It's time to get off social media

Written by: Steven (25-A4)

Edited by: Avelyn (25-A2)

Designed by: Kaitlyn (25-U1)

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We are all guilty of doomscrolling. If you are not, then congratulations, for you are a rare breed in the modern world indeed. But the vast majority of us have succumbed at one point or another — or rather are still succumbing — to the allure of losing ourselves in endless streams of social media posts.

Compulsive scrolling is a pervasive phenomenon in the modern world. It affects a massive global population, with research indicating that of the >5 billion people who use social media worldwide, a very significant proportion engages in the habit. Sometimes we manage to catch ourselves in the act of scrolling and force ourselves to stop it, but more often than not one short video turns into two, then four, then eight, then sixteen and so on and so forth. And then we become passive, almost mindless users, drawn into algorithmically curated feeds that seem to know all too well what we like to see.

Our forebears would probably be shocked that in the modern age, we, the most advanced species on earth, have the curious capability of unconsciously spending hours on end staring at glowing rectangular objects called “phones”, looking at strange moving scenes called “reels”. The costs are endless and the benefits are essentially zero.

Not only is scrolling an extraordinarily foolish way of wasting time, but it can also affect our physical health. Our eyes strain to adapt to the long periods of phone use (it does not help that so much of our work is already on-screen), and when we are so absorbed in social media there may be a tendency to neglect our immediate physical needs like nourishment and hydration.

And of course, there is also the issue, as we in the present have so eloquently decided to put it, of “brainrot”.

Brain rot

It was announced as the Oxford Word of the Year 2024, having experienced a 230% increase in usage over the past year. Despite seeming so, however, it is not really a new word. It was first used in 1854 by the American philosopher and author Henry David Thoreau in his famous book Walden; or, Life in the Woods. At the time, he was referring to a general decline in intellectual effort and critical thinking during the industrial era, and the term has largely faded into obscurity since then. That is, until the recent surge in usage (which has been somewhat ironically attributed to references in TikTok videos).

Brain rot is not to be taken lightly. Far from just unserious references on social media, it has manifested itself in very real intellectual deterioration caused by scrolling.

Consuming rapidly shifting content can leave our brains in a state of overstimulation, making it more difficult to engage with the slower pace of real life and keep our attention on a single task.

At a deeper level, this may be linked to how repeated exposure to fast-paced, high-novelty content shapes attention over time. Frequent scrolling strengthens neural pathways associated with rapid reward and constant switching, while those that respond to sustained focus are comparatively underused. This reinforces fast reward loops and biases the brain towards immediacy and novelty. Attention spans on average are consequently plummeting, and this blunts our performance — whether in school or at work — and hurts our private and social lives.

The easy dopamine hits that scrolling administers produce effects mirroring a paradox already observed in other forms of addiction. Compulsive scrolling engages the brain’s reward circuitry in a pattern of frequent phasic dopamine release. The brain registers these persistent spikes in dopamine levels as a deviation from normal dopaminergic activity, so it activates compensatory homeostatic mechanisms to bring signaling back to a baseline and restore equilibrium. In well-studied forms of addiction, this process reduces the number of functional dopamine receptors — particularly in the striatum, a critical component of the brain’s reward system — and desensitises those that remain active. It is likely that compulsive scrolling induces similar adaptations.

The overall effect is that when we scroll, we become less sensitive to dopamine, meaning that natural rewards no longer bring the same pleasure they once did and instead feel subdued, even dull. This in turn encourages further scrolling in search of more dopamine hits in a vicious cycle. In other words, in our bids to seek happiness through scrolling, it instead becomes ever harder to obtain.

All this ignores the fact that what we scroll through is usually low-quality and low-value. When content is trivial and has little to no inherent value, we enter a state of passive consumption where our minds avoid the effort of critical analysis or meaningful encoding. Over time, this may weaken deep processing skills and lead to a visceral fatigue when encountering high-value, more complex information (such as books or academic texts) because the brain is no longer adequately conditioned for sustained mental effort.

In the present day, the term “brain rot” has itself become a meme-like cultural concept. Originally referring simply to the mental fatigue and deterioration caused by excessive screen time, it has now become a self-aware, ironic, and highly absurd genre of content popular among Generations Z and Alpha. Some of the most egregious examples include “Skibidi Toilet” and “Italian Brainrot” (which is largely not even in Italian).

It is almost as if, having discovered the effects of endless scrolling, we are simultaneously acknowledging and amplifying them through ever more meaningless content. But brain rot is not to be taken lightly. As has been shown, it can have devastating effects on our wellbeing and cognitive abilities, and if we are not careful the rot may never be stopped.

Stopping the rot

Thoreau wrote in his book: “While England endeavours to cure the potato rot, will not any endeavour to cure the brain-rot — which prevails so much more widely and fatally?”

In the same way, while we endeavour to cure all the everyday, humdrum ills in our lives, will not any of us endeavour to cure the brain-rot, which prevails so much more widely and fatally?

Quite clearly there is a pertinent need for us to retake control of our scrolling habits and stop the rot. But that is easier said than done. Many of us are actually aware of our compulsive scrolling and have tried at some point to end it, but it is a very difficult habit to shake off.

When we stop scrolling and the stimulation ends, the absence of expected reward can produce discomfort or agitation. In principle, our brains’ reward systems can recalibrate over time, but it is often easier — and more tempting — to simply return to scrolling.

So maybe the answer is not to go cold turkey on dopamine. Rather, it may be wiser to first seek alternative sources of dopamine. Taking up analogue hobbies can be a great starting point. These hobbies, such as reading and puzzle-solving, meaningfully engage the mind and force it to readapt to the demands of processing complex information. If you wish to go beyond consumption, even better — pick up a new musical instrument or start a journalling habit.

These activities may not be immediately gratifying. While they can be sources of dopamine for many, they do not provide constant stimulation and dopamine hits in the same way that scrolling does. Consequently it is important to be intentional about picking up these new habits. Gradually increase friction to scrolling by removing social media apps from your phone’s home screen or setting a time limit on social media.

It is not realistic to expect immediate results. Often you will find yourself instinctively opening social media, but catch yourself in the act and stop scrolling before you start. When you are intentional about taking control of your own social media habits and replacing scrolling with productive hobbies, you are taking steps to allow your brain to physically recover from chronic overstimulation, towards finding joy in simple moments again, and towards becoming a more interesting, well-rounded person.

Social media in itself is not inherently a bad thing. But when we lose control of our usage of it — as so many of us have today — it is important that we take active steps to reset our habits. As with all things in life it is important that we use social media in moderation.

Let it fester, or stop the rot. Ultimately, the choice is yours.