Technology could ‘take over’ as kids IQs drop due to brain rot

Studies show that YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram, all types of social media can negatively affect your IQ! They can also decrease your attention span and impact your mental health!

BRAIN ROT
Generation Alpha has had a massive drop in IQ compared to other generations.

Brain rot is to blame! Brain rot is content on the internet that is poor quality. Kids are spending hours on YouTube watching brain rot. It holds you back from improving schoolwork because you start to believe the things you see and hear are true.

Watching brain rot can be fun and can tune out stress which is why it is popular with kids. Lots of the clips are funny, goofy and entertaining, so you end up glued to your screen. The clips are short and fast paced, so you let one scroll into the next one and next thing you know you have been watching an hour of brain rot!

A behaviour that can contribute to brain rot obsession is “doomscrolling”- if you don’t know what doomscrolling is, it is basically spending long periods of time on the negative news and goofy brain rot clips. It can be very addictive!

Studies show that too much screen time can drain your mental health.

SLEEP ROUTINE
Sleep routine can be affected by your technology usage. Using your tablet, phone and any device, to check your emails, scroll through media or playing a game can be addictive and sidetrack you from going to bed at the right time. The average sleep needs for a teenager is 8-10 hours but for six to 12-year-olds it’s 9-11 hours, so it is important to disconnect early. Watching too much during the day can also make you feel tired before your bedtime, it lowers your energy levels and can make you feel annoyed, grumpy and give you sore eyes. Technology will ruin your sleep. So, once you go to bed the blue light kicks in. It just alerts your brain and tricks your mind to think it is daytime.

EFFECTS FROM DEVICES
Too much screen time, especially smart phone usage can indeed hurt the brain. It can cause difficulty organising information, solving school problems, making decisions and recalling information. Blue light at night can really hurt your eyes. It will disrupt your natural circadian rhythms which are important for healthy sleep patterns. This can give you headaches, dizziness, nausea and drowsiness. The circadian system is when your brain processes if it is day or night. Circadian system plays an important role in preventing health problems like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, sleep disorders, cancer and cognitive dysfunctions, which is loss of intellectual functions such as thinking and reasoning.

AI TAKEOVER
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is slowly taking over the world because of machines becoming so advanced that AI can hack into any computer networks and take control of systems like power grids. AI could cause significant harm to humans if it malfunctions. It could also lead to emotional problems like you can’t earn money because it’s taking your job, so imagine when you go on technology and use AI, and you do it every single day! Having AI take over the world would be a horrible mistake. Humans’ brains aren’t as smart as Artificial Intelligence.

So, there is no doubt that technology is taking over, and not in a good way. Brain rot is decreasing our IQ, screen addiction is preventing us from getting good sleep and impacting our mental health and AI could take away our job opportunities. So don’t stay on devices, do something productive like sport or read a book.

Sources:

• Staff, N. I. (2024). Brain Rot: The Impact on Young Adult Mental Health. Newport

Institute. Retrieved November 19, 2024 from https://www.newportinstitute.com/

resources/co-occurring-disorders/brain-rot/

• Cherry, K., & Msed. (n.d.). How Your Cell Phone Might Affect Your Brain. Verywell

Mind. Retrieved November 19, 2024 from https://www.verywellmind.com/how-do-

smartphones-affect-the-brain-2794892

• Health, C. (2022). How blue light affects your eyes, sleep, and health. Cultivating-

health. Retrieved November 12, 2024 from https://health.ucdavis.edu/blog/

cultivating-health/blue- light-effects-on-your-eyes-sleep-and-health/2022/08

• Pesen, D. (2023). Will AI – Artificial Intelligence Take Over The World? – Tech

Business News. Tech Business News. https://www.techbusinessnews.com.au/

opinion/could-artificial-intelligence-take-over-the-world/.

Please note: Images were added to this Junior Journo competition entry by Kids News editors and minor edits applied as per publishing requirements and editorial guidelines on the site.