Can extended periods consuming digital content lead to mental fog and diminished focus and impact our mental health? Two UNSW psychologists have found little evidence for it.
In a world where our growing dependence on digital devices and social media is increasingly under fire, the term 'brain rot' - the idea that endless scrolling of low-value content negatively impacts our mental agility and health - is confirmation for many that digital excess is bad for us all.
Leaving aside for the moment this is an internet meme and not a clinical diagnosis - is brain rot something we should take seriously?
Dr Poppy Watson, adjunct lecturer with UNSW's School of Psychology, says while the idea warrants exploration, there is a lack of evidence showing excessive doomscrolling of social media is responsible for the mental fatigue, lack of focus, and reduced cognitive function often attributed to 'brain rot'.
"This isn't to rule out that there are negative effects from overexposure to digital devices and their content, but so far, the research isn't showing that causal link," she says.
Dr Watson, whose research examines how environmental cues guide our behaviour and decisions and affect our motivation and attention, says the link between online content consumption and decreased cognitive ability is so far a correlative one, especially when looking at the cognitive development of younger people.
"There are other factors that affect your brain health and your cognitive control, beyond social media," she says.
"We know that things like poverty and socioeconomic status - and as has become increasingly clear, poor diet - are probably the biggest predictors of brain health and function. Access to education has a massive impact on cognitive ability."
If intense, prolonged digital consumption were stultifying young people's minds, then we could expect to see a drop in average IQ scores between pre- and post-digital generations. But as Dr Watson points out, average IQ scores have risen from the start of the 20th century and into the 21st, known as the Flynn Effect.
