Brain rot is a relatively new term that has taken the internet by storm, but what does it really mean, and is it detrimental to our mental health?
What is brain rot?
Brain rot typically refers to the overconsumption of shortform content that is uninformative and serves no real purpose.
It is not a diagnosable medical term or condition, but the term has gained an overwhelming amount of traction over the past couple of years due to shortform content apps such as TikTok, even gaining the “Oxford Word of the Year” title for 2024.
It is defined as “the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging”.
It is a lack of mental stimulation (not reading, thinking critically, or being creative).
Is brain rot bad?
When we talk about brain rot, it’s typically used with negative connotations. The overconsumption of any form of media can be harmful, but the issue with brain rot is that it’s not educational or informative content. It exists simply to distract and pass time without being enriching or teaching anything.
It’s easy to lose track of time when you are scrolling on apps like TikTok; content is easy to consume and videos tend to be under a minute long, and with brain rot, some can be just a few seconds long.
Brain rot could be affecting our intelligence as well. Consuming content that has no educational value over a prolonged period of time
It can affect concentration levels, meaning you might find it harder to concentrate on enriching longform content, for example, books.
Although, it could be argued that brain rot is harmless and simply acts as a form of decompression and recreational activity.
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Why do we “doomscroll”?
It’s easy to pick up your phone and scroll endlessly for several reasons.
The act of scrolling itself gives us little dopamine hits. It’s the same reward loop as gambling, to an extent: “maybe the next scroll will give me something useful”.
Particularly with large political issues, it’s easy to be anxious and want to seek information. Doomscrolling lets us access information (whether it’s accurate information or not) at the swipe of a screen, which often gives us more uncertainty and anxiety than before. Staying constantly updated can feel like you’re “doing something” about the world’s problems, even if it just leaves you feeling bad.
Tips to combat brain rot
If you’re feeling yourself stuck in the rut of doomscrolling and unable to put your phone down, here are some tips to help you break the cycle:
1. Do a 24-hour "mental reset"
- Avoid: TikTok, endless YouTube Shorts, doomscrolling, passive binge-watching.
- Instead: Replace that time with something just a bit more engaging — even if it's just watching a documentary, listening to a podcast, or reading an article.
2. Go on a dopamine fast lite
- Pick one hour per day (or more) where you:
- Turn off notifications
- Put your phone in another room
- Don’t consume anything digital, just go analogue (write, stretch, walk, reflect)
3. Start a "no-excuse" reading habit
- Goal: 5–10 pages a day. Doesn’t matter what — fiction, nonfiction, graphic novels.
- Audiobooks count, too.
4. Move your body
- Physical movement stimulates mental clarity.
- Just 15 minutes of walking, stretching, or dancing around your room counts.
5. Rewire with low-stress brain work
- Do simple puzzles such as Sudoku, crosswords, Wordle, chess puzzles or logic games.