When Screens Rot the Mind: Reassessing Our Digital Consumption

Not all poison enters through the mouth. Some poison seeps in through the eyes and ears, quietly eroding clarity of thought. The term ‘brain rot’ is no longer just a joke on Gen Z timelines. The government has stepped in. Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs Meutya Hafid stressed that the social media industry, which has long treated Indonesian society merely as a market, needs stricter regulation following the issuance of Government Regulation Number 17 of 2025 concerning the Implementation of Electronic Systems in Child Protection. This regulation was not born without reason: the flood of shallow digital content has become a real threat to the cognitive and psychosocial quality of the younger generation. Data reinforces this concern. The Digital 2026 report from We Are Social recorded around 180 million active social media users in Indonesia, with average usage exceeding three hours a day. A Litbang Kompas survey in April 2025 even found that 13.6 percent of respondents admitted to experiencing psychological disturbances due to gadgets—ranging from difficulty concentrating to anxiety—with Generation Z as the most vulnerable group. This phenomenon is not merely a slang trend, but a signal that we are failing to manage our information intake. Many people are trapped in doomscrolling, endlessly scrolling through screens even though what they consume triggers anxiety and anger. The article notes that what we see and hear is not a trivial matter, as it shapes the way we think and behave towards others. We are so protective of our bodies: willing to pay a premium for organic food, routinely checking cholesterol, avoiding junk food. Yet this vigilance is rarely applied equally to the consumption of our eyes and ears. Social media algorithms are designed to hold attention for as long as possible, often by serving extreme emotional content rather than substance. We swallow provocative information whole without verifying its truth. The impact extends to the social realm. Excessive exposure to negative news lowers social trust and fuels polarisation. Citizens who are easily provoked emotionally are vulnerable to spreading hoaxes, while differences of opinion easily turn into hostility. If millions of citizens experience digital ‘indigestion’, the nation’s social stability and productivity are also threatened. Therefore, digital literacy must become a real habit, not just a clause in regulations. We need to honestly audit our emotional reactions after using social media—if all that remains is anxiety and anger, the algorithm is poisoning the mind. We also need digital hygiene by setting specific times to access news, curating fact-based information sources, and daring to be silent for a moment from digital noise to restore focus and clarity of heart. The presence of regulation is commendable as the state’s effort to protect the younger generation. However, rules will only be effective if they go hand in hand with individual awareness, because no article of law can enter the private space of every device screen. A fit body means little if the soul is constantly burdened with toxic information that damages the order of thinking. Mental health in the digital age is ultimately a collective responsibility—the state, platforms, and every user each bear their share.