Brain Rot: Social Media & Smartphones
“Brain Rot: (Noun; Slang, Derogatory) The degradation of mental faculties, intelligence, common sense, or moral character. Media deemed to hold little artistic value and/or negatively impact those who consume it, characterized by only serving to produce a quick dopamine hit.”
Preface
Days before the new year, as most people are getting ready to begin their resolutions of quitting drinking, losing weight or cutting other habits, I embarked on my own. On December 28th I went cold turkey and deleted all of the social media apps off of my phone - with the exception of Snapchat (for general communication purposes). In the month that followed I was able to take a healthy step back to 2008 while making some critical observations of the landscape of what is considered “normal” in 2024.
To avoid a long-er-winded build up about the “whys” and the deliberate contemplation that transpired over a two year span leading up to this (amongst a massive wave of other things), I can summarize that I simply felt in need of drastic life changes. Or a course of “massive action” - a new and popular buzz-phrase. The basis of all of this being that so many aspects of my life in that two year span seemed to fall apart, completely and totally out of my control. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
This course of massive action first initially began towards the middle to end of October 2023, before swinging into full force by the first of November. By the time Christmas had passed I was ready to dig in deeper, and coming to the final pages of “Deep Work” by Cal Newport in simultaneous fashion, everything clicked and I made the decision almost instantly to kick Facebook, Instagram and Twitter or “X”. (I’ve never indulged in TikTok - thank God.)
What ensued over the next 30+ days was eye opening.
Introduction
Before I get into the dirty details, I want to explicitly note that kicking social media just to “kick social media” will not be reason enough for most people unless you have an outstanding level of self discipline. These social apps are designed to be addictive and if you’ve been using them for over a decade like myself, the habits are well rooted whether you realize it or not.
In my case; I did not.
I would often find myself opening my phone when any moment of down time presented itself, then motioning to open Instagram only to find another app now in its place. Brutal.
My point is that you must first establish your “unwavering why(s)” if you wish to step back from social media, otherwise there’s a strong chance you will fail.
“It didn’t take much to realize that the absolute biggest, most painful thorn in my side, similar to most of society, is the combination of my phone and social media - a brain rot inducing concoction.”
My first initial reasons for my social media sabbatical were woven around business and entrepreneurship. After reading “No B.S. Time Management for Entrepreneurs: The Ultimate No Holds Barred Kick Butt Take No Prisoners Guide to Time Productivity and Sanity” by Dan S. Kennedy in early November (big thanks to Jake Lima for the book) I went on an efficiency power trip - finding new ways and practices to maximize my productivity and time; in direct correlation with how much I earned. This also forced me to focus on how much time I was wasting on stupid nonsense shit, alternatively in direct correlation with how much money I was technically losing throughout my days. This was the first wake up call prompting the initiative to take massive action.
Now hyper aware of how my time was being spent, I started to constantly observe and audit everything else. Starting with myself and then working outwards I started to take notice of people more. I developed a fascination with the differences in the way most normal people operated versus how people I deemed “highly efficient or successful” operated - and they are vast. The two books mentioned prior only supported this evidence.
It didn’t take much to realize that the absolute biggest, most painful thorn in my side, similar to most of society, is the combination of my phone and social media - a brain rot inducing concoction. From the constant pings of notifications, calls, banners, texts, etc. it’s a wonder that as a society we’re able to accomplish even the simplest tasks. We are not only chronically distracted by these apps and devices, but we are addicted to them as well, and if that realization doesn’t scare you in the slightest, then please close this webpage and carry on your day doom scrolling through the social sewage.
The Dirty Details
I periodically started optimizing my phone for productivity in November, trimming the fat little by little, but the crucial purge that came at the end of December was the game changer. The first 3-4 days following the deletion of social media apps from my phone were surprisingly uncomfortable. I honestly regret to admit that, but again, it speaks volumes to how addictive they are. I believe I experienced some form of “withdrawal” which left me anxious and fidgety at times - not knowing what to do with myself.
I was constantly engaging in psychological warfare, internally, on a daily basis.
The thought and urge would come to open the non-existent app and I would have to suppress it, rewiring my brain to forget.
By the time day five rolled around I no longer had a lingering urge constantly scratching at my brain, pushing me to check my phone. It was like someone snapped their fingers and it was gone overnight. I felt that my overall focus and mental clarity had done a complete 180 and that a fogginess was wiped away. I could think more concisely, process information quicker with stronger takeaways, make better, more impactful decisions and felt my creativity spike in ways that it hadn't in over ten years. The whole picture switched from HD to 4K+ and as these qualities constantly improved over the thirty day cycle, I noticed some other interesting things.
Observation vs. Obstruction
Standing in line at a store I could take a few moments of down time to decompress and roll over thoughts about my day while observing my surroundings. Doing some “people watching” while reestablishing what needed to be accomplished next, working out solutions to different problems, finding inspiration in different places, and cycling through my mental to-do list at my own leisure.
You can learn a lot from people watching, even subconsciously. Scanning the room I noticed that I was the only one in sight of 22 other people, standing straight up, facing forward with my phone in my pocket. Every other person, if not actively working on a physical task, was hunched over, neck bent, tapping, swiping, clicking - consciousness completely obstructed by their screen. A terrible, but sobering image of society and how absolutely disgusting and idiotic it makes us look.
Micro Issues vs. Macro Issues
I also noticed a question that seemed to come up constantly throughout my days. Not at all a new question, but one that resonated with a ferocity that it never had before.
“Did you see _________?”
Or
“Did you hear about _________?”
Nope. I did not.
And furthermore, since I did not - it must not be all that important to my life.
Come to find out, ten out of ten times these things that I hadn’t seen or heard about had absolutely no bearing or effect on my day. They were useless, trivial, personal matters, or what I like to think of as “micro issues”, that only served as a distraction on my quest to optimize my productivity. Anything that I needed to hear about, that held any importance or gravity to my life I had already known about in some way, shape or form - the bigger issues or “macro issues”.
I realized that when you re-budget your time from caring about what Tom ate for breakfast, Jen’s new promotion at work or that Mike bought a house and got a DUI two days later - you’re able to more effectively cut through the bullshit and on to the more important matters. You are switching focus away from society’s micro issues, to the more important macro issues that actually move the needle in life.
“Boredom is a good thing, it’s healthy and your brain needs to be bored to reset itself in order to prevent being overstimulated.”
Boredom vs. Amusement
It only took about one week into January before I was able to become content with boredom in micro doses.
Boredom is a good thing, it’s healthy and your brain needs to be bored to reset itself in order to prevent being overstimulated. The constant ability to reach into your pocket and pick up your phone to curb that fleeting moment of boredom is severely unhealthy. It may not seem like much, but all of these smaller moments add up over the course of a day, week, month, year, or years. It all goes back to the concept of being chronically distracted. The byproduct of distraction is constant stimulation, or the search for constant amusement, which is unnatural.
People immediately reach for their smartphone every time there is a commercial break, a line to stand in, when waiting for their food, sitting at a red light, if the conversation moves away from them, “awkward” social situations, or at any time the urge presents itself.
I’m not a doctor or a psychologist in any form, but these facts do not take a degree to compile:
Smartphones grant 24/7 unwarranted access to social media.
Social media apps are engineered to hook the user and get them to interact with the platform for as long as possible. (The more and longer you interact, the more data they can compile about your interests and then sell to advertisers.)
**“Platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram leverage the very same neural circuitry used by slot machines and cocaine to keep us using their products as much as possible.” Neural circuitry in this case referring to the dopamine receptors, and constant onslaught of the dopamine receptors contribute to:
The longing for more of the “feel good” reaction - or addiction.
While simultaneously the user becomes overstimulated, tired, irritable - fight or flight responses kick in.
Is it any wonder that people are constantly tired, depressed, or anxious - as opposed to twenty years ago?
If you want a sobering image of what once was, watch the first season of Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives”, first aired in 2007. Even though the mid two-thousands were an abomination in terms of fashion and phrases - you will not see a single smartphone in sight. It was a time that people in public were still people, not robots. The entire culture was different. People probably experienced more “fleeting moments of boredom” overall, but that’s what forces us to break the ice and talk with each other - ultimately what makes us human.
**Quote Reference: (Haynes, Trevor. “Dopamine, Smartphones & You: A Battle for Your Time.” Science in the News, Harvard University , 1 May 2018, sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2018/dopamine-smartphones-battle-time/)
Takeaways
At present, you may be surprised to know that I have not completely disbanded from social media or thrown my smartphone in the trash. That would be equally stupid. Instead, I have chosen to treat both of these things as tools or utility devices - they must serve a singular purpose and nothing else.
Would you lay in bed for hours caressing and staring at a hammer when its main purpose should belong on a job site? Do you kick back in your chair at the office and play with a pencil while completely tuning out and ignoring the tasks at hand and the world around you? Has a stranger ever had to lay on their horn after the light turned green because you were completely distracted staring downward and fidgeting with your seatbelt buckle? Hopefully the answer to those questions is no, but the reality is that when applied to social media and smartphones the tables can turn completely without batting and eye.
I’ve decided to express extreme discipline in my use of these necessary evils, by going back to the way things were in 2008. What this means is taking a deliberate approach to the means of use and the timeframes of use. In 2008, when Myspace, AOL Instant Messenger and Tumblr were all roaring and Facebook was just starting to gain momentum, nobody had access to these platforms constantly via the phone in their pocket. As it was, we were all still texting on a numeric keypad for those who could even afford it prior to “Unlimited Talk and Text”. So to engage on social media at that time meant waiting until after school or after work to sit down at your laptop or family computer to log on and indulge for an hour or two. You would then log off, close the browser, shut down the computer and call it a day - or multiple days before you would once again repeat the process.
What this inherently did in 2008 was present a “time and a place” situation. Both were contingent on each other and subject to availability, outside of that it was never even a thought. People went about their days “normally”, not paying too much mind to their phones (which weren’t “smart” yet) - let alone social media.
Meanwhile in 2024, the time is always and the place is everywhere - in which lies the danger.
Conclusion
Do I think social media and smartphones are bad: No
Do I think that they are good: No
Do I think they are a double-edged sword to wield wisely, or a slippery slope that if not taken with caution, can lead to mental tyranny in more ways than one: Yes
As a reaper carries his scythe, a tool originally designed to cut crops or grass during harvest, it is without question that it is equally effective in severing limbs or beheading an unlucky foe. In the same way, social media and smartphones can be groundbreaking tools to improve life just as quickly as they can utterly dismantle it and induce the rotting of our brains if used incorrectly.
Action Plan
If you’ve made it this far:
First off - thank you for sparing the time to read.
Second, I’ll assume you remotely give a shit, wether out of pure curiosity, friendly “due-diligence” or because there’s an off chance that this all might be resonating.
If the last bit is the case, I’m inclined to share the method to my madness and practices that I’ve implemented that seem to help gain a sense of reality back. Below I’ve broken it down into a three part action plan to simplify everything in the case that someone else would want to try it, while also doubling as a personal failsafe to reference back to, should I ever find myself in the weeds again.
1. Perspective
The first and most important piece to solving the puzzle is shifting perspective. Without this, the rest will not work or even make any sense.
The saying “time is money” suggests that time has value since it is (equal to) money, and money is currency. Given this statement, I would argue that because money is tangible and can only be spent in relation to how much one has, but infinitely earned, that it is actually inferior to time, which is not tangible and can only be spent. I believe that time is much more valuable than money and should be treated as such. Based on this principle and perspective I’ve adopted new ways to safeguard my time from being wasted by the nonsense induced by social media and smartphones.
Unsolicited Notifications
Your phone rings, beeps, pings, etc. What do you do? Do you run to it in the other room? Do you whip it out of your pocket? Do you jump into action, instantly ready to respond to whatever set it off?
I can confidently admit that I no longer do, and as a multi-business owner it has had zero negative impact on my business life, earnings, client relationships and opportunities. (Let alone my personal life.) I’ve come to the forced realization that I am never obligated to answer my phone the moment someone calls. Same with texts, emails or other app notifications. Alternatively, If I have an arranged call or meeting - it is treated like a contract and upheld with great importance. But with every rule comes exceptions and I am allowed to break my own rules when I see fit. If someone important calls me or if it’s an emergency, I do not ignore for obvious reasons, but these instances are extremely slim. Everything else gets pushed off until I have the time to sort through the notifications and respond, usually all at once as opposed to breaking my concentration hundreds of times per day for micro issues. This brings me to the next item, time and place.
Time & Place
Instead of breaking my focus constantly throughout the work day or interrupting time with friends and family, I’ve chosen to set a time and place to deal with the small stuff. In our current society so many people feel the need to run and answer their phone constantly without thinking of the cost and implication of that time spent and what it might be taking them away from. The idea is about living in the present more, but not just existing in it - being immersed and deeply focused within it.
(Side Note: I can’t even imagine how stupid this entire article would sound to my grandparents if they were alive to read this, it’s incredible how much we’ve lost our way as human beings and as a society in this light.)
My rule of thumb for indulging in social media moving forward is to keep majority of the apps off of my phone and completely remove the temptation of them even being there. For the ones that remain, as well as others like facebook, wether accessing from my phone or from a desktop computer the idea is the same; manually sitting down at the end of the day with a small window of time to go through everything. (The “going back to 2008” concept mentioned previously.) If I’m busy and miss that window of time for the day or something else comes up, then that ship has sailed and I’ll get around to checking things the next day I can spare the time. It’s very simple but effective and prevents being constantly tethered and connected to it all. In terms of my life, checking social media is low on the list of priorities and this forces it to be treated as such.
Meanwhile, smartphones are a more difficult beast to tame, but I’ve found some effective solutions…
2. Phone Settings
I can’t speak to Android, but if you’re an iPhone user like myself you may have noticed “Focus Settings” as well as “Screen Time” and “App Limits”. Use them.
App Limits allows you to set pre-arranged time limits of use for each application before eventually locking you out, should you go over that time limit for the day. You can also set them by grouping apps together. For example; you can set a 1 hour limit that applies to the use of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter where it will restrict you to 1 hour TOTAL, as opposed to 1 hour for each (or 3 hours total).
I’ve applied this to Instagram, the only social media app on my phone (aside from Snapchat for communication purposes) which allows me a maximum of 30 minutes per day. Nothing more, no exceptions.
Screen Time is a great tool to initially use if you want to disappoint yourself by revealing the truth to how much time you actually spend on your phone. Once the initial shock wears off you can then go to work and use screen time to leverage ways to keep track of how much you’ve improved your screen time by cutting it down drastically.
I think of it mostly in terms of using the data for motivation.
Focus Settings is the best of the three in my opinion. This is where you can make up the difference between you owning your phone, versus your phone owning you. This is also where first establishing a new perspective comes into play heavily. Focus settings allow you to create automated weekly or daily schedules that completely silence and hide notifications from different people and apps, as well as the ability to customize your phone screen that displays during the time block the focus setting is active.
For example, my “work” focus mode activates from 8am to 5pm, Monday through Friday and only allows notifications from select people and apps. Everything else gets silenced and does not even show the notification until after 5pm that day. Usually once I get home or have some down time to comb through it all, I am able to respond to random text messages and other notifications that came in throughout the day - but during peak work hours I am not distracted. I then took this same system and built out additional focus modes around the following: Driving, Fitness, Personal (weekends), and Sleep.
3. Purpose
If it doesn’t have a purpose, it doesn’t make sense.
With social media and smartphones, there needs to be a purpose or utility behind the use. I carry a mental to-do list before logging on and once that to-do list is completed, I log off.
I think of it like going to the grocery store with your shopping list. Everyone’s ideal motive is to get in and get out as quickly as possible, and with exactly what they came for. This same theory applies. You go up and down the aisles filling your cart and checking off the boxes on your list. You wrap it up and head to the register to checkout.
You don’t linger.
You don’t aimlessly wander around for hours on end staring at every inch of the store - and if you did we could assume the police would eventually be called for a wellness check (at the very least). Unfortunately there is nothing to prevent aimlessly doom scrolling the digital landscape, no police force or even an associate with a gentle reminder to leave.
Carrying a purpose is the final piece to the balancing act. With it, social media and smartphones can become tools and serve a functioning purpose, but without it, they can lead down the rabbit hole and consume hours that can’t ever be taken back.
for Added Measure…
Just before wrapping up this lengthy post and pressing “publish”, Devlin sent me this video and it couldn’t have come at better timing.
Enjoy.