhone and the same percentage have an iPad by comparison Millennials got their first smartphones
around 16 this alone doesn't mean young brains are decaying right before our eyes but the impact of technology on young people can be concerning an estimated 1.5 to 2.1 million adolescent in the US experience some sort of disordered use of Technology with negative consequences this can present in a few ways like gaming addiction where kids have to be pulled away from their consoles problematic social media use where social media platforms become the primary way young people communicate problematic internet use and information seeking for hours on end instead of other activities or an overreliance on the
internet and technology which removes any independent thinking or problem solving so how can brain Rod affect us our siblings our children the world it should come as no surprise that the constant multitasking and Rapid processing our brains have to handle when we look on social media or perform other tasks on our phones have led to decre increased the attention spans this concept is known as attention deficit disorder economy which suggests that modern digital culture with its constant notifications ads and consent disrupts deep thinking technology is reshaping our brain's ability to concentrate and retain information yes
technology can enhance cognitive skills but it also has drawbacks it decreases our ability to focus on tasks that aren't mindlessly scrolling through Tik Tok if more and more of us feel like we have trouble concentrating we might have to turn to medications to help in 2022 the Center for Disease Control and prevention reported that 7 million us Children 11.4% of the population between 3 and 17 have been diagnosed with ADHD that's 1 million more diagnoses than in 2016 the pandemic was undoubtedly a factor and there's also most likely been an increase in diagnosis due to
more recognition of symptoms in girls it's still a massive jump though certain medications especially those affecting neurotransmitters like the ones prescribed for ADHD can cause cognitive impairment as a side effect our newly decreased attention spans thanks to the endless stimuli of the internet go hand inhand with widespread dopamine depletion which results in addiction to technology chronic exposure to high stimulus Tech activities can lead to dopamine disregulation which over time can dampen your brain's pleasure response and affect your attention and motivation there's endless fun and information at our fingertips but at the same time Global depression
rates have been climbing over the past 30 years according to the world happiness report people in high inome countries have become more unhappy we can't be alone with our thoughts anymore we can't stand quiet time to work through our own struggles because something is always distracting us overexposure to the above mentioned screens flashing ads and Rapid information can cause mental exhaustion and decreased cognitive performance similar to effects of brain rot information is coming at us faster than our brains can process mental fatigue decision paralysis and difficulty focusing are inevitable results of Our Endless scrolling posting
updates and ifications we're throwing much more information at ourselves than we are physically and mentally capable of handling all of that extra stuff leads to overloading and offloading either we take it on and stress ourselves out or we offload it to avoid it when we do offload the information we're decreasing our ability to effectively build our memory skills digital dementia is a term used to describe the cognitive decline that some researchers believe results from an overreliance on technology like GPS or smartphones relying on devices for tasks like navigation memorization and problem solving can lead to
memory issues that might align with early signs of dementia phones keep us from developing effective executive functions how we organize our lives and ideas that lack of organization can terribly affect our brains and overall well-being with a phone at our fingertips we don't allow ourselves to practice retrieving information that might already be in our heads have you ever been sitting with a group of friends watching a movie and you see an actor you recognize you turn to the person next to you and say what's that guy in again none of you can remember remember immediately
so inevitably someone whips out their phone to find the actor's resume and once you realize where you've seen them before you say oh yeah I knew that and you did know that the information was stored somewhere in your head but because we now lack the patience to try and go retrieve it leaving our memory out of the equation altogether in the long term this can lead to Chronic forgetfulness our memory is like a muscle and if we don't use it we lose it cognitive offloading relying on devices to store information instead of using our memory
can changes the fundamentals of how we process information with dependence on technology there's concern that the brain May offload functions traditionally assigned to our memory and problem solving capabilities over time these other functions become less resilient our Notes app helps keep track of ideas and write grocery lists but doesn't that mean we're not keeping track of any of that in our brains we use calendars to set reminders not trusting that we'll remember that lunch meeting next Tuesday do we also need to set a calendar reminder to go for a walk some of us have been
guilty of even that techn ology offers us many helpful tools but Have We Become over reliant on them and will kids on their phones never learn to use their memory effectively because they have these tools the effects of that could be Grim everybody benefits from neuroplasticity the ability of our brain to reorganize by forming new connections throughout our lives in response to our experiences this adaptive capacity lets us heal from injury and compensate for our disabilities technology is conditioning our sensory inputs and thought processes ultimately impacting our brain structure then new information and the kinds
of people we encounter on social media and the internet can be great for expanding our worldview and helping our neuroplasticity except they're undermined by the act of being on a phone or computer itself which time and time again decreases our long-term attention and deep focus this digital world so many children are living in by Design weakens face-to-face social skills they spend so much time adapting to their digital environment that it reduces their full brain engagement in the real physical world overall brain rot is a Surefire recipe for internet induced anxiety and depression social media and
internet use can lead to mental health declines particularly in younger populations the repetitive cycles of comparison information overload and cyber bullying contribute to anxiety and depression which in turn can impact cognitive functions like memory processing speed and attention spans the National Institute of Health found a significant association between internet addiction and depression anxiety and stress in a study of teenagers deemed addicted to the Internet so what does that look like the study categorized it as using the internet for 3 to 6 hours a day which means I'm probably addicted too like it is with our
dopamine fed reward system the cycles of depression and internet addiction are difficult to break people seek a distraction from or alternative to the lives that make them feel down but online they find a bombardment of information that has the potential to make them feel even more depressed so H can we and more importantly the still impressionable gen Alpha address brain rot and all the potential side effects accompanying it as always we can push ourselves into a digital detox in which we take regular breaks from screens especially social media platforms and other high stimulus content if
we commit to just a few structured hours every day that we're away from screens we can help reset our attention spans and reduce sensory overload quite a bit similarly we've all been deep in emails or writing something for school or work and felt the pull of our phone wanting to take us out of it if we schedule time for deep work and designate certain periods of the day that are focused on interrupted work or reading we help retrain our brain to focus on one task for extended periods one of the best ways for everyone to
combat brain rot is to take a step away from the scrolling and stimulus to practice mindfulness or meditation or even take a walk in nature regular meditation strengthens attention and reduces our mental overload just 10 to 20 minutes a day is all it takes to help reverse some of the effects of Technology overload and reconnecting with nature has been shown to restore cognitive function and improve your mood at the very least commit 30 minutes a day to being outside just try it next time you're about to sit down on the couch and just mindlessly scroll
what if you just took a stroll or went and sit in the park instead the most important thing to remember is that in our Quest To Conquer brain rot is to limit Doom scrolling and passive content consumption when we engage in content in shorter more purposeful bursts instead of endless scrolling it can reduce anxiety this also pushes us to have more face-to-face interactions with friends family and colleagues to stimulate our brains instead of the screen in your face engaging in intellectually stimulating conversation can counter the effects of superficial online content that tends to draw Us
in here's the real question though should we really even be that worried are adults just freaking out while kids are actually the ones who understand this technology landscape the best young people think about the impact of technology on their lives teens and children spent their formative years in the depths of Co their routines upended they needed a distraction in a way to normalize a new normal that was definitely not normal at all so they have a sense of humor about growing up in chaotic times and their concerns are more nuanced not as Doom and Gloom
as some of their older counterparts might think adults tend to see technology as very binary kids see it as more of a spectrum and could be better position to find healthy moderation that same Yole study we mentioned earlier also found that 75% of those 8 to 12y olds say they're passionate about causes like animal rights and cyber bully 84% feel positive about the future so maybe the whole idea of brain rot isn't as alive and well as would've been made out to think young people are natives of a digital world that the rest of us
kind of adapted to so maybe we should trust them every generation surprises the one ahead of them and J Alpha knows all about that mainly because they Googled it
