Hey Friends,

Did you know that Oxford’s Word of the Year for 2024 is ‘brain rot’?

Although, ironically, ‘brain rot’ is actually two words.

But I digress.

​Oxford defines brain rot as: “the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging.” Oxford says that ‘brain rot’ moved into the spotlight because the term captures people’s concerns about the effects of consuming excessive amounts of low-quality content, especially through social media.

Whooo boi, I sure feel that… My phone is often the first thing I reach for when I wake up. And there’s almost something soothing about scrolling on my phone after a long and tiring day. Logically I know the algorithm is confining me to my isolated bubble of like-minded, vacuous content, but it’s so shiny, so hard to resist, so eeaaasssyyyy…

Dr. Peter Lin, CBC’s regular medical columnist and a family physician, discussed brain rot and social media use in a recent interview, and more to the point, how to tackle it.

He suggests that excessive social media use can lead to emotional dysregulation and social isolation. Research shows that the relentless barrage of information through the internet, from email to scrolling, is shortening our attention spans, weakening our memories, and distorting our cognitive processes. Interestingly, Merriam-Webster selected ‘polarization’ as its Word of the Year, which I’d argue is also affected by brain rot. Yoinks.

But, how to combat brain rot? Especially given the dire implications?

Dr. Lin recommends that we find ways to move from consumer to creative. He suggests focusing on “real” in-person connections, looking for ways to engage in critical thinking, and building our capacities for creativity.

And by gosh, Fair Players, is that not exactly what we’re doing here in our community?

So, my lovely friends, I wanted to share my plans for this coming January. The New Year is a time for reflection and hibernation and even developing some new patterns.

Starting in January, 2025, I am going to engage in a personal 4-week process - a Digital Reboot of sorts, a Combatting of Brain Rot, a Building of Creative Capacity. I welcome name suggestions for this venture!

What will this look like?

I will:

• start with a break from my smartphone for 48 hours (other than emergency calls)
• be strict about my technology use after those first two days, and
• take time to reflect on how I spend my hours and days, using my tool “Finding Your Work-Life Mix” (email me if you want the tool and I'll send it to you! Just hit ‘reply’!).

Next I will:

• re-scaffold some basic life patterns.

And slowly over the remaining time, I will:

• develop creative habits, and
• cultivate nurturing cultural connections.

My hope is that, while this process might be a bit of a shock (hello digital dependence!), it will also help me become aware of my patterns and build new ways of engaging with other people, the world, and myself. But more than that, my hope is that this will help generate a larger conversation about the importance of building creatively-thriving and humanly-sustainable lives and workplaces.

Each week I’ll share my plans with you, lovely community - what I plan to do in the upcoming week, as well as reflections on what’s just taken place. You can follow along! And you’re welcome to join me at home too, if that’s your jam. The first day will be January 6th.

I’ll email again in early January about my plans for the first week of the Reboot/Combatting/Capacity Building.

Have a terrifically restful and festive holiday, my friends!

Julia

Julia Gray, PhD

​Website | Instagram | LinkedIn​

• award-winning writer, researcher, teacher
• mentored hundreds of students & clients
• playwright, theatre creator
• chocolate devotee, Mum of 2, ex-bun-head

Looking for ways to build a creative and humanity-centred life or workplace?

• Download my freebie about building an awesome session, like a webinar or presentation (here!)
• Check out my mini-course Write with Confidence & Ease: a course for professional, where I share my proven framework to help you build your writing confidence and skill, and organize your ideas so you can connect with people clearly and authentically.
• Check out my thought leadership through my Substack, The Possibilities Project.

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