The Oxford Word of the Year for 2024 is ‘brain rot’ which they 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. Also: something characterized as likely to lead to such

... See more

Theoretically, a social media feed should heighten awareness and memory, and dilate time, because it selects for content that’s exciting, outrageous, and scary. And yet we seldom remember such content. The reason for this discrepancy is simple: when every post is alarming, your brain quickly becomes desensitised, and starts to interpret alarming... See more

Short-form content (TikTok reels, rapid-fire stories) is engineered to give you frequent novelty + high emotional spikes . That combination trains your brain to expect constant stimulation and micro-rewards. Over time it can make it harder to sustain attention, feel bored, or tolerate slower emotional states.