These days, society seems to be changing faster than it used to. Trend culture pushes the pop culture train, as a new public interest emerges weekly, like cargo. This fast-paced drop off of new concepts in the media has noticeably affected behavior, especially in the case of attention spans.
IACET reports that the average human attention span has declined to 8.25 seconds. It is important to acknowledge the malignant cause of shortening attention spans, which you might be more familiar with than you think.
The term “brainrot” is autological and is often used in online spaces to describe low effort or nonsensical content negatively. Brainrot can come in many different forms. Some properties of brainrot content are bright colors, familiar children’s characters, and quick jump cuts between scenes. The use of such elements is intentional and has been proven to engage young minds.
Brainrot, at least the idea behind it, is not a new thing. The internet has always been filled with ridiculous content that captivates and dulls the masses, but social media and cellphones have exacerbated the issue exponentially.
Some of the most well-known content can include subjects like Italian brainrot, children’s characters, and media that is trending. Media like “K-Pop Demon Hunters”, “Wednesday”, and “Squid Games” have been recent subjects to re-purposing characters for such content, but before that, it was popularly “Frozen” and “Spider-Man”.
Because of its child-like nature, parents are quick to assume that this content is healthy for their children when in reality, harsh dangers lie underneath the over-consumption of brainrot.
There are many reasons as to why children should avoid certain “children’s content” on social media. Most of the time, anyone can upload a video to social media. Just because a video features other children or kindly written children’s characters does not mean that the video is safe for consumption.
The National Library of Medicine states that short-form video addiction not only directly impacts academic procrastination but also has an indirect effect on academic procrastination through attentional control. Furthermore, the mediating effect of attentional control was contingent upon individuals’ boredom proneness. Quick jump cuts and fast imagery also contribute to shortened attention spans.
Disney Pixar’s upcoming film, “Toy Story 5”, seems to be centered around this very concern. Though the film is not out yet, it appears the villain of the story isn’t a disgruntled toy or an ominous adult; it’s a tablet. The well-known protagonists of Woody the cowboy and Buzz Lightyear the space ranger – and all the rest of the beloved franchise characters – are not finding themselves in a battle against corruption, but instead a battle for attention.
How can simple toys ever compete against that ever-present glowing screen?
Who needs imagination when there’s a never-ending stream of content to consume?
Many videos that feature children and other children’s characters can still promote negative messages. Subjects like pranks, infidelity, and other adult themes are commonly spoken about and depicted in brainrot content. One YouTube title reads “Wednesday Addams Is Pregnant!” Another reads “Spider-Man VR WIFE CHEATS AND IS CAUGHT”.
These are inappropriate for young minds, but the creators use the well-known kids’ properties to circumvent
Kids of younger ages soak up information like a sponge, good or bad. Parents should consider how such content will affect the shaping and molding of a child’s mind and sense of self, as well as their behavior.
The National Library of Medicine also writes that 21.0% of children started using YouTube before age 4, with the most common onset age being 8–9 years (30.3%). These children used YouTube on average 4.8 days per week for 68.5 min per day.
Parenting is not the easiest task, especially in current times. Adults in America struggle to provide for their families in the middle of a fluctuating economic crisis. Although finding common family time is difficult for the average American, an iPad cannot, and should not, raise a child. In the midst of all the chaos happening in the world, there’s been a loss of care for raising the future generations.