Brain rot and cognitive decline

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

THIS is an attempt to describe the increasingly sharp differences between the so-called Gen Z people (those born roughly between 1997 and 2012 who grew up with widespread access to the internet, smartphones and social media, and often described as digital natives) and the senior citizens, sometimes referred to as baby boomers and the silent generation.

What we are noticing is that while the senior citizens understandably are into their sunset years and their cognitive capability is on the decline, the Gen Z youngsters appear to be having what is now called as brain rot. There is a serious issue involved here, and we just have to find ways of how we can help.

Brain rot is some kind of a decline in intellectual standards. It’s a term that emerged from the internet culture and is about a kind of deterioration of mental or intellectual state due to overconsumption of low-quality or trivial online content. It sometimes used to describe thoughts or ideas that are silly, nonsensical, or “rotten” in a comedic way.

Its general effects are mental fatigue leading to reduced attention span, mental fogginess and lethargy. It also causes difficulty in focusing, in memory lapses and decreased creativity. It heightens stress, anxiety, depression and negative self-talk. It makes one addicted to scrolling. It definitely reduces motivation.

A number of factors can lead to this phenomenon of the brain rot. Among them is the excessive screen time that can adversely affect one’s attention span, memory and cognitive skills.

Indeed, we have a big challenge to tackle here. Perhaps the following measures can help. Like, the young ones should me taught how to balance their online and offline activities. They should be encouraged to have breaks from screens and to engage in physical activities, social interactions, or hobbies.

They should also be taught how to be selective and discriminating about the online content in such a way that they should be more mindful on focusing more on quality than on quantity. There should also be some kind of boundaries for screen time, especially before bed time which should always be given its due priority.

What can also help is encourage them to engage in cognitive challenges, like engaging in puzzles, reading, or learning new skills.

We should be concerned about achieving a kind of inter-generational integration. The older generation, with more experience, can initiate this by forgetting themselves more and thinking of the others with the view of helping them.

And this can always be done, because it always starts with small, normal and ordinary things we are supposed to do with one another. We have to be nice, even affectionate, develop a keen, sincere interest in the others, in what they do and even in their concerns.

With little goodwill that we try to nurture and grow, a lot of good is produced, benefiting everyone. We have to learn to go beyond our natural differences, our understandable likes and dislikes, to be able to enter smoothly into the lives of others.

We need to learn to disregard irritating details, and to keep rectifying our intentions and purifying our memory, since anything can dirty them anytime even within a span of a minute.

We are all human, it’s understood, but we too are capable of rising high above our purely human conditions to meet the standards of real charity. We have to be quick to understand and forgive. We have to be very careful with our tendency to judge.

In my years of talking with people, I accomplish more by listening and understanding and encouraging than by making suggestions. Often the people themselves discover what they need to do.

I find this an effective way to handle inter-generational differences.

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com