The Oxford Word of 2024 was declared to be ‘brain rot.’ What actionable solutions does a 19th-century hermit offer us to curb this modern social contagion?
Just don’t give your kids a screen, just don’t. While we do let them watch movies or shows occasionally, they’ve never had tablets or phones (now 6 & 8). Not on drives either. They get plenty of tablet time at school but they are smart, curious, great readers and are able to let their minds wander. We also have great conversations as a family. It can be done and it’s worth it.
Wholeheartedly agree with you Robbe! So far my wife and I seem to be upholding that with our three year old but I assume that’ll be more challenging as he ages. I’m hopeful though. Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts.
Great article Justin. Love how you connected the line between today's brain rot to yesterday's. I too had a similar experience as Henry Thoreau. Changed everything for me.
My first read of yours, and I enjoyed it. Thanks for your writing and thinking on these topics. I’ve saved a few more articles to read in the coming days.
Couldn't agree more! I enjoyed this post. It's difficult to balance life and the digital world, especially now with all that easy access at your fingertips. but I always remind myself that I'm not living in that space :) Digital is not my reality :)
There is much to think about in this post, especially thinking about brain rot in Thoreau’s time vs our time. No generation is free from brain rot, regardless the time they’ve grown up in. Industrialization definitely seems to have spearheaded it, however. Thank you for sharing, I’m going to sit with this for a bit.
This post fits right into my current writing. I couldn’t agree more. Intentionality and mindfulness takes us to the heart of what matters. Thanks! I’m saving this for future reference.
You provide much to contemplate in this post. The phrase "lives of quiet desperation" is both impactful and depressing. Modern technology provides us with ever increasing ways to fill our hours. While I agree with your premise, I'll take a contrarian view for the purposes of discussion. How much worse is it for a child to spend hours playing a non-violent video game as opposed to shooting a basketball in the driveway? President George H.W. Bush spent significant amounts of time growing and maintaining his network by hand writing notes to others. How different is that from someone today maintaining a network through social media?
I’d say it’s less to do with a particular activity and more so the duration and attention to specific activities and what the tradeoffs are. In the video game/basketball example, spending an hour or two on a rainy day playing a video game seems perfectly reasonable. However, the longer your mind gestates in a video game or online world at the expense of other pro-social, physical, and mental activities, the more one’s body, mind, and social skills tend to atrophy.
With the handwriting versus online communication, I think there is something distinct in corresponding with handwriting. That feels more deliberate to me and arguably a better act of gratitude to take the time to write to someone. I think we all probably notice that when we receive a card in the mail, it feels a little more special that someone went out of their way to think of you than receiving a text message. But this one’s also more ambiguous because online communication allows for a scale of societal discussion that is unimaginable if we were all still corresponding by mail. Even this small correspondence would quickly feel tedious if we had to do this via snail mail. Haha.
In regards to the shooting baskets/playing a video game example, both are solitary activities (although both can probably be social with the addition of a second person), and successful outcomes in either endeavor require effective concentration. Excessive hours of either activity might involve a deterioration in social skills and many body and mind skills. Shooting baskets emphasizes gross motor skills while playing a video game involves fine motor skills. Of the two activities, I'm partial to shooting baskets which reflects my age and my innate concerns about hours spent staring at a screen. I do wonder if video game playing leads to better drone piloting if we go to war.
I agree that hand written notes have evolved from the historical norm to a "special" form of communication in this day and age. I'll maintain that hours spent writing notes or personally communicating via electronic means are pretty much the same other than the patience factor required with traditional, mailed correspondence.
“Chance favors a prepared mind”, I love that. Have been experimenting recently with holding time and space to experience “boredom” - so no distractions, no media of any kind, not even a notebook in which to record thoughts… Just sort of inviting “boredom” to settle in, and see what happens. I have a feeling it actually can be a key ingredient of creativity and inspiration.
Just don’t give your kids a screen, just don’t. While we do let them watch movies or shows occasionally, they’ve never had tablets or phones (now 6 & 8). Not on drives either. They get plenty of tablet time at school but they are smart, curious, great readers and are able to let their minds wander. We also have great conversations as a family. It can be done and it’s worth it.
Wholeheartedly agree with you Robbe! So far my wife and I seem to be upholding that with our three year old but I assume that’ll be more challenging as he ages. I’m hopeful though. Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts.
Great article Justin. Love how you connected the line between today's brain rot to yesterday's. I too had a similar experience as Henry Thoreau. Changed everything for me.
Thank you Brandon! Thrilled to hear this feedback. Cheers! 😊
Great idea for a Substack here! Solid post as well.
My first read of yours, and I enjoyed it. Thanks for your writing and thinking on these topics. I’ve saved a few more articles to read in the coming days.
Thrilled to hear this. Thank you Nate! 😊
Couldn't agree more! I enjoyed this post. It's difficult to balance life and the digital world, especially now with all that easy access at your fingertips. but I always remind myself that I'm not living in that space :) Digital is not my reality :)
There is much to think about in this post, especially thinking about brain rot in Thoreau’s time vs our time. No generation is free from brain rot, regardless the time they’ve grown up in. Industrialization definitely seems to have spearheaded it, however. Thank you for sharing, I’m going to sit with this for a bit.
I have been semi-obsessed with some of Thoreau's words for many years. I like the main picture.
This post fits right into my current writing. I couldn’t agree more. Intentionality and mindfulness takes us to the heart of what matters. Thanks! I’m saving this for future reference.
Thrilled to hear this Rachel! Thank you! 😊
You provide much to contemplate in this post. The phrase "lives of quiet desperation" is both impactful and depressing. Modern technology provides us with ever increasing ways to fill our hours. While I agree with your premise, I'll take a contrarian view for the purposes of discussion. How much worse is it for a child to spend hours playing a non-violent video game as opposed to shooting a basketball in the driveway? President George H.W. Bush spent significant amounts of time growing and maintaining his network by hand writing notes to others. How different is that from someone today maintaining a network through social media?
I’d say it’s less to do with a particular activity and more so the duration and attention to specific activities and what the tradeoffs are. In the video game/basketball example, spending an hour or two on a rainy day playing a video game seems perfectly reasonable. However, the longer your mind gestates in a video game or online world at the expense of other pro-social, physical, and mental activities, the more one’s body, mind, and social skills tend to atrophy.
With the handwriting versus online communication, I think there is something distinct in corresponding with handwriting. That feels more deliberate to me and arguably a better act of gratitude to take the time to write to someone. I think we all probably notice that when we receive a card in the mail, it feels a little more special that someone went out of their way to think of you than receiving a text message. But this one’s also more ambiguous because online communication allows for a scale of societal discussion that is unimaginable if we were all still corresponding by mail. Even this small correspondence would quickly feel tedious if we had to do this via snail mail. Haha.
What are your thoughts on those two scenarios?
In regards to the shooting baskets/playing a video game example, both are solitary activities (although both can probably be social with the addition of a second person), and successful outcomes in either endeavor require effective concentration. Excessive hours of either activity might involve a deterioration in social skills and many body and mind skills. Shooting baskets emphasizes gross motor skills while playing a video game involves fine motor skills. Of the two activities, I'm partial to shooting baskets which reflects my age and my innate concerns about hours spent staring at a screen. I do wonder if video game playing leads to better drone piloting if we go to war.
I agree that hand written notes have evolved from the historical norm to a "special" form of communication in this day and age. I'll maintain that hours spent writing notes or personally communicating via electronic means are pretty much the same other than the patience factor required with traditional, mailed correspondence.
“Chance favors a prepared mind”, I love that. Have been experimenting recently with holding time and space to experience “boredom” - so no distractions, no media of any kind, not even a notebook in which to record thoughts… Just sort of inviting “boredom” to settle in, and see what happens. I have a feeling it actually can be a key ingredient of creativity and inspiration.