Social media was once an innovative way for us to stay connected with old friends, find new people in our area and share updates about our lives with the internet. Today, however, it seems to have permeated every single aspect of life (and not in a good way).
Soax reports that the average social media user spends about 143 minutes per day on these apps, and YouTube is the site that sucks up the most of our time, with users watching for about 7 minutes and 25 seconds each time they log on. TikTok isn’t far behind though, as it’s in second place, with users tending to spend around 6 minutes scrolling every time they open the app.
So what are the impacts of spending so much of our time on social media? Well, you’ve probably noticed your own attention span shortening over the years, and maybe your short term memory isn’t what it used to be. And apparently, “TikTok brain” is a real thing.
Psychiatrist and professor of child health and behavior at King’s College London, Stephen Scott, CBE, told The Sun that the way social media overstimulates our minds can be harmful, particularly for young children.
“The bit of the brain that wants a reward quickly and immediate gratification gets more stimulated by this stronger use of screens and social media like TikTok, and their ability to sustain concentration is reduced,” Scott noted. “We haven't got the studies yet, but many of the changes are those that are seen by people with Alzheimer's disease."
While you can certainly use social media as an educational t**l or as a place to stay up to date with current events, it really depends on how you’re engaging with it. And unfortunately, according to Psyche, many teens are intentionally seeking out “brain rot” content online.
Brain rot is the kind of stupid, silly content that might make you laugh or entertain you for a moment but isn’t teaching you anything or really adding any value to your life. And while this type of content might make you feel like you’re getting dumber as you consume it, it can also be a comforting oasis away from posts about war, politics and global tragedies.
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Psyche also explains that brain rot content often helps teens destress. If they’re worried about exams, the state of the world, their futures and more, it can feel nice to just shut their brains off for a bit and laugh at a stupid Skibidi Toilet or Tralalero Tralala meme. After all, the World Health Organization reports that one in seven people between the ages of 10 and 19 struggles with a mental disorder, so if some stupid memes help them cope, who are we to stop them?
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It is a commonly held belief that social media is making us stupider. And in certain ways, this may be true. Nowadays, the internet is full of fake news and rage-bait content that’s intended to be divisive and rile people up. It has increasingly become more and more challenging to distinguish which content has been created by AI and what’s been posted satirically. In this chaotic landscape, it’s easy for people to become overwhelmed and turn off their critical thinking skills altogether.
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If you’re worried about social media making you stupider but you aren’t willing to permanently log off, you might want to learn how to engage with it in a way that won’t make you lose braincells. The algorithm will feed you the same type of content that you have a history of engaging with, but you can use that to your advantage. Seek out educational accounts, and unfollow any pages that don’t teach you something new.
