What is brain rot? The science behind what obsessive scrolling does to our brains

Oxford University Press has chosen “brain rot” as its word of the year.The word is defined as “supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as a result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging.Also: something characterized as likely to lead to such deterioration.”Some experts believe that constant, endless scrolling of social media and other online content is doing exactly that – rotting our brains.Behavioral neuroscientist Dr.

Kyra Bobinet, author of “Unstoppable Brain,” told Fox News Digital that there is a growing awareness of brain rot and its consequences.“It’s in the zeitgeist that people have difficulty with their attention span.They feel brain foggy, they [have] less concentration … They can’t do deep work,” said California-based Bobinet.“And then there’s also this epidemic of loneliness that has been kind of sitting on the heels of this, because we can’t really focus on anything, including relationship-building.”A certain part of the brain, called the habenula, is responsible for getting stuck in endless scrolling, according to Bobinet.The habenula is a central part of the brain that’s involved in various important functions, including motivation and decision-making.

But when activated, this area can also “kill our motivation to try,” she noted.“It’s the heart of when you know you should be doing something, and you do this other thing instead, like ‘doom-scrolling,'” she said.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.This is how social media addictions can form, Bobinet warned, as this part of the brain can make it “very painful” to stop scrolling.This can result in ...