Happens to me a lot , cause there isnt a lot of contet in Portuguese( my native country) , in English is impossible there is so much information and content in english
Still happens to me sometimes. TH-cam videos either repeat in my feed _(bug!)_ or I encounter videos on topics too complex or uninteresting. ...Or too generic.
All im gonna say is that if you lock yourself for an hour in a room with nothing but a chemistry textbook, chemistry is gonna become mighty interesting.
One of my favorite movies: A disney movie that romanticizes humankind being the reason for the death of earth and eventually them, literally us being our own doom. Empires always rise and fall.
i once asked a guy for help with using the phone too much and he said "use your computer more like searching etc", himself was using the computer saying " im not using the self phone too much, it's good" but actually just switching the instrument while still being served the same horrid plate
@@pOpsi_mOn Well a computer takes slightly more effort to use than phone, you cant be lying down and using it or taking a walk with your eyes glued to it, I suppose it is slightly the same yet its still less addictive
“This isn’t fun anymore.” That made me imagine my 9 year old self turning away from the massive dinosaur of an early 2000’s desktop in the family “Computer Room,” and saying that to my nearly 30 year old self lying here at 2:30 am doomscrolling in the dark. Two decades of looking at dumb shit on the internet every day. Sometimes I watch a video like this and get the urge to smash every screen in the house. Then I just scroll to the next video. This isn’t fun anymore.
its not about family history bro, all human brains fall victim to this curse. they love stimulation and give you compulsions to seek it. we gotta take responsibility and do something about it
@godot2609 Whilst that is true, some people are genetically predisposed to addiction with genetics accounting for 40-60% of that. I do agree that you should take responsibility for things like addiction, even if it's not your fault your predisposed to it
@@arlostcause3383 Cope, cope and cope. Where did you even pull that information from? There's no such thing as person A and person B being born with addiction predisposal. I'm not going to be blunt and say that 100% of addictions don't come from genetics, as there are mental illnesses that could influence this ratio. Humans tend to copy what others are doing, it's always been like that. Monkey see, monkey do. There's no way a person can be born to be addicted to cigarettes such as there's no way a person can be born to be addicted to hard work. If you walk around people who smoke, well there's no sh*t that you'll eventually pick up on the habit. Same goes for the other way around. There are some exceptions to this, such as already having very strong habits rooted in the depths of our brains. There was an experiment on this, where they picked a monkey who had learned a very fast nut-cracking technique and put him in an environment where all the other monkeys had a slower nut-cracking technique. What happened was, that the monkey unlearned his advantageous way of cracking nuts and picked up on the slower nut-cracking technique from other monkeys to "blend in with the group". This technically resumes how humans bond, we need to "fit in" with society to not be seen as weird or be rejected, and it just happens that society has normalized these sh*tty addictions that you see everywhere. The secret to overcoming this is to just pick the people you want to be around and follow those who have achieved the same goals that you want, not being "genetically gifted". If there's something that people can blame it's the environment they were born in, but they still have control over it.
I feel like this level of unethical behavior should be met with legal consequences. But unfortunately, we're the guinea pigs that will be looked upon as victims 2 and a half decades from now, *if* and when they crack down on it. I bold the "if" because I'm sure the government gets their fair share of the boatload of revenue that is generated off of it. George Carlin was calling out this "mindless consumer" stuff before there were even smartphones. Edit: One thing I just noticed tho, I never got on the TikTok train (thank god) so idk what kind of features they have on their end, but Instagram has settings where you can have the app give you reminders on taking breaks, and you can set a per-day time limit that will make the app notify you once you've reached it. The catch is that you can still use the app past the time limit, but anything helps at this point.
Being a 25 year old zoomer is crazy. Growing up alongside the rise of the internet and watching it go from the wild west to slowly conquered by corporate interests is an experience unique to us elder zoomers.
It sucks that the top comments are people essentially feeding into their brain rot, joke or not. I just completed the video and leaving this comment to show that while we may not be the loudest, you have inspired me to change and create. Thank you.
On one hand some people will always stir the pot either out of their own shortcomings or malicious intent but a lot of people joking are just using laughs to hide the pain of realizing they fall into this shit themselves. It helps lessen/distract from the depressing reality
Its hard, but possible. As long as you manage to create good habits, your life become easier. Im trying to learn game making by myself... Its hard, but I really wanna do it, even if its pointless, its my dream. Im gonna create for myself.
Based but like that's one step. Human connection is the other. I merely have Almost no connection to other humans outside the family and very little with the outside world. I think I'm also very unhinged soooo, it's ten times harder to act normal and attempt relationships. So brain rot it is, maybe art about the unhinged stuff and brain rot 😂
I have this terrible habit of constantly watching self improvement content and feeling like I accomplished everything I watched because somehow I’ll retain all the information as if it’s not the same information I’ve heard every single day for years😭 it’s insane how simple the solution is but how much resistance there is to literally just turning off your phone and allowing yourself to be bored and actually live your life
Id say us wanting to change is already half way there but it wont happen without the pain of rewiring our brains. Its so tough. Maybe go cold turkey just delete everything
ja, i think one of the hard parts of making stuff is comparing yourself to others, but if you overcome that and just accept that you dont have to be the best to make something nice wether its a video or an art piece or anything else its so rewarding in the end
What people often miss about the dull moments in life is that they act as a chance to reflect on things. It's a chance to ask yourself "what did I do so far today? what else do I have to do? am I satisfied with the way I've been doing things and how they've turned out?". I think part of the reason so many people want to fill those dull moments with stimulation is because answering those sorts of questions gets very uncomfortable very quickly.
yeah. I think some forget that we can entertain ourselves with our minds. we can imagine all sorts of things, ask questions, hypothisize, make up entire universes even. all we have to do is invest in our inner worlds.
Growing up, experiencing traumatic event after another, finding the internet and videogames gave a desperate kid a much needed escape from the horrible things that can happen in life. But now, after 21 years of living, I have found that the very thing that gave me comfort and a place to run to when I needed it is now stale and feels like it's draining me of everything I could have ever been or will be. I don't know where to go now or what to do now that it feels like my brain has become a fraction of how powerful it used to be. This generation is terrible, and truly desperate. Im scared.
This is so relatable bro.. i feel like my memory is declining, my social skills are in the gutter and perpetual brain fog. I need to quit. Thanks for this video
Is it possible to get "better" though. I compare it sometimes to the feelings and reactions you had when you were a kid, where things were not as 'numbed out'. Obviously the loss of this can be attributed to just growing up, but in my case I was spat out the end of puberty when scrolling really boomed and since then I've really noticed what you are describing. How do I reverse the effects of scrolling
He’s right, deleting the source like for me was instagram reels. It was taking over my life would wake up, scroll, bathroom, scroll, literally everywhere I would scroll and it’s no less than the same of a drug addict needing another hit.
You don't even need to be productive to get rid of the brain fog and overstimulation. I peaked in terms of mental focus while in high school, and I was reading fiction books, playing online games and watching anime. The difference is that I consciously chose each show I watched, each game I played and each book I read. I didn't really go off recommendations or trends, I just looked at a library or looked up a game genre I liked or picked a pretty anime poster and went from there. And I was able to focus in class and do my homework and get good grades. Basically don't scroll or let media guide what you do, do it PURPOSEFULLY. When I got into TH-cam more my focus was still alright while I was purposefully searching for videos I wanted to see. But the moment i relied on subscriptions and recommendations, that lazy following the algorithm made my brain lazy too and I've been unfocused since. JUST BE PURPOSEFUL, nice and simple.
This is so relatable! I feel like I've just dumbed down starting after highschool. I have done so many unproductive things but I truly got sucked into it and I would choose it myself. Now I always check recommendations, what comments or Reddit are saying. And shortform content is now something that has me in its grip as well. The problem compared to my childhood is tho, I feel like I'm in too deep already. "Just pick up a book again" feels like a huge obstacle and only adds to the stress of an already stressful daily life. Because now I have to pick something that will not soothe me in a few seconds, it will only maintain my level of anxiety. So my question is, how do we get out of it NOW while we are already in. I would love to hear you guys' opinion!
@@bhwaaaHannah I'm in the same boat haha, scrolling content and shorts and recommendations/comments fried my brain so that I don't enjoy what I used to anymore and everything - even hobbies - feels like a chore. The stuff I check are more out of addiction than anything. Would love to know a solution too.
Dude this changed my life and ressonated with so many things in my mind that I feel like if I could choose the best video I've ever watched, I'd be this one.
I’m gonna learn to rollerskate. I’m gonna learn banjo. I’m gonna do horseback. I just got my GED! Im gonna read books, study things, who cares if im lonely or bored. I’ll hang out with my dog, my family, I’ll do everything I can. We can all overcome this. We can do it.
You should read the book, “the one thing” it takes a different approach on doing the things you want. And Good luck with doing the things you want! 👍🏼 🤙🏽
I used to crochet my own clothes, but never finished any of them bc my free time was doomscrolling instead of crafting. Crocheting is an amazing way to heal the mind
you got this! i was crocheting while watching this video haha. As an experienced crocheter, the biggest obstacle to learning is not giving up on practicing. dont aim for perfection, but rather try to enjoy the process. theres so much to make out there so dont get too overwhelemd. good luck on your journey!
I took the day off work to be "productive" with a 4 day weekend. Wasted yesterday playing RDR2 and watching youtube. I've gotten rid of social media for minths now and still struggle; its easy both ways to be positiveor negative. Sometimes the lines are blurred. I loved this video because it hurt knowing I'm still not there but its alright. I lied to myself and got back into a similar ditch as before. You made me get my ass up today and do the dishes, clean up my beer cans everywhere, and look for more of your videos to do my chores to. There's a long way to go for me but thanks for the affirmation that it's a battle we fight in this day and age.
As DeliManager said, this literally confirms what he's arguing in this video - you used this video as background noise, mindless stimulation. But hey, atleast you cleaned your room.
Thats awesome! Good way to positively channel the pull of content. A little progress here and there can reduce the pull of tech down the road. Making your space outside the screen a better one to be in!
This video having random ad breaks makes this entire experience feel like the final part of “Fifteen Million Merits” from Black Mirror. This, at the end of the day, is just another piece of content. This is designed for you to think “oh my goodness, everyone else doesn’t see the light”, and that feeling is just another hit of dopamine. I hope we can all find something we love in this world. And if you have already found it, tend to it like it deserves.
That's very true, the problem for me isn't tiktok or shorts but I can spend hours on TH-cam with videos the length of a movie or videos that ARE supposed to be helpful or insightful like for example this one, maybe it did help someone but most of us will just repeat the cycle, experienced it myself. At some point you just have to use willpower and discipline with the base of being honest with yourself. People keep their addiction going for different reasons but pain and fear, discomfort, I feel are the biggest reasons but that's life sometimes and of course it's easier to hide than to face that.
As someone with ADHD, I actively avoid tiktok and haven't downloaded it. I still end up scrolling through youtube shorts every once in awhile when i can't sleep due to rumination or when im cooking. I am still an internet addict with a low attention span, but I hope to do better.
Dont be too hard on yourself. Theres a huge difference between self hatred and discipline. I have adhd as well, and this took me a long time to realise
@@lord6411I know. But i still have moments of dissatisfaction with my life, when i realise how much i spend on youtube. I could do better, at least a little.
HEY HEY HEY HEY !!! YOU CAN HALF DISABLE YT SHORTS!!!! I am VERY passionate ab this!!!!! But you can disable shorts by pressing "not interested" on all of them on a panel and then you'll only see the YT shorts panel when you scroll too far! Hope this helps !!!
1. I deleted TikTok almost a year ago now, and it genuinely made such a positive impact on my life. Like I'm a straight A student now that I can actually pay attention to my teachers when they lecture. School is so much easier for me now. 2. After watching this video I took a shower without listening to a podcast for the first time in longer than id like to admit. And I feel so much better. So if anyone is wondering if avoiding constant stimulation works, IT DOES.
I also deleted TikTok around 1,5 years ago and this did the same thing for me. Also I've really improved in drawing and writing. Writing especially used to be really hard for me, since I can't do anything during it, but it's been getting so much better and I can even write for like 2 or 3 hours on end.
I deleted Tiktok too! It was awesome until it wasn't. I could waste hours on that app & then be drained and left kind of depressed, leading me to STAY on the app. Not to mention a million++ privacy invasions? Glad I'm not alone 🫡
did you find a way to completly disable youtube shorts? i can only "disable" for 30 days, which doesnt remove the short tab, but only removes the recomendations
as an artist: removing ourself from / deleting every large mainstream social media and sticking to small niche artists circles has been the absolute best move
I’m trying to do the same, u have any tips in how I can find others artists in real life? Or events where I can share more of my art without begging for likes in social media?
Thank you for this much needed wake-up call man, you nailed the topic and started me on the path to motivating myself. I left my last job for mental health reasons and have been searching for months, but my motivation often drops off and, frankly because of this video, I think social media is in large part to blame. I’m limiting myself to 15 minutes a day from now on, I hope to keep this going. Thank you for inspiring me
I remember when you could hit the end of your facebook feed. It only showed you what your friends had posted, in chronological order, and once you had seen that you were done. No ads. How far we’ve fallen
I’ve been slowly trying to fight the urge to scroll through out this year. I’ve definitely improved, cutting multiple hours of screen time off my day. I still slide back into it from time to time but I’ve had more clarity, more focus, more joy, and most importantly more boredom
@@nikkey8951 Ive managed to replace the time I would scroll/brainrot with reading, cleaning, and just hobbies I like now (like researching places I want to go and actually doing those things given enough time outside of things like work). Edit: I'd like to mention you shouldnt cold turkey the scrolling or whatever, but slowly doing replacement things while still feeding the addiction making it more manageable. Using reminders or in-app features to show you should take a break might help too, but you'll have to listen to that message. I hope it goes well for you.
@@nikkey8951there’s nothing wrong listening to music ? I reckon.. just consume content that can prove beneficial to your mental wellbeing, or informational stuff, replace brain rot with brain nourishment, we don’t have to go back to monke straight away, but if you can’t focus when listening to “boring stuff” then start meditating (it might be hard at first) 🍷🐒
idk abt that, I listen to music for most of my consumed media and it definitely also affected the way a think (namely not being able to think or listen to ambient noise without external stimulation or thinking of some song by habit) and friends that I have who are afflicted similarly with different content describe similar patterns or inabilities to thinking with their respective field
@conscioussubconsciousness1976 I'd say music is fine, but you have to control when you do it, it's otherwise just another tool to stimulate yourself, and would fill the void in all your social media. We need to be able to have moments of silence and boredom Certain tasks with music could be good, like ill listen to music when doing laundry, but won't when I'm outside taking a walk, that kinda thing
I had a genuine boomer-heart attack moment the other day because I watched my friend: 1) open up a book 2) put in earbuds 3) pull up tictok 4) set phone down next to book 5) and cycle between reading the book for… i dunno, ten? seconds at a time, scrolling through tictok for thirty, change the music every minute, and then give up on the book completely after two minutes. It was exhausting to watch, there was so much going on but nothing was really happening. Wanted to shake my cane at them and feed pigeons in the park.
You reminded me of a guy in my chem class last semester. During lectures he would play video games on his laptop and scroll tiktok on his phone all at the same time. Its getting bad...
Thank you for making this video. I think you made it with your heart. Beautiful and meaningful. And this reminded me of a poem by Imam Al-shafiee in it he said وانصب فإن لذيذ العيش في النصب "Work hard and get tired because the pleasure of life is in working hard and getting tired"
I am 13. I grew up with the Internet and constant stimulation. I physically can't stop myself sometimes and its exhausting. Jm pretty sure that my addiction to inhaling brain rot has led to my horrible mental health, like to the point of considering suicide on the daily. I dont even have friends really anymore because i push people away and just stare at screens to feel something instead. I really appreciate this video, like a lot dude. Ima set a timer for only like two hours a day (besides like Spotify) and try and learn stuff. I wanna get better at skateboarding and art. I wanna get better at being ok with being precived by people. Thank you Edit: thank you to everyone who has commented. I think every single one of them has made me cry. It's been a rough while but I've gotten better. I'm mostly into writing now and reading!!! It's helping a lot!! My parents are even getting me therapy. All of the comments are really making me feel less alone and it gives me hope that I can keep going!! Thank y'all so much!!!
what has helped me is making some of my consumption hobby related. it gets me excited to do things that don't need screens. sometimes I watch art videos to get inspiration, and then I start drawing and pretty soon the video goes off and drawing is enough stimulation to keep me going
Pursue your hobbies! When youre learning and doing things you are passionate it about, you'll realize that its the stimulation youve been seeking through technology😊❤
Same here, except I feel like it's not useful atill. I should be actually doing something. I usually feel so much better when i go do something. @haydenparsons5783
Depends on the playlist but working in retail there were times I HATED that music. Some of the playlists are so short you hear it several times over and over throughout your shift. I would go home and try to sleep at night and I would hear that music in my head. It sucks so bad to hear happy music about how good things are, intended to make you want to buy things when you're broke and stressed and having a meltdown because you hate your job. Sometimes it felt like psychological torture lol
@@NamelessAidan If I worked at a retail store and I can access the PA system, I would drop a raspberry pi that takes the audio and bit crushes, compresses and deep fries it to 4kbps quality so If I have to suffer, everyone has to suffer.
One of the best methods to fight brain rot is using an old smartphone like an iphone 7 or 8. The battery is bad, screen is tiny, it is painfully slow, but it does everything you will need.
ayyy old phone gang! i have the iphone 6s bc it was the only one at the secondhand store that still had headphone jack lol it works ok i did have to change the battery once but that's a lot less expensive than a new phone lol
You're not even having fun anymore. That simple sentence over and over again just kept hitting me. I really needed to hear that. I've never really been into technology. Didn't have a TV or anything for years... But these blasted apps and phones with the combination of a real rough 4yrs dropping bad friends and family and addiction to drugs and alcohol and here I am. I felt like you were describing me. I gotta go. Get out of this cycle. Freaking A Thank you so much.
this is something you know, or at least feel but when someone else tells you that it just hits diffrent thank you brother, i needed that we are gonna make it guys
I watch a lot of these videos but this is the first one to really make me feel bad. In a good way. Like you've detailed the existential horror we're in perfectly
This made me replace my smartphone with an old Nokia. To see young kiddos glued to screens terrifies me, yet I am just like them but slightly bigger in size. Odd how hypocritical we seem to be. This video genuinely changed me, so thank you.
Got a dumbphone as well a few years ago, used it on and off for a while. The biggest issue, I find, is that whilst you aren't looking at your phone, everybody else is, so whenever you're around other people and fancy a chat, they're usually looking at their phones. It gets dull pretty fast.
I really want to go back to my old LG, but I remember how much of a nightmare it was having a dumb phone when everyone else was texting with smartphones. How that phone handled group chats would be impossibly annoying now; every text in the chat would be sent to me individually, I couldn't mute it, I could only respond to one person at a time, and the incessant texts would block me from being able to do anything else on my phone like request to be removed from the chat so I'd have no choice but to wait until everyone finished and contact whoever started it
I tried this before, and it was really nice, but there's just some conveniences that I really miss sometimes. Especially music during studies, looking something up real quick when I need, texting. I've switched the default launcher of my smartphone to a low distraction one and it's been amazing. It warns me if I spend too much time on an app (except some excluded ones), which was extremely helpful in making myself aware of the time I was wasting. My homescreen now is a monotone color with a clock and 6 apps I use on the regular for communication/music/controlling smart devices. All icons have been removed, apps other than the 6 homescreen apps are in a monotone list so it's impossible to get distracted. It even allows me to whitelist notifications, which was a bit of a pain at the start, but now my phone is cleaner than it ever was before. I've even just deleted a bunch of apps that ate up my time, because regulating myself is just too damn difficult. And yet I still feel the need to scroll sometimes. There's nothing to scroll, but the addiction is so real. Since there's nothing to scroll though, boredom takes me to more productive things though, either by work and hobbies, or actually taking the time to relax and watch a movie or something, one screen at a time.
@@box0choco593 i have i dont get it like if we are all thinking alike then we are all still doing so bc alike and the same mean the same thing generally
"This isn't fun anymore." I've since uninstalled all social media apps and am considering buying an "old school" phone. I've missed writing and reading and drawing because I had spent most of my time behind a screen and not practicing and indulging in the things that I have wanted to get better at. I hated that my free time wasn't going to anything productive. Thank you for making this video. I was happy to know that I haven't succumbed to brain rot as I was able to sit throughout the entire 41 minutes and 55 seconds of this video and retain what you've shared.
I got myself to focus on the video, I'm pretty decent at being able to stay focused on long form content, but then he started putting stimulating stuff in the background, plus at the end when he was talking about the solution and he had Subway Surfers gameplay in the top right. I caught myself watching the gameplay and I was like "fuck.."
@@jack.20f74I almost quit the vid when he started throwing these bits in because it made me feel lost in space and time for a brief moment. Then I figured out I could just lay my phone down and just listen to it as an audiobook like I was doing with every monotone vid where the "video" part isn't important like that.
THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS... i literally panic deleted tiktok and youtube off my phone a few months back because i was getting TERRIFIED of the withdrawal symptoms i was having when i was going even five minutes without scrolling. I still feel the need to seek out constant stimulation, but deleting those apps definitely felt like a step in the right direction to start helping myself. My brain still feels foggy, my room is a mess, and i've done nothing productive all day but watching this is helping me remember that all the people in my life are being affected by this too, and if I want to help them, I have to help myself first. I absolutely detest these companies that are turning use into mindless husks for their profits. thank you again. I'm gonna close youtube now.
just keep using google and dont pay your phone bill and reinstall windows, becuase the STUPID security measures you will loose your accoutn FOREVER becuase dont have "old devive" or "phone number"
@@ZarHakkar i haven't actually! i deleted the app off my phone and only watch videos on desktop as desktop doesn't try to trap you with Shorts all the time. I appreciate the snarky and bitter tone you wrote this reply with but I'm proud to say i'm actually doing a lot better!! my attention span is getting longer and i feel much less baseline anxiety when im away from my phone. I've still got a long ways to go but progress is progress :3
Ive been feeling like this the past 6 months, kinda lost, thinking maybe i am too hard on myself, and now i find your video… thank you, it feels reassuring, it feels like i should continue to follow my instincs
A tip for going from TikTok brain rot to work and real life tasks. Set a timer for twenty minutes and stare at a blank wall. After this your brain will be craving any type of stimulation it can get. This is the time to put yourself to work 👍 good luck y’all stay woke
I literally discovered the whole stare at blank wall wake up brain hack ONE MONTH AGO and have been longing to just. Do. Ittt. So badly yet my scrolling has such a horribley strong hold on me that every. Single. Morning. This month has been a dreadful submission to the scrolling addiction like ik I don’t want to but my brain just does it it’s terrible I need to try the wall hack so badly but I just can’t seem to overcome the first minutes of the morning horrible habit of first reaching for phone.
it’s so weird being 22 seeing this. we were born when internet was so rural and now just seeing how fast it has advanced from literally being 17 to 22 just 5 years is unreal. i remember being like 15 and was on my xbox 360 for 2 hours and thought how much i was upset feeling like i wasted my day and that was WITH restrictions. now i swear there are no kids outside playing/everyone that is a little kid just has an iphone or some digital device with no restrictions and i swear we’re gonna go down to the route of Idiocracy (GREAT MOVIE)
everyone nowadays is glued to their phones and it starts from early childhood now because the adults are addicted too and don't see the problem with their baby consuming hours of mindless content. And it kinda of feels like nobody wants to do anything productive. People are so overstimulated that even basic tasks like cooking, cleaning, and tidying up their rooms seem overwhelming. I'm glad I deleted Instagram and Facebook in 2015. Now, the only social media I use is TH-cam, and that's only on special occasions to watch informative longfom videos. Have never been happier
bro what else r ppl even supposed to do, outside is way too dangerous for little kids esp kids my age (i'm 14), there's been a pedo in my area harassing girls that r my age like 20 of them, there's constant riots and protests in my country and there's illegal immigrants coming in and molesting and killing kids left and right and there's just nothing fun to do anymore... and the last time i went to the playground, someone tried to steal my hat and kept acting rlly aggressive with me i mean the thing is about me i prob only spend like.. idk less than 3 hours on my computer, i'm mostly spending time with my family or painting or writing or going into my garden or something (we're getting chickens soon, so that means more offline stimulation for me). honestly i don't tghink the internet plays a role as much as ppl think, yes it still plays a large role but i believe the fact that even being outside as a kid alone is the more majour part bc man i don't wanna go outside and have to worry about getting stabbed or mugged or whatever, i'd rather stay at home and play around and research on the internet or go chase butterflies in my garden, that's what i think about this
I’m 22 as well and this video made me remember how when i was younger i had to ask my parent for permission to turn on the computer, and id play for like an hour max 🥲 how times have changed
9:21 “ A little bit of everything all of the time A little bit of everything all of the time Apathy’s a tragedy and boredom is a crime” - welcome to the internet by Bo Burnham
This video is a masterpiece. I've been realizing that my brain just doesn't work as fast anymore, I don't really think about anything because I'm always watching things or scrolling through things. It's an addiction and a plague. I know I need to change but I don't want to give it up because I do enjoy it. But deep down I know that's textbook addiction.
replace it with something that you actually feel proud of like art or music and dedicate all your time and energy to that, ive just started learning to skateboard and realized how much ore interesting and fulfilling it is compared to sitting in my room scrolling.
This video hit like a truck. Multiple times, the editing and audio combined really hit home, and sparked mental terror with reality setting in. We really do get far too invested and trapped in our mental simulation bubbles. The fact you repeat a lot of the information multiple times might seem grating, but truthfully I think it pushes the core concept in deeper. I have never once truly tried to quantify to myself, even once in my life, "How much free time do I really need to scroll/relax?" We need to be more aware of what's happening to us, because this is truly overwhelming. Thank you for making this.
havong adhd and living in this era is actually hell. it was difficult before, but its so hard to do anything anymore without having to physically cut myself off from internet access (i put my phone in my closet when the alarm goes off) in fear that ill be late for school cuz i lost track of time scrolling on tiktok or youtube shorts. its definitely not the only issue brainrot created in my life (nor is it the biggest tbh) but it's the one with real-world consequences.
35:15 “So called pleasures, when they go beyond a certain limit. Are but punishments” - Seneca . THIS hit so deep you don’t understand. This video hit me when I needed it the most I’m so glad the algorithm recommended me this. I’m the same age as you 23 and I’ve been living in comfort for too long I feel like I haven’t grown in awhile. ITS TIME TO MAKE A CHANGE
This was a great listen. I feel like a lot of these thoughts I’ve had on my own. I appreciate the work you have done to put this out there in the world. You have inspired me and given me hope at least there’s thinkers out there somewhere
Bro really made a video targeted towards people with the attention span of a goldfish, and made it 40 minutes long Jokes aside this is actually a really good video, and I'll be watching all of it.
Sometimes my attention span feels both long and short at the same time. I can watch a 1 and a half hour long youtube video but i multitask most of the time
lol yeah, the plan (kinda) was to make the video more stimulating in the beginning and slowly make it less stimulating over time. i want the message to be the most important thing but I can't reach many people without editting it unfortunately
I think one of the most disappointing parts of this video was when I realized how much quality time I've missed out on with my family because of screens.
30yo millennial here, growing up only "nerds" like me used computers or played video games, I was told I'm an internet addict, then witnessing the rise of smartphones and everyone becoming more and more zombie-like while I'm out there enjoying life feels SO surreal. The shift has been absolutely insane.
Absolutely well-said. It's bizarre being told when you're younger to "get off that phone" or "get off those games" . So as you get older you eventually do liberate yourself a bit, and now everyone is glued! Including the adults who scorned you for it back then. It honestly feels like the bad ending.
I’m 24 but my parents are pretty old (born during the 50s), so they were much more troubled by the impact by things like smartphones and tablets on young people. They didn’t let me get any cellphone until i was 13 and it was a slide-phone and i didn’t get a smartphone or any social media accounts besides reddit until i was 18. I did start using a computer at around 3 years old though, and i spent a lot of time on it. I was a bit too plugged in as a n elementary school kid but i learned early on i had way more fun hanging out with friends away from home than i ever did on a computer. I’m very grateful for those choices my parents made since i see how other people i know were impacted by easy access to social media and smartphones from a young age and it’s not looking good.
this video was everything that i’ve been thinking of ever since tiktok was changed, hence why i never downloaded it, yet i experience brain rot through other platforms and its sad. it’s hard to let go because it immediately makes you stick out like a sore thumb to your peers; i’ve realized that if i want to change i have to make the change and hopefully over time it’ll become a better lifestyle for me, i’ve lived for 17 almost 18 years and to hear that most human will most likely live as long as me digitally is depressing…it’s also sad to me to read comments and see everyone experiencing the same effect. just realize we aren’t broken yet and that we have the ability to make the change, the day that we lose that ability we lose our humanity…if you read this far thank you
Your good!! I hope to change my life around and be more motivated and energetic about life by not wasting time mindlessly scrolling on these apps as well
I think about this same thing all of the time... Every time I quit tiktok I feel so much FOMO and feel so out of the loop with the people my age and I HATE IT
Most important lesson to learn , is you don't have to follow the crowd. We feel like we do to fit into a society, but we aren't happy. There are people who will like things outside of social media and stuff just do what makes you happy and you will never regret life. Think about like this, when you are on your death bed remembering life would you remember "I managed to fit in with people but didn't get to do what I wanted with my life" or " okay maybe I didn't fit into society as well but I got to live my life how I wanted" choice is yours
I’ll forever hate tiktok for starting this shit, I remember refusing to download it and not only because of it being the way it is but because I remember some of their first ever ads on TH-cam being little girls belly dancing. They’re disgusting and I wish they never became a thing.
if you have an iphone you can set a timer and in the section that says “when time ends” click and scroll down to “stop playing” so when your time ends it will close ur phone
I'm not one to comment on youtube but I have to say I am very glad I came across this video. Watching this video has really gotten me to finally put that last piece together and understand what I've been trying to tell myself and that is just how terrible this constant stimulation is. The problem i've noticed is constant simulation is just so common now that unfortunately it makes it seem like it's the "normal thing to do" when it's not. I'm not great at expressing my feelings but recently i've been noticing how bad I feel after just non-stop scrolling while I know I could be doing literally anything else thats productive. It's a terrible feeling and I am now going to finally make that change. I will be coming back to this video. Thank you so much.
One substantial advice that works for me to reduce my brainrot is to make myself as self aware of my actions as possible. "Do I REALLY have to watch this video?" "What will I gain out of it?" "Dose the information containing in the media I'm about to consume is important to myself at all?" Etc.
what if you just wanna watch a video that will make you happy? Like something that makes you laugh? Does that count as something good (I mean long videos)
This video hits so hard, I am 23 years old as well and it's been the same journey growing up. Same iPhone 5c. Like being so aware of the issue but not stopping. Literally textbook of addiction and then we judge why drug addicts can't stop. I wish I knew you, in real life, so we could ponder these philosophies together. Thank you for the video.
I've hated tiktok from the start because I get exposed to it just by being around other people who use it. Never installed it myself but lately I've found myself on yt shorts and I feel awful about it. You inspired me so I will hide shorts from my feed and work on reducing screen time. Thank you!
I’m in the same boat. Anti-TT. Started looking at shorts on YT a couple weeks ago and yesterday I told myself I have to stop. Apparently I enjoy watching road-rage incidents. wtf is that about?! lol. It’s so awful to constantly fill my subconscious with that hateful (yet satisfyingly entertaining) content. Makes my brain feel like a garbage can.
something i figured out through happenstance: if you turn off your watch history, YT shorts are effectively turned off. I have my search history disabled and if I go to the shorts tab there is only text telling me to turn it on in order to receive shorts.
same here. i never used tiktok because i know myself and i knew exactly how bad it would affect me if i got hooked on watching useless, endless 1-minute videos. and then every freaking site basically became tiktok and now im doomscrolling fucking youtube shorts
Oh god, we're on the same boat. Never installed tiktok, I knew instantly what shit that was. And now here I am, scrolling reels and shorts... Never had any problem with phone addiction before. Just a quick check of how my friends were doing, a watch of a video created by my fav youuber and that was all... And now? I know I should just delete those apps, but at the same time I want to keep in touch with my friends. Wish there was a way of just disabling short videos...
I used to watch TikTok, and now I watch TH-cam shorts, and it feels completely different. I feel like I can easily stop scrolling on yt shorts but time just flies by and I don’t feel like I can stop scrolling on tiktok. That’s when I realized how dangerous it is.
This is the kick up the backside that I've been doom scrolling for. It's amazing that I'm willing to spend nearly 2 days out of my week consuming utter garbage online, but yet my house is a mess, I don't eat properly, I'm behind at uni, and I haven't exercised in months. Thank you.
This is the next series on our podcast "the effects of social media". Thank you for taking the time to dissect this entire phenomenon. Please continue this good works! Blessings to you!
I’m 80 years old and this inspired me to get out of bed and off my phone. My leg snapped and now I’m stuck in a hospital and spending more time on my phone than ever before.
^ Yall are all weird asf. Life doesn’t just end and stop around 80. If you always use it you ain’t gonna lose it. Take care of yourself properly and you’ll see plenty of healthy walking fit happy 80+ ppl.
Thank you for making this video. Its a relief to see and hear someone my age with the same concerns. I want our generation to create great things, but it takes immense focus and boredom for ideas to become prosperous. Ive gone the extreme route and gotten a flip phone. My attention and time are precious and i wanted it to belong to me again. Much love, i hope we all achieve greatness.
I will be joining you in flipphone nation soon because I’ve got to crack down for school. I’ve been dreaming of running some kind of internet health club community catering to our generation in particular since I believe older genZ is in a special position to unify over all that we’ve seen growing up. Been toying with what kind of forum would be best for that though; youtube channel, website, webforum, etc…
Thank you so much for this video. I've felt my memory going for a while and felt extra dissatisfied lately, but when I look back I've had happy moments throughout the week that I wqs taking for granted. I'm working hard to limit my screen time so I can start using my mornings for pursuing my dreams. Thank you again for putting my life and habits into perspective
Honestly glad i watched the whole vid, and its very true. I grew up with the internet and still have it. Even as a child I asked myself, "whats the meaning? whats the purpose of this, just rotting away online doing nothing and achieving nothing." And lately for the past couple months I've noticed my brainfog/brainrot getting worse. Hardly any attention span, memory worsening, increasing insomnia, whatever. And I cant blame it all on the internet, but yeah thats one of the biggest problems. Its led up to my health worsening plus more and more bad addictions. And I've known I probably should just stop being online so much, but idk, this video helped me a little and opened my eyes more. And honestly I do need to focus on more important things obviously since being online alot really does fuck you up atleast a little. Gonna focus on stuff I rlly wanna do. Thx 4 this vid.
Yeah this was the nail in the coffin. Gonna wean myself off tiktok, start putting time limits on app usage and shit. And I think. I think I'm going to go to the library again. I miss it. I'm going to clean my room! I'm going to make myself a proper meal. I'm going to read that stack of books I bought and never touched. As for the video, I listened while fixing a hole in my pants. Got halfway through before I stopped and started listening in earnest. Like a good lecture that deserves your whole attention. I think I'm going to dig out my old CD player. Thanks dude, the video was great. You have a very nice voice that is hard to ignore. Everything was lovely and flowed. The Subway Surfers footage cracked me up. 10/10 you could publish this video essay
@ Yeah the library is great. Hunkered down there for a few hours and somehow joined the seniors knitting group as a 20 year old man. 10/10 experience. Take part in your community there's always cool shit happening!
I have a lot of words to describe how much this video has made me reflect on myself and my life, but I'll just sum it up to, amazing video. Thank you for taking the time to make this. Life sure is beautiful when you build something you can call your own, and you've built a beautiful piece of work here. Subbed.
This is genuinely one of my favorite videos. It kinda woke me up a little and made me excited for the journey that I plan to go on with getting off my phone and accomplishing things in life. Thank you for making this.
Reject Brain Rot, Embrace *Right ear the bible* (chinese) *Left ear Mozart* (2x speed) To those who doth claim it to be but a more grievous kind of Brain Rot, nay, it is the quintessence of cerebral restoration and healing, a confluence of two of the finest creations in art and literature, united into a singular, potent magnum opus. If thou canst not follow Mozart’s melodies played at double speed, thou must elevate thy prowess. Shouldst thou fail to grasp the wisdom imparted by the Holy Bible rendered in Chinese, then thou must needs acquire the tongue of Mandarin. ’Tis as simple as that: improve thyself, grow in might, and return hence when thou art prepared. 📖🗿🎧
To vê honest, its less addictive for me. I have paused for a smoke some times at work instead of scrolling and I did not get addicted to it. I never CRAVED a cigarette. Never could even smoke more than 1 on the same day. But shorts/reels….. geez.
Lately I’ve been throwing myself into the brain rot so bad every chance i get even with a screen app blocker that I feel like I’m lacking imagination/creativity. Thank you for this video, I think during my breaks between studying/work I will try to fill the void by reading instead. I don’t even have hobbies because most of my time is consumed by doom scrolling… it’s just, I can’t stand it anymore tbh.
There's this guy I think about rather often, I had two of my most boring classes with him one semester, he was kind of a nerdy type, short, didn't talk to people much (or at all...), not necessarily conventionally attractive but I honestly found him kind of cute from just observing his little mannerisms. I really wanted to get to know him better, maybe I'd like him more romantically or even just making another friend sounded very nice. Problem is that I also kind of struggle with socializing, so starting conversations wasn't my strong-suit but Ig my attraction to him gave me some more willpower than usual lol I managed to ask him for some notes and about how he ended up in the class we two were in, honestly I'd say I was doing pretty well actually starting conversations, but there was something about him I noticed. At that point I had started noticing this in people around me as a whole and myself included, but this guy was a severe case --- bro was EXTREMELY absent-minded and always on his phone. I think that that was one of the things that made him so unapproachable, everytime I'd turn in his direction he was doomscrolling, which I just had no idea how to go around. Every time I managed to speak with him was when he put his phone down, which wasn't often. Now, maybe he just wasnt interested in talking, which is completely fair, so that was my assumption for a while, but then I remember looking in his direction again, I was standing behind him, and honestly kinda scummy of me but something on his phone caught my eye and I started straight up watching TikTok and TH-cam shorts with him, I have no idea how he didn't notice me. His FYP was filled with posts about loneliness and sometimes the occasional incel-leaning content of how it's so hard to get women in his day and age, but nothing too bad Ig. Some memes I chuckled at myself, still don't know how he didn't notice. Then he made a comment, I couldnt read all of it but it was one of those "I love the internet because its the only place where I get to hang out with people anymore, I have no irl friends" yadda-yadda It made me want to straight up pat him on the back and ask to be my friend lol, still regret being a coward and not doing that. I never really saw that guy much after that interaction, he moved himself all the way across the classroom soon after bc he had a group project with some guys and it was closer to the back so he could doomscroll in peace. I never really intentionally went out of my way to interact with him again because everytime we did he just seemed at best uninterested and at most bothered. Either way there was something so extremely ironic about watching a person I've been trying to make friends with type something like that. Everytime Im doomscrolling in any sort of seemingly boring setting I always try to remind myself that I may be doing the same thing that that guy was doing, unknowingly shutting myself out from any excitement while feeling bad for myself that there isn't any in my life. Truth is that any one of us could have been that guy and we just don't know how much we might have already missed simply by letting the phones take care of the silence when sometimes silence is what makes the louder moments more valuable. Even when I'm alone honestly, there are many things that the world has to offer, you just need to have the willpower to let them in (Btw Idk how to incorporate this into my story but theres this app called Opal (at least for Iphone) which helps u regulate screentime and I found it very helpful, goodbye)
A lot of people nowadays are isolated like that. I guess it's just easier for most people to focus on how lonely they are instead of trying to find someone to talk to. Really insightful and interesting comment by the way!
This is the best video explaining this issue i've ever watched. Every one of us nowadays with the internet gotta reflect somewhat on the things we do every day, especially those that are unconsciously done.
“Comfort kills you slowly” goes so fucking hard
true
You’ll love it for years until you realize it’s the reason why you’re so unhappy
The 116 weather outside may also kill me slowly. I enjoy my comfort in my house with a fan.
@@mell5955 great counter
"comfort is the enemy of progress"
At this point even watching a movie feels productive
watching a video longer than 10 mins feels productive at this point xd
@@cozmic124 Ask any teacher - students in class can't even watch a good film anymore.
Literally
a movie can change your life so yeah it's definitely productive
Watching a good movie it's ALWAYS productive. Don't let people with FOMO or hyper-competitive ZUCC type Bosses tell you otherwise.
I'm old enough to remember scrolling to the bottom of a feed and the site saying "That's all for now" 😢
😭😭😭
omg it's been that long since it said that, that I forgot that it even used to say that 😭 either I'm getting old or the internet is just changing
Happens to me a lot , cause there isnt a lot of contet in Portuguese( my native country) , in English is impossible there is so much information and content in english
Still happens to me sometimes. TH-cam videos either repeat in my feed _(bug!)_ or I encounter videos on topics too complex or uninteresting. ...Or too generic.
oh god i remember that.
All im gonna say is that if you lock yourself for an hour in a room with nothing but a chemistry textbook, chemistry is gonna become mighty interesting.
lmao, I think I have to try this.
Something we all should keep in mind
you underestimate how interesting things like looking at the wall or counting ceiling tiles is xD i wouldnt touch chemistry so easily
Anyone wanna … break bad? 👀
Tried it, got bored and made movies in my head
It's insane how accurately the movie Wall-E has predicted our future
Yeah when it came out it felt unrealistic and weird but now it seems not very far
One of my favorite movies:
A disney movie that romanticizes humankind being the reason for the death of earth and eventually them, literally us being our own doom. Empires always rise and fall.
Just like idiocracy predicted
Did they really predict anything? They kind of exaggerated the reality we were already in
not so insane when literally a Mega Corporation (Disney) is pretty responsible for causing this brain rot
*watches this video while reading the comments simultaneously*
THATS WHAT IM DOING NOW, WHAAAAAAT
I’ve stoped watching TV because I need to read the comments while I’m watching.
Bruh brain rot
(But same)
Lmao
Around 22 minutes he started being motivational and talking about a solution and I legit thought he was about to announce a sponsor.
Ad-rot
literally tho lol i kept waiting for it 🤣
me too lowkey
@@Denominov🤣🤣🤣🤣
I thought I was going to see a better help or hello fresh ad 😂
*goes off phone*
*sees computer*
*plays on computer*
i once asked a guy for help with using the phone too much and he said "use your computer more like searching etc", himself was using the computer saying " im not using the self phone too much, it's good" but actually just switching the instrument while still being served the same horrid plate
@@pOpsi_mOn Well a computer takes slightly more effort to use than phone, you cant be lying down and using it or taking a walk with your eyes glued to it, I suppose it is slightly the same yet its still less addictive
A wise person once said, a computer is just a bootloader for google chrome for most people.
Same but reverse order
I love my puter
“This isn’t fun anymore.”
That made me imagine my 9 year old self turning away from the massive dinosaur of an early 2000’s desktop in the family “Computer Room,” and saying that to my nearly 30 year old self lying here at 2:30 am doomscrolling in the dark.
Two decades of looking at dumb shit on the internet every day. Sometimes I watch a video like this and get the urge to smash every screen in the house. Then I just scroll to the next video.
This isn’t fun anymore.
that was poetic. consider writing a book, man i’d read it
Oof. This comment hit hard.
I liked this comment, you should be a writer
@@char6081came here to say that lol
Yes me too
tfw you got digital crack right at your fingertips and a rich family history of addiction
its not about family history bro, all human brains fall victim to this curse. they love stimulation and give you compulsions to seek it.
we gotta take responsibility and do something about it
@godot2609 Whilst that is true, some people are genetically predisposed to addiction with genetics accounting for 40-60% of that. I do agree that you should take responsibility for things like addiction, even if it's not your fault your predisposed to it
@arlostcause3383 this if false. We know it's environment and mindset (stemming from environment often)
@@arlostcause3383 Cope, cope and cope. Where did you even pull that information from? There's no such thing as person A and person B being born with addiction predisposal. I'm not going to be blunt and say that 100% of addictions don't come from genetics, as there are mental illnesses that could influence this ratio. Humans tend to copy what others are doing, it's always been like that. Monkey see, monkey do. There's no way a person can be born to be addicted to cigarettes such as there's no way a person can be born to be addicted to hard work. If you walk around people who smoke, well there's no sh*t that you'll eventually pick up on the habit. Same goes for the other way around. There are some exceptions to this, such as already having very strong habits rooted in the depths of our brains. There was an experiment on this, where they picked a monkey who had learned a very fast nut-cracking technique and put him in an environment where all the other monkeys had a slower nut-cracking technique. What happened was, that the monkey unlearned his advantageous way of cracking nuts and picked up on the slower nut-cracking technique from other monkeys to "blend in with the group". This technically resumes how humans bond, we need to "fit in" with society to not be seen as weird or be rejected, and it just happens that society has normalized these sh*tty addictions that you see everywhere. The secret to overcoming this is to just pick the people you want to be around and follow those who have achieved the same goals that you want, not being "genetically gifted". If there's something that people can blame it's the environment they were born in, but they still have control over it.
Keep blaming your problems to someone else. you'll see how that will work out for you in the future
Fun fact! They get literal neuroscientist to test out apps and commercials to see how addicted they can get people! Yay….
I feel like this level of unethical behavior should be met with legal consequences. But unfortunately, we're the guinea pigs that will be looked upon as victims 2 and a half decades from now, *if* and when they crack down on it. I bold the "if" because I'm sure the government gets their fair share of the boatload of revenue that is generated off of it. George Carlin was calling out this "mindless consumer" stuff before there were even smartphones.
Edit: One thing I just noticed tho, I never got on the TikTok train (thank god) so idk what kind of features they have on their end, but Instagram has settings where you can have the app give you reminders on taking breaks, and you can set a per-day time limit that will make the app notify you once you've reached it. The catch is that you can still use the app past the time limit, but anything helps at this point.
science!
Why do we have a "fun fact" on every TH-cam video
@@treebum5342 what’s bad about learning something new and not being a dumb dumb ? 😂
Same with sports betting apps 😂 people got crippling gambling addictions now
Being a 25 year old zoomer is crazy. Growing up alongside the rise of the internet and watching it go from the wild west to slowly conquered by corporate interests is an experience unique to us elder zoomers.
@Shaicedelicbraint rot got to you
Man fuck the internet lets go get it
@Shaicedelici’m 22 and saw it first hand as well, don’t worry ur special too buddy 😎
special ed 😎
jk i’m sorry 😎
@ShaicedelicThe sentiment is appreciated, geezer ε>
I love the comments under the OG post proofing OP's post and sentiment ❤😂 25 here as well, everything is going SO fast!
“If you are reaching for your phone before taking care of yourself you have a problem” so trueeee 2:25
It sucks that the top comments are people essentially feeding into their brain rot, joke or not. I just completed the video and leaving this comment to show that while we may not be the loudest, you have inspired me to change and create. Thank you.
On one hand some people will always stir the pot either out of their own shortcomings or malicious intent but a lot of people joking are just using laughs to hide the pain of realizing they fall into this shit themselves. It helps lessen/distract from the depressing reality
Its hard, but possible.
As long as you manage to create good habits, your life become easier.
Im trying to learn game making by myself...
Its hard, but I really wanna do it, even if its pointless, its my dream.
Im gonna create for myself.
Based but like that's one step. Human connection is the other. I merely have Almost no connection to other humans outside the family and very little with the outside world. I think I'm also very unhinged soooo, it's ten times harder to act normal and attempt relationships. So brain rot it is, maybe art about the unhinged stuff and brain rot 😂
>>exactly what they said
even reading this comment fully was challenging maan...fuckk
I have this terrible habit of constantly watching self improvement content and feeling like I accomplished everything I watched because somehow I’ll retain all the information as if it’s not the same information I’ve heard every single day for years😭 it’s insane how simple the solution is but how much resistance there is to literally just turning off your phone and allowing yourself to be bored and actually live your life
Man i feel you I do the same thing sigh
@@jingyizzi didnt know jalaberga's nickname was sigh
Id say us wanting to change is already half way there but it wont happen without the pain of rewiring our brains. Its so tough. Maybe go cold turkey just delete everything
@@aithinksineedagirlfriend940 nah I’m just sighing I’m not calling them sigh
@@themuffinman737 yeah u right we just gotta try man
If you aren’t paying for it, you’re the product.
the most discordian koan comment I've seen on this video so far. grats, you're now a pope
@ haha thanks I heard it in the documentary The Social Dilemma
“Produce something instead of consuming it” might have altered my brain. Thank you.
ja, i think one of the hard parts of making stuff is comparing yourself to others, but if you overcome that and just accept that you dont have to be the best to make something nice wether its a video or an art piece or anything else its so rewarding in the end
As a person who produces and consumes I see this as a win loose
Looking forward to the OF.
amazing video
@@Pendji advicing self improvement to men but disgrace comments on women, you should cultivate your moral values and thoughts.
I’m glad the TH-cam algorithm chose this for me
The algo God
sawed off the branch it was sitting on
Same
Same, nearly forced it up on me.
Have you changed anything yet tho after 4 days?
What people often miss about the dull moments in life is that they act as a chance to reflect on things.
It's a chance to ask yourself "what did I do so far today? what else do I have to do? am I satisfied with the way I've been doing things and how they've turned out?".
I think part of the reason so many people want to fill those dull moments with stimulation is because answering those sorts of questions gets very uncomfortable very quickly.
@@Nacalal very well said.
You articulated that perfectly
Very true wow
am i happy with who i am? am i happy with the people around me? do i have a life? or am i just living.
yeah. I think some forget that we can entertain ourselves with our minds. we can imagine all sorts of things, ask questions, hypothisize, make up entire universes even. all we have to do is invest in our inner worlds.
Growing up, experiencing traumatic event after another, finding the internet and videogames gave a desperate kid a much needed escape from the horrible things that can happen in life. But now, after 21 years of living, I have found that the very thing that gave me comfort and a place to run to when I needed it is now stale and feels like it's draining me of everything I could have ever been or will be. I don't know where to go now or what to do now that it feels like my brain has become a fraction of how powerful it used to be. This generation is terrible, and truly desperate. Im scared.
remember your autonomy. the past does not define the future
This is so relatable bro.. i feel like my memory is declining, my social skills are in the gutter and perpetual brain fog. I need to quit. Thanks for this video
Is it possible to get "better" though. I compare it sometimes to the feelings and reactions you had when you were a kid, where things were not as 'numbed out'. Obviously the loss of this can be attributed to just growing up, but in my case I was spat out the end of puberty when scrolling really boomed and since then I've really noticed what you are describing. How do I reverse the effects of scrolling
@@misosoup2005Yes, but you need to take a break.
Did you see that unreleased video of Freebird yet?
He’s right, deleting the source like for me was instagram reels. It was taking over my life would wake up, scroll, bathroom, scroll, literally everywhere I would scroll and it’s no less than the same of a drug addict needing another hit.
@@yourztrulyandy scroll scroll , scrool yer boat , gently down the steam
i watched this in 2x speed
Brain rot premium
I was wondering why this video is taking so long
wow! it actually is better.
I watched this video while also watching tiktok
Smart.
You don't even need to be productive to get rid of the brain fog and overstimulation.
I peaked in terms of mental focus while in high school, and I was reading fiction books, playing online games and watching anime.
The difference is that I consciously chose each show I watched, each game I played and each book I read.
I didn't really go off recommendations or trends, I just looked at a library or looked up a game genre I liked or picked a pretty anime poster and went from there.
And I was able to focus in class and do my homework and get good grades.
Basically don't scroll or let media guide what you do, do it PURPOSEFULLY.
When I got into TH-cam more my focus was still alright while I was purposefully searching for videos I wanted to see.
But the moment i relied on subscriptions and recommendations, that lazy following the algorithm made my brain lazy too and I've been unfocused since.
JUST BE PURPOSEFUL, nice and simple.
thats so real, and also very fun to do. Now im going to purposeful play elden ring for 4 hours straight!
@@_azx_306 Good for you.
This is so relatable! I feel like I've just dumbed down starting after highschool. I have done so many unproductive things but I truly got sucked into it and I would choose it myself. Now I always check recommendations, what comments or Reddit are saying. And shortform content is now something that has me in its grip as well.
The problem compared to my childhood is tho, I feel like I'm in too deep already. "Just pick up a book again" feels like a huge obstacle and only adds to the stress of an already stressful daily life. Because now I have to pick something that will not soothe me in a few seconds, it will only maintain my level of anxiety.
So my question is, how do we get out of it NOW while we are already in. I would love to hear you guys' opinion!
@@bhwaaaHannah I'm in the same boat haha, scrolling content and shorts and recommendations/comments fried my brain so that I don't enjoy what I used to anymore and everything - even hobbies - feels like a chore. The stuff I check are more out of addiction than anything.
Would love to know a solution too.
Yeah!
Dude this changed my life and ressonated with so many things in my mind that I feel like if I could choose the best video I've ever watched, I'd be this one.
My man❤
I’m gonna learn to rollerskate.
I’m gonna learn banjo.
I’m gonna do horseback.
I just got my GED!
Im gonna read books, study things, who cares if im lonely or bored. I’ll hang out with my dog, my family, I’ll do everything I can.
We can all overcome this. We can do it.
Nice
You should read the book, “the one thing” it takes a different approach on doing the things you want. And Good luck with doing the things you want! 👍🏼 🤙🏽
I love to roller skate it’s so fun man. Your should totally learn it!
I agree with "The One Thing," excellent read. I also recommend "Atomic Habits."
HELL YAAA!!
“Give them bread and circuses and they will never Revolt”
love that quote
The third video of the day where I see the phrase
Thought of this line all day and found it with 888 likes. Hell yea
Good.
Spot on
This just motivated me to really take learning crochet more seriously. I'm tired of always being stuck on my phone and getting distracted so easily.
I used to crochet my own clothes, but never finished any of them bc my free time was doomscrolling instead of crafting. Crocheting is an amazing way to heal the mind
you focus on crocheting long enough and start making stuff, it'll be much more fun than scrolling
I'd recommend playing music or listening to an audiobook. It will keep your ears stimulated simultaneously without getting completely distracted.
you got this! i was crocheting while watching this video haha. As an experienced crocheter, the biggest obstacle to learning is not giving up on practicing. dont aim for perfection, but rather try to enjoy the process. theres so much to make out there so dont get too overwhelemd. good luck on your journey!
I watched this whole video while crocheting an I almost finished a piece haha! Honestly it’s the best hobbie that I picked up, don’t give up !
I took the day off work to be "productive" with a 4 day weekend. Wasted yesterday playing RDR2 and watching youtube. I've gotten rid of social media for minths now and still struggle; its easy both ways to be positiveor negative. Sometimes the lines are blurred. I loved this video because it hurt knowing I'm still not there but its alright.
I lied to myself and got back into a similar ditch as before. You made me get my ass up today and do the dishes, clean up my beer cans everywhere, and look for more of your videos to do my chores to. There's a long way to go for me but thanks for the affirmation that it's a battle we fight in this day and age.
Hey man I cleaned my depression room to this video and it gave me so much clarity thank you for being the PERFECT background noise for cleaning
this comment misses the point of the video. And so am i readind/commenting while watching the video 😂
I drank water!
As DeliManager said, this literally confirms what he's arguing in this video - you used this video as background noise, mindless stimulation. But hey, atleast you cleaned your room.
i cleaned my bathroom to this after putting it off for a while
Thats awesome! Good way to positively channel the pull of content. A little progress here and there can reduce the pull of tech down the road. Making your space outside the screen a better one to be in!
This video having random ad breaks makes this entire experience feel like the final part of “Fifteen Million Merits” from Black Mirror. This, at the end of the day, is just another piece of content. This is designed for you to think “oh my goodness, everyone else doesn’t see the light”, and that feeling is just another hit of dopamine. I hope we can all find something we love in this world. And if you have already found it, tend to it like it deserves.
the only real comment here :(
That's very true, the problem for me isn't tiktok or shorts but I can spend hours on TH-cam with videos the length of a movie or videos that ARE supposed to be helpful or insightful like for example this one, maybe it did help someone but most of us will just repeat the cycle, experienced it myself.
At some point you just have to use willpower and discipline with the base of being honest with yourself. People keep their addiction going for different reasons but pain and fear, discomfort, I feel are the biggest reasons but that's life sometimes and of course it's easier to hide than to face that.
Well I have adblock so my experience was better
This is a W comment idgaf what anyone else says
The video maker has bills to pay too.
As someone with ADHD, I actively avoid tiktok and haven't downloaded it. I still end up scrolling through youtube shorts every once in awhile when i can't sleep due to rumination or when im cooking. I am still an internet addict with a low attention span, but I hope to do better.
Dont be too hard on yourself. Theres a huge difference between self hatred and discipline. I have adhd as well, and this took me a long time to realise
I wouldn't really worry about the low attention span thing. You have ADHD, it literally is a hardware limitation.
@@lord6411I know. But i still have moments of dissatisfaction with my life, when i realise how much i spend on youtube. I could do better, at least a little.
HEY HEY HEY HEY !!! YOU CAN HALF DISABLE YT SHORTS!!!! I am VERY passionate ab this!!!!! But you can disable shorts by pressing "not interested" on all of them on a panel and then you'll only see the YT shorts panel when you scroll too far!
Hope this helps !!!
@@lord6411 i have adhd too but you can really work a little on it
Honestly, this might have been the best video I've seen about this topic like ever. It really woke me up. thank you.
1. I deleted TikTok almost a year ago now, and it genuinely made such a positive impact on my life. Like I'm a straight A student now that I can actually pay attention to my teachers when they lecture. School is so much easier for me now.
2. After watching this video I took a shower without listening to a podcast for the first time in longer than id like to admit. And I feel so much better.
So if anyone is wondering if avoiding constant stimulation works, IT DOES.
I also deleted TikTok around 1,5 years ago and this did the same thing for me. Also I've really improved in drawing and writing. Writing especially used to be really hard for me, since I can't do anything during it, but it's been getting so much better and I can even write for like 2 or 3 hours on end.
I deleted Tiktok too! It was awesome until it wasn't. I could waste hours on that app & then be drained and left kind of depressed, leading me to STAY on the app. Not to mention a million++ privacy invasions? Glad I'm not alone 🫡
I have never had TikTok but instagram and TH-cam ruin me as much as I could imagine TikTok would have done
I have no social network besides TH-cam and reddit, and even so, don’t use them so often. It made my life so much easier and more enjoyable.
did you find a way to completly disable youtube shorts? i can only "disable" for 30 days, which doesnt remove the short tab, but only removes the recomendations
I appreciate the editing in this video. Calming voice, no obnoxious music, no sound effects, no quick cuts. It's great
the video is edited with constantly changing imagery and stock footage, it's made for people who have no attention span
The whole thing basically is quick cuts.
as an artist: removing ourself from / deleting every large mainstream social media and sticking to small niche artists circles has been the absolute best move
I’m trying to do the same, u have any tips in how I can find others artists in real life? Or events where I can share more of my art without begging for likes in social media?
@@milAaaoocommunity college! If you have access to some local classes that can be a great way to meet all kinds of people :)
That sounds so fun being with a small circle of other artists irl
@@milAaaooFr that sounds amazingly fun
@@milAaaoo concerts
Thank you for this much needed wake-up call man, you nailed the topic and started me on the path to motivating myself. I left my last job for mental health reasons and have been searching for months, but my motivation often drops off and, frankly because of this video, I think social media is in large part to blame. I’m limiting myself to 15 minutes a day from now on, I hope to keep this going. Thank you for inspiring me
I remember when you could hit the end of your facebook feed. It only showed you what your friends had posted, in chronological order, and once you had seen that you were done. No ads. How far we’ve fallen
I remember that too it’s crazy things have really changed a lot since my childhood
oh how i miss those days. i remember hitting the bottom of my feed of maybe 20~ posts on brown instagram using my iphone 4s
*creaky voice* in my day, facebook feeds had an end!
I’ve been slowly trying to fight the urge to scroll through out this year. I’ve definitely improved, cutting multiple hours of screen time off my day. I still slide back into it from time to time but I’ve had more clarity, more focus, more joy, and most importantly more boredom
do you mind sharing anything that you've done that helps? im struggling. if i cut one app out then youtube or soundcloud immediately fills the void 😭
@@nikkey8951 Ive managed to replace the time I would scroll/brainrot with reading, cleaning, and just hobbies I like now (like researching places I want to go and actually doing those things given enough time outside of things like work). Edit: I'd like to mention you shouldnt cold turkey the scrolling or whatever, but slowly doing replacement things while still feeding the addiction making it more manageable. Using reminders or in-app features to show you should take a break might help too, but you'll have to listen to that message. I hope it goes well for you.
@@nikkey8951there’s nothing wrong listening to music ? I reckon.. just consume content that can prove beneficial to your mental wellbeing, or informational stuff, replace brain rot with brain nourishment, we don’t have to go back to monke straight away, but if you can’t focus when listening to “boring stuff” then start meditating (it might be hard at first) 🍷🐒
idk abt that, I listen to music for most of my consumed media and it definitely also affected the way a think (namely not being able to think or listen to ambient noise without external stimulation or thinking of some song by habit) and friends that I have who are afflicted similarly with different content describe similar patterns or inabilities to thinking with their respective field
@conscioussubconsciousness1976 I'd say music is fine, but you have to control when you do it, it's otherwise just another tool to stimulate yourself, and would fill the void in all your social media. We need to be able to have moments of silence and boredom
Certain tasks with music could be good, like ill listen to music when doing laundry, but won't when I'm outside taking a walk, that kinda thing
I had a genuine boomer-heart attack moment the other day because I watched my friend:
1) open up a book
2) put in earbuds
3) pull up tictok
4) set phone down next to book
5) and cycle between reading the book for… i dunno, ten? seconds at a time, scrolling through tictok for thirty, change the music every minute, and then give up on the book completely after two minutes.
It was exhausting to watch, there was so much going on but nothing was really happening. Wanted to shake my cane at them and feed pigeons in the park.
that's terrifying ???
The clearest symptom of having a "bird brain", by zoomer generations.
That actually insane😭😭😭
Dude what the actual fuck
That’s just insanity
You reminded me of a guy in my chem class last semester. During lectures he would play video games on his laptop and scroll tiktok on his phone all at the same time. Its getting bad...
Thank you for making this video.
I think you made it with your heart.
Beautiful and meaningful.
And this reminded me of a poem by Imam Al-shafiee in it he said
وانصب فإن لذيذ العيش في النصب
"Work hard and get tired because the pleasure of life is in working hard and getting tired"
I am 13. I grew up with the Internet and constant stimulation. I physically can't stop myself sometimes and its exhausting. Jm pretty sure that my addiction to inhaling brain rot has led to my horrible mental health, like to the point of considering suicide on the daily. I dont even have friends really anymore because i push people away and just stare at screens to feel something instead. I really appreciate this video, like a lot dude. Ima set a timer for only like two hours a day (besides like Spotify) and try and learn stuff. I wanna get better at skateboarding and art. I wanna get better at being ok with being precived by people. Thank you
Edit: thank you to everyone who has commented. I think every single one of them has made me cry. It's been a rough while but I've gotten better. I'm mostly into writing now and reading!!! It's helping a lot!! My parents are even getting me therapy. All of the comments are really making me feel less alone and it gives me hope that I can keep going!! Thank y'all so much!!!
what has helped me is making some of my consumption hobby related. it gets me excited to do things that don't need screens. sometimes I watch art videos to get inspiration, and then I start drawing and pretty soon the video goes off and drawing is enough stimulation to keep me going
@@septanine5936 THANK YOU 🙏🙏🙏
I’m so sorry you got this shoved into your face at an age before you could even realize how addicting it is. You can do this!! It’ll be so worth it. 😁
You got this!! ✨
Pursue your hobbies! When youre learning and doing things you are passionate it about, you'll realize that its the stimulation youve been seeking through technology😊❤
Thank you for this video it was the last push to delete tiktok
NEVER go back dawg.
I deleted tik tok right around the time youtube and instagram adopted short form content. ong worst timing ever 😭
youtube is brainrotting too, brother
@@darwin485 I don't think so. I only listen to it in the background and I try to pick at least slightly educational content to watch
@@darwin485not really
Curating our online experience to prevent it from wasting our time and mental energy has to become a normal mental health measure
Personally I only watch longer form content. Or educational. An hour plus video is my sweet spot
I've spent loads of time recently doing just this.
The side effect is no one can bother me without my permission. :)
Agreed, I have shifted slowly and slowly to long form content.
Same here, except I feel like it's not useful atill. I should be actually doing something. I usually feel so much better when i go do something. @haydenparsons5783
Agreed I used to spend all the day smoking weed and looking at TikTok, nowadays I only look at TH-cam for this type of content
This is an eye opening, beautifully made video. I listened and thought abt every single word u said in it. U probably changed my life
The most prominent form of brain rot is the atrocious background music played in stores. I don't need to explain why it's that bad.
As someone who works retail, sometimes the shitty pop background music is the only thing still keeping me sane 😅😂
Depends on the playlist but working in retail there were times I HATED that music. Some of the playlists are so short you hear it several times over and over throughout your shift. I would go home and try to sleep at night and I would hear that music in my head. It sucks so bad to hear happy music about how good things are, intended to make you want to buy things when you're broke and stressed and having a meltdown because you hate your job. Sometimes it felt like psychological torture lol
i have to say its soooo awkward talking to people in retail when you dont have any background music
@@NamelessAidan If I worked at a retail store and I can access the PA system, I would drop a raspberry pi that takes the audio and bit crushes, compresses and deep fries it to 4kbps quality so If I have to suffer, everyone has to suffer.
Actual noise pollution. And I don't think the majority of people recognize how unhealthy it can be. The worst is when it's a looping playlist.
One of the best methods to fight brain rot is using an old smartphone like an iphone 7 or 8. The battery is bad, screen is tiny, it is painfully slow, but it does everything you will need.
My trusty iPhone 8 plus is considered vintage, and I'm a proud owner (;
@@kimi59 That is the classiest iphone of all time in my opinion. I have an iphone 7 with 3 screen replacements and 3 battery replacements.
ayyy old phone gang! i have the iphone 6s bc it was the only one at the secondhand store that still had headphone jack lol it works ok i did have to change the battery once but that's a lot less expensive than a new phone lol
@@kimi59i had that one until it broke :(
I use an Iphone 6 and it can't play any games without crashing and it's too old to update youtube so the only thing I use it is for communication
You're not even having fun anymore.
That simple sentence over and over again just kept hitting me.
I really needed to hear that.
I've never really been into technology. Didn't have a TV or anything for years... But these blasted apps and phones with the combination of a real rough 4yrs dropping bad friends and family and addiction to drugs and alcohol and here I am.
I felt like you were describing me.
I gotta go. Get out of this cycle. Freaking A
Thank you so much.
Hoping you get gud, Best of luck.
look up the etomology of the word "fun"
that’s the phrase that hit me like a truck as well. it’s not fun anymore, I can do literally ANYTHING else with my life
anytime anytime :)
this is something you know, or at least feel but when someone else tells you that it just hits diffrent
thank you brother, i needed that
we are gonna make it guys
I watch a lot of these videos but this is the first one to really make me feel bad. In a good way. Like you've detailed the existential horror we're in perfectly
Brain rot 👆
lol good, i'm glad i was able to do that
This made me replace my smartphone with an old Nokia. To see young kiddos glued to screens terrifies me, yet I am just like them but slightly bigger in size. Odd how hypocritical we seem to be. This video genuinely changed me, so thank you.
keep at it, the difficulty fluctuates. Dont be discouraged and if you cant help it, be patient, you will find courage again
Got a dumbphone as well a few years ago, used it on and off for a while. The biggest issue, I find, is that whilst you aren't looking at your phone, everybody else is, so whenever you're around other people and fancy a chat, they're usually looking at their phones. It gets dull pretty fast.
I really want to go back to my old LG, but I remember how much of a nightmare it was having a dumb phone when everyone else was texting with smartphones. How that phone handled group chats would be impossibly annoying now; every text in the chat would be sent to me individually, I couldn't mute it, I could only respond to one person at a time, and the incessant texts would block me from being able to do anything else on my phone like request to be removed from the chat so I'd have no choice but to wait until everyone finished and contact whoever started it
@@wingsting9792That's why I used to bring a book everywhere so when everyone else was absorbed in their phones I had entertainment too
I tried this before, and it was really nice, but there's just some conveniences that I really miss sometimes. Especially music during studies, looking something up real quick when I need, texting. I've switched the default launcher of my smartphone to a low distraction one and it's been amazing. It warns me if I spend too much time on an app (except some excluded ones), which was extremely helpful in making myself aware of the time I was wasting. My homescreen now is a monotone color with a clock and 6 apps I use on the regular for communication/music/controlling smart devices. All icons have been removed, apps other than the 6 homescreen apps are in a monotone list so it's impossible to get distracted. It even allows me to whitelist notifications, which was a bit of a pain at the start, but now my phone is cleaner than it ever was before. I've even just deleted a bunch of apps that ate up my time, because regulating myself is just too damn difficult.
And yet I still feel the need to scroll sometimes. There's nothing to scroll, but the addiction is so real. Since there's nothing to scroll though, boredom takes me to more productive things though, either by work and hobbies, or actually taking the time to relax and watch a movie or something, one screen at a time.
"if everyone is thinking alike, then none is doing so."
- Benjamin Franklin
What does that mean
@@Aygol__ Read it?
dum quote
@@box0choco593 i have i dont get it like if we are all thinking alike then we are all still doing so bc alike and the same mean the same thing generally
@@Aygol__ "doing so" refers to thinking here. Everyone thinks the same = no new ideas = no one is really thinking at all.
"This isn't fun anymore."
I've since uninstalled all social media apps and am considering buying an "old school" phone. I've missed writing and reading and drawing because I had spent most of my time behind a screen and not practicing and indulging in the things that I have wanted to get better at. I hated that my free time wasn't going to anything productive.
Thank you for making this video. I was happy to know that I haven't succumbed to brain rot as I was able to sit throughout the entire 41 minutes and 55 seconds of this video and retain what you've shared.
I was trying so hard to focus during this video and not mindlessly scroll on through my phone , my brain is fried
sizzle...sizzle
I got myself to focus on the video, I'm pretty decent at being able to stay focused on long form content, but then he started putting stimulating stuff in the background, plus at the end when he was talking about the solution and he had Subway Surfers gameplay in the top right. I caught myself watching the gameplay and I was like "fuck.."
@@jack.20f74I almost quit the vid when he started throwing these bits in because it made me feel lost in space and time for a brief moment. Then I figured out I could just lay my phone down and just listen to it as an audiobook like I was doing with every monotone vid where the "video" part isn't important like that.
Yet you did it mate, that takes merit. You've got this
THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS... i literally panic deleted tiktok and youtube off my phone a few months back because i was getting TERRIFIED of the withdrawal symptoms i was having when i was going even five minutes without scrolling. I still feel the need to seek out constant stimulation, but deleting those apps definitely felt like a step in the right direction to start helping myself. My brain still feels foggy, my room is a mess, and i've done nothing productive all day but watching this is helping me remember that all the people in my life are being affected by this too, and if I want to help them, I have to help myself first. I absolutely detest these companies that are turning use into mindless husks for their profits.
thank you again.
I'm gonna close youtube now.
just keep using google and dont pay your phone bill and reinstall windows, becuase the STUPID security measures you will loose your accoutn FOREVER becuase dont have "old devive" or "phone number"
How long did it take you to reinstall TH-cam?
nothing changes if nothing changes. good luck to you!
@@ZarHakkar i haven't actually! i deleted the app off my phone and only watch videos on desktop as desktop doesn't try to trap you with Shorts all the time. I appreciate the snarky and bitter tone you wrote this reply with but I'm proud to say i'm actually doing a lot better!! my attention span is getting longer and i feel much less baseline anxiety when im away from my phone. I've still got a long ways to go but progress is progress :3
@@esora2476 tone on the internet is in the eye of the beholder. I was merely geniunely curious
Congratulations on your personal journey, either way
Being 23 I don’t think I’ve ever seen a better video that related this much to me. Thank you so much man, honestly the best video I’ve ever seen
wow really??
Ive been feeling like this the past 6 months, kinda lost, thinking maybe i am too hard on myself, and now i find your video… thank you, it feels reassuring, it feels like i should continue to follow my instincs
video too long stopped watching at 00:05
I pushed until 00:14
Didn’t even watched a second. Just here because of the comments.
Get off the internet and touch some grass.
@@Film-Watcher12 Learn what sarcasm is.
@@Film-Watcher12stopped reading your comment at "get" too long and too much yap sorry 😔
A tip for going from TikTok brain rot to work and real life tasks. Set a timer for twenty minutes and stare at a blank wall. After this your brain will be craving any type of stimulation it can get. This is the time to put yourself to work 👍 good luck y’all stay woke
I literally discovered the whole stare at blank wall wake up brain hack ONE MONTH AGO and have been longing to just. Do. Ittt. So badly yet my scrolling has such a horribley strong hold on me that every. Single. Morning. This month has been a dreadful submission to the scrolling addiction like ik I don’t want to but my brain just does it it’s terrible I need to try the wall hack so badly but I just can’t seem to overcome the first minutes of the morning horrible habit of first reaching for phone.
Gonna do this tomorrow. Have so much I need to get done and I can’t afford being distracted
20 minutes staring at a blank wall would sound like torture and im not even brainrotted
@@broidkanymore-zc4ltYou're probably only half-way brain rotted, which is kinda the norm now.
Woah is this meditation?
it’s so weird being 22 seeing this. we were born when internet was so rural and now just seeing how fast it has advanced from literally being 17 to 22 just 5 years is unreal. i remember being like 15 and was on my xbox 360 for 2 hours and thought how much i was upset feeling like i wasted my day and that was WITH restrictions. now i swear there are no kids outside playing/everyone that is a little kid just has an iphone or some digital device with no restrictions and i swear we’re gonna go down to the route of Idiocracy (GREAT MOVIE)
everyone nowadays is glued to their phones and it starts from early childhood now because the adults are addicted too and don't see the problem with their baby consuming hours of mindless content. And it kinda of feels like nobody wants to do anything productive. People are so overstimulated that even basic tasks like cooking, cleaning, and tidying up their rooms seem overwhelming. I'm glad I deleted Instagram and Facebook in 2015. Now, the only social media I use is TH-cam, and that's only on special occasions to watch informative longfom videos. Have never been happier
bro what else r ppl even supposed to do, outside is way too dangerous for little kids esp kids my age (i'm 14), there's been a pedo in my area harassing girls that r my age like 20 of them, there's constant riots and protests in my country and there's illegal immigrants coming in and molesting and killing kids left and right and there's just nothing fun to do anymore... and the last time i went to the playground, someone tried to steal my hat and kept acting rlly aggressive with me
i mean the thing is about me i prob only spend like.. idk less than 3 hours on my computer, i'm mostly spending time with my family or painting or writing or going into my garden or something (we're getting chickens soon, so that means more offline stimulation for me). honestly i don't tghink the internet plays a role as much as ppl think, yes it still plays a large role but i believe the fact that even being outside as a kid alone is the more majour part bc man i don't wanna go outside and have to worry about getting stabbed or mugged or whatever, i'd rather stay at home and play around and research on the internet or go chase butterflies in my garden, that's what i think about this
I re watched idiocrasy recently, it is crazy how close we are to that movie in our generation
I’m 22 as well and this video made me remember how when i was younger i had to ask my parent for permission to turn on the computer, and id play for like an hour max 🥲 how times have changed
This is the most important video I've ever watched.
9:21 “ A little bit of everything all of the time
A little bit of everything all of the time
Apathy’s a tragedy and boredom is a crime” - welcome to the internet by Bo Burnham
Thats exactly what i thought. A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING ALL OF THE TIME🗣🔥🔥🔥
i'm glad you got the reference :)
This video is a masterpiece. I've been realizing that my brain just doesn't work as fast anymore, I don't really think about anything because I'm always watching things or scrolling through things.
It's an addiction and a plague. I know I need to change but I don't want to give it up because I do enjoy it. But deep down I know that's textbook addiction.
replace it with something that you actually feel proud of like art or music and dedicate all your time and energy to that, ive just started learning to skateboard and realized how much ore interesting and fulfilling it is compared to sitting in my room scrolling.
This video hit like a truck. Multiple times, the editing and audio combined really hit home, and sparked mental terror with reality setting in. We really do get far too invested and trapped in our mental simulation bubbles.
The fact you repeat a lot of the information multiple times might seem grating, but truthfully I think it pushes the core concept in deeper. I have never once truly tried to quantify to myself, even once in my life, "How much free time do I really need to scroll/relax?" We need to be more aware of what's happening to us, because this is truly overwhelming.
Thank you for making this.
im really glad you got something from this video, that's why i make these :)
This is video essay is spot on, good work!
havong adhd and living in this era is actually hell. it was difficult before, but its so hard to do anything anymore without having to physically cut myself off from internet access (i put my phone in my closet when the alarm goes off) in fear that ill be late for school cuz i lost track of time scrolling on tiktok or youtube shorts. its definitely not the only issue brainrot created in my life (nor is it the biggest tbh) but it's the one with real-world consequences.
dude it’s so bad. i can’t get myself to do homework at all because of my phone.
35:15 “So called pleasures, when they go beyond a certain limit. Are but punishments” - Seneca .
THIS hit so deep you don’t understand. This video hit me when I needed it the most I’m so glad the algorithm recommended me this. I’m the same age as you 23 and I’ve been living in comfort for too long I feel like I haven’t grown in awhile. ITS TIME TO MAKE A CHANGE
YOU GOT THIS
i’ve felt like i’ve been stuck in a loop not growing for the last year this video made me wake up and realize the issue…godspeed brother
This was a great listen. I feel like a lot of these thoughts I’ve had on my own. I appreciate the work you have done to put this out there in the world. You have inspired me and given me hope at least there’s thinkers out there somewhere
Bro really made a video targeted towards people with the attention span of a goldfish, and made it 40 minutes long
Jokes aside this is actually a really good video, and I'll be watching all of it.
Sometimes my attention span feels both long and short at the same time. I can watch a 1 and a half hour long youtube video but i multitask most of the time
@@FirstnameLastname-jd4uqfelt productive while watching this in picture in picture
It's gonna benefit those who can stand the 40 minute Challange
I just read the comments. They stuck in my heart enough to take some form of heed
lol yeah, the plan (kinda) was to make the video more stimulating in the beginning and slowly make it less stimulating over time. i want the message to be the most important thing but I can't reach many people without editting it unfortunately
This video makes me want to listen to my parents and read more books
yes do read more books. there's at least one book for everyone. and it could help expand your vocabulary
I think one of the most disappointing parts of this video was when I realized how much quality time I've missed out on with my family because of screens.
Audiobooks:
@@jack.20f74 Same thing exactly
Even I admit too spending time on social media is affecting us games were good I'd you don't have a addiction with it it's sad
30yo millennial here, growing up only "nerds" like me used computers or played video games, I was told I'm an internet addict, then witnessing the rise of smartphones and everyone becoming more and more zombie-like while I'm out there enjoying life feels SO surreal. The shift has been absolutely insane.
It's like people like "us" were able to slowly grow with the internet and how to use it, most people were just handed a smartphone and went wild.
Absolutely well-said. It's bizarre being told when you're younger to "get off that phone" or "get off those games" . So as you get older you eventually do liberate yourself a bit, and now everyone is glued! Including the adults who scorned you for it back then. It honestly feels like the bad ending.
Everyone used computers and played video games. You just don't know that cuz u didn't have normal people as friends. Lol.
I’m 24 but my parents are pretty old (born during the 50s), so they were much more troubled by the impact by things like smartphones and tablets on young people. They didn’t let me get any cellphone until i was 13 and it was a slide-phone and i didn’t get a smartphone or any social media accounts besides reddit until i was 18. I did start using a computer at around 3 years old though, and i spent a lot of time on it. I was a bit too plugged in as a n elementary school kid but i learned early on i had way more fun hanging out with friends away from home than i ever did on a computer. I’m very grateful for those choices my parents made since i see how other people i know were impacted by easy access to social media and smartphones from a young age and it’s not looking good.
@@uui219 you're delusional if you think everyone used computers AND played video games in the 90s
This is one of the best TH-cam vids I've ever watched, you outdid yourself man.
this video was everything that i’ve been thinking of ever since tiktok was changed, hence why i never downloaded it, yet i experience brain rot through other platforms and its sad. it’s hard to let go because it immediately makes you stick out like a sore thumb to your peers; i’ve realized that if i want to change i have to make the change and hopefully over time it’ll become a better lifestyle for me, i’ve lived for 17 almost 18 years and to hear that most human will most likely live as long as me digitally is depressing…it’s also sad to me to read comments and see everyone experiencing the same effect. just realize we aren’t broken yet and that we have the ability to make the change, the day that we lose that ability we lose our humanity…if you read this far thank you
Your good!! I hope to change my life around and be more motivated and energetic about life by not wasting time mindlessly scrolling on these apps as well
I think about this same thing all of the time... Every time I quit tiktok I feel so much FOMO and feel so out of the loop with the people my age and I HATE IT
Do or do not there is no try
Most important lesson to learn , is you don't have to follow the crowd. We feel like we do to fit into a society, but we aren't happy. There are people who will like things outside of social media and stuff just do what makes you happy and you will never regret life. Think about like this, when you are on your death bed remembering life would you remember "I managed to fit in with people but didn't get to do what I wanted with my life" or " okay maybe I didn't fit into society as well but I got to live my life how I wanted" choice is yours
I’ll forever hate tiktok for starting this shit, I remember refusing to download it and not only because of it being the way it is but because I remember some of their first ever ads on TH-cam being little girls belly dancing. They’re disgusting and I wish they never became a thing.
I wanna cut down on screen time, but then I realize that most of it is my phone being on playing a TH-cam video while I’m asleep
i turn off autoplay + low power mode so that my phone powers off once the video is over! :)
@@bingobutslow7722doesn’t help when I’m watching a 12 hr video on an obscure Irish video game
i think youtube is a little bit better because you can train your attention span if you find some random video without all the mr beast editing
if you have an iphone you can set a timer and in the section that says “when time ends” click and scroll down to “stop playing” so when your time ends it will close ur phone
@genbelcher Yeah, do that with Sleep Timer app on android.
keep it up, your channel truly deserves recognition
I'm not one to comment on youtube but I have to say I am very glad I came across this video. Watching this video has really gotten me to finally put that last piece together and understand what I've been trying to tell myself and that is just how terrible this constant stimulation is. The problem i've noticed is constant simulation is just so common now that unfortunately it makes it seem like it's the "normal thing to do" when it's not. I'm not great at expressing my feelings but recently i've been noticing how bad I feel after just non-stop scrolling while I know I could be doing literally anything else thats productive. It's a terrible feeling and I am now going to finally make that change. I will be coming back to this video. Thank you so much.
We needed this man. I can't believe we dug ourselves such a deep hole without even realizing it..
One substantial advice that works for me to reduce my brainrot is to make myself as self aware of my actions as possible.
"Do I REALLY have to watch this video?"
"What will I gain out of it?"
"Dose the information containing in the media I'm about to consume is important to myself at all?"
Etc.
what if you just wanna watch a video that will make you happy? Like something that makes you laugh? Does that count as something good (I mean long videos)
@@rettijensen351No it does not.
@@MrAndor982 boo. If I can't have fun then I don't care
:)
What to do if this doesn't work?
Tried that before. Ended up having a existential crisis
This video hits so hard, I am 23 years old as well and it's been the same journey growing up. Same iPhone 5c. Like being so aware of the issue but not stopping. Literally textbook of addiction and then we judge why drug addicts can't stop. I wish I knew you, in real life, so we could ponder these philosophies together. Thank you for the video.
this video needs worldwide attention.
this is the most motivating video i have ever watched.
@@Luvsikk- REALLL i needed this
brain rot is not a new thing, but its awesome to see awareness spreading about addiction but specifically digital addiction.
I've hated tiktok from the start because I get exposed to it just by being around other people who use it. Never installed it myself but lately I've found myself on yt shorts and I feel awful about it.
You inspired me so I will hide shorts from my feed and work on reducing screen time. Thank you!
I’m in the same boat. Anti-TT. Started looking at shorts on YT a couple weeks ago and yesterday I told myself I have to stop. Apparently I enjoy watching road-rage incidents. wtf is that about?! lol. It’s so awful to constantly fill my subconscious with that hateful (yet satisfyingly entertaining) content.
Makes my brain feel like a garbage can.
something i figured out through happenstance: if you turn off your watch history, YT shorts are effectively turned off. I have my search history disabled and if I go to the shorts tab there is only text telling me to turn it on in order to receive shorts.
same here. i never used tiktok because i know myself and i knew exactly how bad it would affect me if i got hooked on watching useless, endless 1-minute videos. and then every freaking site basically became tiktok and now im doomscrolling fucking youtube shorts
Oh god, we're on the same boat. Never installed tiktok, I knew instantly what shit that was. And now here I am, scrolling reels and shorts... Never had any problem with phone addiction before. Just a quick check of how my friends were doing, a watch of a video created by my fav youuber and that was all... And now? I know I should just delete those apps, but at the same time I want to keep in touch with my friends. Wish there was a way of just disabling short videos...
I used to watch TikTok, and now I watch TH-cam shorts, and it feels completely different. I feel like I can easily stop scrolling on yt shorts but time just flies by and I don’t feel like I can stop scrolling on tiktok. That’s when I realized how dangerous it is.
This is the kick up the backside that I've been doom scrolling for. It's amazing that I'm willing to spend nearly 2 days out of my week consuming utter garbage online, but yet my house is a mess, I don't eat properly, I'm behind at uni, and I haven't exercised in months. Thank you.
Fellow student here holding you accountable to keep bettering yourself. We got this!
This is the next series on our podcast "the effects of social media". Thank you for taking the time to dissect this entire phenomenon. Please continue this good works! Blessings to you!
I’m 80 years old and this inspired me to get out of bed and off my phone. My leg snapped and now I’m stuck in a hospital and spending more time on my phone than ever before.
Bro wtf 😂
You can afford to waste time on your phone
it's time to learn to knit 🫶
Let’s imagine for a second this is a real comment and not a joke; at 80 years old, does it really matter anymore?
^ Yall are all weird asf. Life doesn’t just end and stop around 80. If you always use it you ain’t gonna lose it. Take care of yourself properly and you’ll see plenty of healthy walking fit happy 80+ ppl.
this makes me want to cry looking back on how the internet has changed my life and the lives of people around me. Just… so empty.
Same. I cried watching this video
Thank you for making this video. Its a relief to see and hear someone my age with the same concerns. I want our generation to create great things, but it takes immense focus and boredom for ideas to become prosperous. Ive gone the extreme route and gotten a flip phone. My attention and time are precious and i wanted it to belong to me again. Much love, i hope we all achieve greatness.
I will be joining you in flipphone nation soon because I’ve got to crack down for school. I’ve been dreaming of running some kind of internet health club community catering to our generation in particular since I believe older genZ is in a special position to unify over all that we’ve seen growing up. Been toying with what kind of forum would be best for that though; youtube channel, website, webforum, etc…
Thank you so much for this video. I've felt my memory going for a while and felt extra dissatisfied lately, but when I look back I've had happy moments throughout the week that I wqs taking for granted. I'm working hard to limit my screen time so I can start using my mornings for pursuing my dreams. Thank you again for putting my life and habits into perspective
Honestly glad i watched the whole vid, and its very true. I grew up with the internet and still have it. Even as a child I asked myself, "whats the meaning? whats the purpose of this, just rotting away online doing nothing and achieving nothing." And lately for the past couple months I've noticed my brainfog/brainrot getting worse. Hardly any attention span, memory worsening, increasing insomnia, whatever. And I cant blame it all on the internet, but yeah thats one of the biggest problems. Its led up to my health worsening plus more and more bad addictions. And I've known I probably should just stop being online so much, but idk, this video helped me a little and opened my eyes more. And honestly I do need to focus on more important things obviously since being online alot really does fuck you up atleast a little. Gonna focus on stuff I rlly wanna do. Thx 4 this vid.
You nailed it right at the end. The mind needs focus to be kept healthy, that's literally what meditation is. Boredom is cardio for the brain.
Well said , I didn’t make it to the end but I need to hear this
Yeah this was the nail in the coffin. Gonna wean myself off tiktok, start putting time limits on app usage and shit. And I think. I think I'm going to go to the library again. I miss it. I'm going to clean my room! I'm going to make myself a proper meal. I'm going to read that stack of books I bought and never touched.
As for the video, I listened while fixing a hole in my pants. Got halfway through before I stopped and started listening in earnest. Like a good lecture that deserves your whole attention. I think I'm going to dig out my old CD player. Thanks dude, the video was great. You have a very nice voice that is hard to ignore. Everything was lovely and flowed. The Subway Surfers footage cracked me up.
10/10 you could publish this video essay
I hope you started going to the library! They not only offer books, but they usually offer cool free programs you can participate in.
@ Yeah the library is great. Hunkered down there for a few hours and somehow joined the seniors knitting group as a 20 year old man. 10/10 experience. Take part in your community there's always cool shit happening!
I have a lot of words to describe how much this video has made me reflect on myself and my life, but I'll just sum it up to, amazing video. Thank you for taking the time to make this. Life sure is beautiful when you build something you can call your own, and you've built a beautiful piece of work here. Subbed.
This is genuinely one of my favorite videos. It kinda woke me up a little and made me excited for the journey that I plan to go on with getting off my phone and accomplishing things in life. Thank you for making this.
Reject Brain Rot,
Embrace *Right ear the bible* (chinese)
*Left ear Mozart* (2x speed)
To those who doth claim it to be but a more grievous kind of Brain Rot, nay, it is the quintessence of cerebral restoration and healing, a confluence of two of the finest creations in art and literature, united into a singular, potent magnum opus. If thou canst not follow Mozart’s melodies played at double speed, thou must elevate thy prowess. Shouldst thou fail to grasp the wisdom imparted by the Holy Bible rendered in Chinese, then thou must needs acquire the tongue of Mandarin. ’Tis as simple as that: improve thyself, grow in might, and return hence when thou art prepared. 📖🗿🎧
so, reject brain rot and embrace brain rot x2 ?
@@Temptorvision brain healing & nourishment* (3x) 🫠
That's just a hood classic
I can never escape.
huh
Quit tik tok, start smoking, got it
Would be better for your mind...but not your physical health lol.
@@Kylemathews1Is Tik Tok good for your physical health? No, so it’s a *WIN!!!!*
no no no no no no
To vê honest, its less addictive for me.
I have paused for a smoke some times at work instead of scrolling and I did not get addicted to it. I never CRAVED a cigarette. Never could even smoke more than 1 on the same day.
But shorts/reels….. geez.
lowkey both are bad, but nicotine is easier to use while also working on other things
Lately I’ve been throwing myself into the brain rot so bad every chance i get even with a screen app blocker that I feel like I’m lacking imagination/creativity. Thank you for this video, I think during my breaks between studying/work I will try to fill the void by reading instead. I don’t even have hobbies because most of my time is consumed by doom scrolling… it’s just, I can’t stand it anymore tbh.
There's this guy I think about rather often, I had two of my most boring classes with him one semester, he was kind of a nerdy type, short, didn't talk to people much (or at all...), not necessarily conventionally attractive but I honestly found him kind of cute from just observing his little mannerisms. I really wanted to get to know him better, maybe I'd like him more romantically or even just making another friend sounded very nice. Problem is that I also kind of struggle with socializing, so starting conversations wasn't my strong-suit but Ig my attraction to him gave me some more willpower than usual lol
I managed to ask him for some notes and about how he ended up in the class we two were in, honestly I'd say I was doing pretty well actually starting conversations, but there was something about him I noticed. At that point I had started noticing this in people around me as a whole and myself included, but this guy was a severe case --- bro was EXTREMELY absent-minded and always on his phone. I think that that was one of the things that made him so unapproachable, everytime I'd turn in his direction he was doomscrolling, which I just had no idea how to go around. Every time I managed to speak with him was when he put his phone down, which wasn't often.
Now, maybe he just wasnt interested in talking, which is completely fair, so that was my assumption for a while, but then I remember looking in his direction again, I was standing behind him, and honestly kinda scummy of me but something on his phone caught my eye and I started straight up watching TikTok and TH-cam shorts with him, I have no idea how he didn't notice me. His FYP was filled with posts about loneliness and sometimes the occasional incel-leaning content of how it's so hard to get women in his day and age, but nothing too bad Ig. Some memes I chuckled at myself, still don't know how he didn't notice. Then he made a comment, I couldnt read all of it but it was one of those "I love the internet because its the only place where I get to hang out with people anymore, I have no irl friends" yadda-yadda
It made me want to straight up pat him on the back and ask to be my friend lol, still regret being a coward and not doing that. I never really saw that guy much after that interaction, he moved himself all the way across the classroom soon after bc he had a group project with some guys and it was closer to the back so he could doomscroll in peace. I never really intentionally went out of my way to interact with him again because everytime we did he just seemed at best uninterested and at most bothered.
Either way there was something so extremely ironic about watching a person I've been trying to make friends with type something like that. Everytime Im doomscrolling in any sort of seemingly boring setting I always try to remind myself that I may be doing the same thing that that guy was doing, unknowingly shutting myself out from any excitement while feeling bad for myself that there isn't any in my life. Truth is that any one of us could have been that guy and we just don't know how much we might have already missed simply by letting the phones take care of the silence when sometimes silence is what makes the louder moments more valuable.
Even when I'm alone honestly, there are many things that the world has to offer, you just need to have the willpower to let them in
(Btw Idk how to incorporate this into my story but theres this app called Opal (at least for Iphone) which helps u regulate screentime and I found it very helpful, goodbye)
we’re all sad and lonely creatures
wow i love your pfp
A lot of people nowadays are isolated like that. I guess it's just easier for most people to focus on how lonely they are instead of trying to find someone to talk to. Really insightful and interesting comment by the way!
Regulate my screentime? What am I, a child? I dont need that, lol. (proceeds to not improve at all with reducing screentime)
Not reading allat
🤦♂🤦♂🤣🤣
This is the best video explaining this issue i've ever watched. Every one of us nowadays with the internet gotta reflect somewhat on the things we do every day, especially those that are unconsciously done.
I love people like you, the outlook and ability to word this all out. It’s brings accountability to listeners,
The fact that I looked for a video to eat my breakfast to and that I came upon your video. Really did fix me a little.
Time to put the work in.