Most of us have more free time than usual in the days between December 25 and January 1. We’re all busy, so this respite from what was a very chaotic year is comforting. Why not let it all go and just lay on the couch scrolling through your phone for silly content? It’s the holidays for god’s sake! However, much like having wine and cookies for breakfast, indulging in some holiday brainrot is fun at first, but eventually wears us down. What exactly is brainrot, how much (if any) is good for you, and how do we recover when we’ve had a little too much?

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What is brainrot?

The term brainrot references the perceived mental fog and deterioration of attention span associated with heavy use of digital devices. An article from the National Library of Medicine observes that brainrot “leads to emotional desensitization, cognitive overload, and a negative self-concept…These factors impair executive functioning skills, including memory, planning, and decision making.” [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11939997/] 

The dopamine feedback loop associated with use of any digital device links it to processes of addiction: a substance provides us with a hit of dopamine, so we repeatedly return to that substance for that same hit. However, the temporary high from your drug of choice is doomed to fade, and is typically followed by a low that exacerbates the mental distress you were escaping from in the first place, leading to increased usage over time. This is certainly a factor in the way brainrot manifests and affects us.

While specific types of “low-value content" (aka brainrot media) have been blamed for creating cognitive impairment and distortion, there are no meaningful studies linking content types with brainrot. Brainrot media is characterized by its high speed editing, surrealism, and intentional lack of meaning. The word to describe it is fairly new, but this kind of media has existed for a long time - you may recall the antics of Charlie the Unicorn, Llamas with Hats, Annoying Orange, Salad Fingers, Nyan Cat…the list goes on. These videos retained viewer interest with surreal story lines, seemingly improvised dialogue, and repetitive hooks. Today, we have the “sludge” video, a splitscreen duetting unrelated content and AI voiceovers on TikTok. In all these cases, the creators’ goal is to keep viewers engaged in the content, increasing views, and theoretically, making the creator’s content attractive to advertisers. 

Researchers have found many links between negative mental health experiences and extended screentime, but they haven’t compared the effects of various kinds of content on subjects with similar usage patterns. In fact, it seems that it’s not the content itself, but rather, the way in which digital devices encourage us to multitask that leads to the symptoms associated with brainrot. The variety and barrage of information from competing content streams, unwanted advertisements, and persistent notifications are more impactful on our mental health than whether our content is silly or serious. By forcing our attention from item to item, digital media encourages shallow engagement with ideas, emotional reactivity, and a lowered tolerance for long-form media that might explore content more thoughtfully. 

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What does overstimulating media do to our brains?

Overstimulation is another way to describe brainrot with less of a negative connotation. Also known as sensory overload, overstimulation happens when we have too much information or emotion to process at one time. Sensory overload is a common experience among neurodivergent people, but it can happen to anyone. Essentially, the brain struggles to sort and store information, and begins to see the information as a hostile force, activating your nervous system’s stress response. Symptoms align with fight, flight, or freeze, and range from angry outbursts to crying and dissociation. Long term, chronic overstimulation can lead to anxiety, burnout, and a reduced attention span - all tell-tale signs of brainrot.

However, many of us seek overstimulation despite its negative effects. The reason for this could be the similarity between “zoning out” on your phone and reaching a “flow state.” “Flow state” is a highly desirable feeling we get when we are fully engaged in a rewarding activity that makes us lose track of time. Our skills and resources are perfectly matched to the challenge at hand such that our full focus is required, but our brain and body can carry out associated tasks automatically. Like engaging with digital content, a flow state can trigger a dose of dopamine, but it does so in a much healthier and sustainable way.

Neurologically, a flow state is characterized by coordinated brain waves working together. Alpha waves, indicating calm alertness, are at a moderate level that reduces self-consciousness and allows us to focus on the task at hand. Theta waves, most often present during deep relaxation or meditation, indicate learning and memory formation, particularly in the meeting of our conscious and subconscious mind. This allows our brains to make use of both the active problem solving needed to meet a challenge, and the inspiration, instincts, and reflexes that our brains and bodies use without us thinking about it. This perfect mix of conscious and unconscious mind allows us to perform at our full potential without getting burned out.

Zoning out mimics the flow state in some ways, but it lacks the coordinated brain waves that make a flow state effortless and enriching. While scrolling, alpha waves are often suppressed, indicating that the brain is highly active at an anxious level in contrast to the mellow yet engaged level of the flow state. Beta and gamma waves increase, another indicator that stress and mental activity are at a higher level. Theta waves are more complex. While they are typically more present in flow state than in zoning out, some research subjects have demonstrated increased Theta waves during scrolling, leading to a trance-like state. Unlike Alpha and Theta waves working together in flow state, Beta and Gamma waves work against Theta waves to create a state of unproductive hyperarousal. In both cases you lose track of time and achieve full immersion, but after scrolling your body struggles to return the brain to a more relaxed state. 

In summary, scrolling can reproduce some of the sensations of being in a flow state, but the rewards are less sustainable and the consequences more dire.

Woman use of mobile phone at night and feeling eye pain and dry

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How can we self soothe without brainrot media?

The flow state actually offers us a positive alternative to brainrotting overstimulation. While alarmists claim that hyperstimulating low-value media will permanently impair our attention spans and emotional bandwidth, evidence shows that you can rehabilitate your brain the same way you can rehabilitate your body after injury: with rest, and the right kind of gentle, focused exercise. Here are a few ways to wean yourself off zoning out and train your brain to reach flow state

1. Play a game but not online. 

Play is a hugely valuable activity for the brain because it allows us to exercise without pressure. By working on something that requires focus but has no meaningful impact on our lives, we allow our brains the freedom to stretch and explore without trapping them in a psychological torture chamber. Solo? Lay out your local print newspaper to fill in a crossword or sudoku, or break out a jigsaw puzzle. Friends and family around? There are a ridiculous number of board and card games out now, some of which you can even rent if you don’t want to lay down too much cash. Sports are a great option too, whether you join a local kickball league or play catch in the backyard with your kids. You can reach a flow state while playing a game when it’s entertaining or absorbing enough, especially if it involves a speedy volley like tennis, or lightning reflexes like the card game Spit.

2. Pick up a craft. 

For those of us trying to break a phone addiction, crafting provides a multisensory replacement behavior. Scrolling is physical as well as psychological, and the repetitive motion of your thumb needs as much rehab as the digital dopamine seeking in your brain. Handicrafts like knitting, crochet, and embroidery are great because they’re highly portable and rely on patterns, allowing you to focus on following directions and potentially leading to a flow state while you create. Not a fan of fabric arts? Pottery, woodworking, or welding require a studio and more resources, but if you can access them you’ll find hours, even a lifetime, of absorbing creativity. One of the paradoxical things about scrolling is that many of us turn to it for inspiration to create our own art and handicrafts, but end up less productive as we compare ourselves to polished creators and get overwhelmed with options. This is a great time to go to a museum instead. Your options will be more limited and purposefully arranged into themes, much less overwhelming than an infinite algorithm’s worth of arts and crafts.

3. Go to the movies. 

When you find yourself bouncing from small screen to medium screen, it’s time to go big screen. We watch a lot of short form video content on our many apps, often even when we are watching something long-form on TV. Going to the movies leads you both to engage in long form content and refrain from checking your phone during the movie; after all, it’s rude. The enhanced sound and image in a movie theater are uniquely engaging in a way that can absorb your attention more than something you stream at home. If you still find yourself checking your device during the movie, that’s ok - addiction doesn’t quit overnight. Hand your phone to a friend or stuff it into a pocket at the bottom of your bag so it’s more work to pull it out. That extra time in a new environment could very well interrupt the scrolling pattern you’re stuck in.

4. Read an essay or short story. 

If you are truly brainrotted from extended digital device time, you might need some short form reading. There’s no need to check War and Peace out of the library yet; that will come later. Instead, focus on digestible content that explores topics you’re interested in. Reflect on the kinds of content you consume on your phone and find literary outlets exploring those topics and personalities. The goal is to avoid your phone and consume this content on paper, but honestly opening a webpage on your laptop or downloading something to your kindle are just as valuable. Hot take, listening to audiobooks and podcasts is a GREAT way to retrain your brain in absorbing and retaining long form content. Don’t listen to people who say audiobooks aren’t reading. They’re certainly a different experience in a different medium, but whether you read or listen to an essay, you’re engaging with purposefully created long-form content that will force you to slow down to understand it. That is the goal.

5. You knew it was coming…phone limits. 

It’s kind of discouraging when you tell someone you have digital brainrot and their response is to just stop using your phone. It’s kind of like telling a smoker to just stop smoking cigarettes; it will certainly help but it doesn’t account for how difficult it is to stop. These fun little hacks give you a way to cut down gradually and retrain your brain to seek valuable information with purpose. 

• Delete all your apps. Of course you can just re-download them, but taking the time to remove and restore them leads to a natural break in your flow. You may even forget to reinstall some of them, or simply enjoy being rid of them for a change.
• Update notification preferences. To reduce multitasking and high distractibility, change or remove notifications for your noisiest apps. Rather than having them pop up as a banner, set them to mark notifications as badges on the app icons, or set them to self-silence after a certain period of time. 
• Use time limits on your apps. The writer of this blog experimented with setting a 45 minute daily limit to their use of Instagram. Like deleting the apps, this is easily reversible so it’s not a long term solution. However, the time limit notification did make them aware of how much time they spent on the app, and drove them to use this time more wisely so they could get what they needed without mindlessly scrolling. Having a time limit doesn’t just tell you how bad you’re doing; it challenges you to identify what it is you really want to see and interact with online so you can make social media use more purposeful and goal driven. It also makes you hyperaware of AI slop (mass generated content without human creativity or innovation) that chokes our feeds and makes it so that it’s almost impossible to find the accounts you actually follow on Instagram and other apps. App time limits offer us a reality check, quality control, and an escape from a mindless scrolling session.
• Leave your phone somewhere. If you’re going to the kitchen, leave your phone in your bedroom. If you’re going to the backyard, leave the phone on your kitchen counter. Some of us are required to be always on for work or childcare, but when you do get a respite, that’s a critical time to physically detach yourself. Like an abusive partner, a phone has the most control over us when it is physically in the room. Leaving the phone while you do something for yourself can help you see what the phone is doing to you and disturb your pattern of usage.

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How can a therapist help me prevent or recover from brainrot?

Many of us want to stop or reduce our mindless consumption of digital media but feel powerless to do so. A therapist can help you identify underlying emotions or thought patterns that lead you to seek your phone as a form of comfort. They can also support you by assisting in setting goals for online and offline achievement, drawing you out from your world of digital addiction into a real world of social connection, personal growth, accountability and responsibility. While all of us are flawed and likely addicted to our phones on some level, therapy creates a safe space where both you and your therapist can focus on one another without distraction, frankly discuss success and failure in your journey to reduce screentime, and build a therapeutic alliance to strategically address your unwanted digital immersion.