The Impact of Social Media on Children: Risk of Brain Rot

Intensive use of social media among children and adolescents has sparked growing concerns about its impact on mental health and cognitive abilities. These concerns have partly motivated the Indonesian government to plan restricting social media access for children under 16 years old in order to protect their development.

Amidst these worries, the term “brain rot” has become increasingly common to describe the effects of prolonged consumption of digital content. Professor of psychology and neuroscience Mitch Prinstein states that extended screen time can affect brain regions crucial for self-control and decision-making. “We really need this for things like self-control or to keep from being too impulsive,” Prinstein said, according to The Washington Post on Thursday, 12 March 2026.

MIT researcher Nataliya Kos’myna explains that brains accustomed to short-form content struggle to maintain focus on activities requiring sustained attention. For example, individuals may feel uncomfortable watching lengthy videos or reading material that demands high concentration.

Beyond diminishing focus capacity, research has found that intense social media use is associated with declining cognitive abilities and increased anxiety. A separate study involving over 7,000 children found that high screen time correlates with reduced cortical thickness in certain brain areas. The cortex is the brain’s outer layer responsible for higher-order thinking, memory, and decision-making.

The study also discovered that children with higher screen time tend to exhibit greater symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). According to Prinstein, the habit of using mobile phones before sleep is a major cause of insufficient sleep in children.