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Psychological Conditioning of Brainrot

By Taylor Nadler

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Throughout my life, I have noticed how social media usage has been increasing and affecting not only myself, but also my classmates, friends, and family. I am also one of many picking up on this increasing use of social media and phone usage among younger people. Counties across Florida have implemented plans to remove phones as a distraction in public schools. In my younger brother's high school, students are forced to place their phones in a basket at the beginning of each class. Students are prohibited from using their phones in the halls, and only have access to them during lunch and after school. Some schools have more extreme measures, such as placing phones in bags that staff must unlock at the end of the day.

There is a growing epidemic among the minds of young Americans: Brainrot. Brainrot, as defined by the Newport Institute, is the state of mental fogginess and cognitive decline that results from excessive screen engagement. Hours of scrolling through the internet and consuming massive amounts of meaningless content, often while multitasking, can overstimulate the brain. This problem is affecting over 5 billion people using social media. On average, people spend 143 minutes per day on social media alone. The most vulnerable group is young females aged 16-24 who average 179 minutes or almost 3 hours daily. Although this time may feel insignificant for one day, social media eats away over 35 days annually.

This time could be spent developing hobbies, friendships, studying, or numerous other things. Instead, people are spending this time glued to their screens, which hinders the potential for other more productive and fulfilling tasks.Ìý

People know that these high screen times are not productive uses of time and are working to limit them. Forty-six percent of Gen Z have time limit restrictions on their phones; however, despite these limitations, screen times for that age range are the highest. Why are we so glued to our phones even though we could do more fulfilling things with our time? Because social media is designed to be psychologically addictive.

Social media companies like Facebook started to foster connections between people and spread positivity. Unlike traditional products or services, where you must pay for access, social media platforms are free. As we know, businesses must create revenue, and these companies generate revenue through their ad services. The more time you spend in the app, the more ads you can see. Social media companies are not just competing with each other but competing with you for your time. Companies like Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Reddit are trying to bring in the most people for the most extended time. They use how our brain works to create more ad revenue.

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý First, the apps pray on our need to be social. We follow our friends and send and receive videos and texts from each other. It doesn’t help that when you open any of these apps, you will instantly feel like you are directly being talked to and people are demanding your attention. The easy accessibility of these apps also allows for a quick cure to boredom virtually anywhere at any time. When watching these videos, there is a chance that they are funny or entertaining, which is a positive stimulus that releases dopamine.

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Using the example of TikTok, we can demonstrate some of the ways the app’s design conditions viewers to continue to keep their attention on the app. One of the five processes of conditioning is acquisition. Acquisition is the initial conditioning of an event. The critical determinant of the effectiveness of acquisition is the timing. The faster the timing between a stimulus and the reinforcement, the faster and stronger the conditioning. The short-form videos in TikTok and the ability to quickly switch stimuli work to keep users engaged in the app. Another key feature that works with our psychology is the quality of the stimulus. Videos shown are of differing degrees of attractiveness to the viewer. There are usually a couple of semi-interesting videos before or after a highly entertaining one. TikTok page implements a variable ratio algorithm or a reward after an unpredictable number of responses. This learning schedule is one of the easiest ways to condition and requires the least amount of reinforcement. Variable ratio conditioning is the learning mechanism used in gambling and why gambling is so prone to addiction. These tactics can be seen across almost every modern social media app. Social media has become highly addictive by tapping into how the human brain learns, taking away hours of people's lives daily, and creating widespread brainrot amongst millions, if not billions, of people.

ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý All of this seems hopeless. How are we supposed to stop using these apps if they are created specifically to keep you stuck in the app? However, there is something you can do. You can make screen time limits on your phone. Set a time per app that you feel is reasonable, and when that time is up, your phone will show a pop-up that your screen time is up so that you will click off the app for the day. Another alternative, although it might feel extreme, is to delete your social media apps or at least the ones you are the most addicted to. There are limitless things you can choose to do with your time every single day, and reducing the amount of time you spend online will give you more time to discover and explore your interests.

References

Geuens, R. (2024, September 17). What’s the average time spent on social media each day? (2024) . SOAX. https://soax.com/research/time-spent-on-social-media

School. (2023). School Rules / School Rules . Browardschools.com. https://www.browardschools.com/domain/21144

Staff, N. I. (2024, January 10). Brain Rot: The Impact on Young Adult Mental Health . Newport Institute.

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