Is AI Making Us Forget How to Think? The Real Cost of “Brain Rot"

Nov 7, 2025
3 min read

A person sits at a desk with books, surrounded by digital screens displaying icons and text. Blue glow, futuristic, focused mood.

Last spring, a Wharton professor, Shiri Melumad, gave 250 people a simple task: write advice to a friend on living a healthier lifestyle. Half of them used AI-generated summaries. The others used good old-fashioned Google Search.

The difference? Massive.

The AI group’s answers were painfully generic: “eat healthy,” “drink water,” “get sleep.”The search group, meanwhile, shared nuanced advice about physical, mental, and emotional wellness, actual insight, not copy-paste motivation.

So what’s happening here? Researchers say relying too much on AI tools is shrinking how deeply we think, and the result is what’s now being called “brain rot.”

The Rise of “Brain Rot” Culture

If you’ve spent time doom-scrolling TikTok or bouncing between ChatGPT tabs, you’ve probably felt it, that hazy, overstimulated feeling where nothing sticks. Oxford University even named “brain rot” the Word of the Year in 2024, describing the mental fog from constant, low-effort content.

This isn’t a new fear. Socrates once complained that writing itself would weaken memory. In 2008, The Atlantic asked, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?”Now, AI is the latest tech to take the blame. But this time, researchers are seriously concerned.

Why? National reading and comprehension scores are plummeting, especially among younger generations, and studies are finding links between screen-heavy lifestyles and lower cognitive performance.

What the Science Says

At MIT, scientists tracked 54 college students writing essays with and without ChatGPT.Those who used the chatbot showed the lowest brain activity during writing. Worse, one minute after finishing, 83% couldn’t remember a single line from what they wrote.

Meanwhile, students who wrote using their own thoughts could quote large portions verbatim.

The takeaway: when AI does the work, your brain doesn’t bother remembering. You lose ownership of your thoughts, and maybe even your curiosity.

Social Media’s Role in Cognitive Decline

Woman holding phone in front of city sunset skyline. Speech bubbles with tech icons and text appear, suggesting communication and AI themes.

The issue isn’t just AI. Social media is also taking a toll on attention spans and learning.

A major study by UC San Francisco tracked over 6,500 kids between the ages of 9-13.The results? Those who spent 1-3 hours a day on social media scored significantly lower on reading, memory, and vocabulary tests than those who used none.

Dr. Jason Nagata, who led the study, put it simply: “Every hour spent scrolling takes time away from more enriching activities like reading and sleeping.”

It’s not about demonizing social media, it’s about recognizing what it’s quietly replacing.

How to Use AI Without Losing Your Edge

Here’s the hopeful part: AI isn’t inherently bad for your brain; it’s how we use it.

The MIT researchers found something fascinating. When students who first wrote without AI later got to use ChatGPT, their brain activity actually increased. But the reverse wasn’t true; those who started with ChatGPT stayed mentally passive even after switching to solo writing.

The lesson? Use AI after you’ve thought through your ideas, not before. Treat it like a calculator: useful for refining, not replacing, your thinking process.

Healthy Habits for a Smarter Digital Life

If you’re feeling mentally drained by constant screens, try these small resets:

Write before you search. Think through your ideas before asking AI to help.
Scroll intentionally. Set time limits or use “focus” modes to avoid endless swiping.
Create screen-free zones. No phones in bed or during meals, your brain needs downtime.
Read something long-form. Articles, books, essays, anything that stretches your attention.
Reflect before you post. Ask: Does this add value, or am I just filling space?