IPB University Psychologist: Doomscrolling and Zombiescrolling Habits Cause Brain Rot and Mental Fatigue

Brain rot is a decline in thinking ability and mental fatigue experienced by a person, especially teenagers and young adults. It occurs due to overexposure to low-quality digital content, especially from social media.

Various studies reveal that brain rot can cause individuals to become less emotionally sensitive, easily mentally exhausted, and have a negative view of themselves. 

IPB University Psychologist Nur Islamiah, M.Psi, PhD, who is commonly called ‘Mrs. Mia’, said that this condition often occurs in those who consume digital content excessively, especially through doomscrolling (constantly reading negative news), zombie scrolling (flipping through social media unconsciously and without a clear purpose), and social media addiction. 

“All of these habits can increase anxiety, stress, and even depression,” said the Lecturer of Family and Consumer Sciences at IPB University.

In addition, she continued, brain rot also weakens critical thinking and problem-solving skills in adolescents with the first mechanism, decreased attention span.

She explained that teenagers who access instant content too often, such as short videos on TikTok or Instagram Reels, usually have difficulty maintaining focus on more complex tasks that take a long time to understand. 

“They tend to lose patience when facing problems that do not have immediate answers, making it difficult to understand more complex things,” she said. 

This lack of attention span also causes a person to be easily distracted and forget easily. “These things ultimately affect the lack of ability to solve problems,” he said.

Second, cognitive overload. This is because the brain is constantly flooded with new information, but without the opportunity to analyze or understand deeply. 

As a result, Mia said, teenagers become less able to evaluate information critically, so they more easily accept information without questioning its veracity. 

“This will hinder their ability to think logically, make the right decisions and solve problems effectively,” she said.

Third, instant gratification. Social media algorithms are designed to keep people glued to the screen. Every time someone sees something interesting-like a funny video or a new notification-the brain releases dopamine, a substance that makes us feel good. 

“As a result, we keep wanting to see more, unconsciously spending hours just swiping through screens and watching endless content, even though we’re not really enjoying it or benefiting from it,” says Mia. (dr) (IAAS/KDP)