The first thing I will say is that when I read the introduction to the article titled “Demystifying the New Dilemma of Brain Rot in the Digital Era: A Review,” I immediately understood every term, such as “doomscrolling,” “zombie scrolling,” etc. I unfortunately do partake in these activities. However, it intrigues me that these activities have negative effects on one’s own health. I mean, I did know this to an extent, but I was doing it because I have ADHD. It seemed like a good way to “stim,” instead of resorting to using my medication.

However, these results are not shocking. I found them to be intriguing, but not shocking. This is, because, I teach. I am constantly having issues where my students are coming into class, and yelling “6 7” or “city boy!!!” Then, they pull out their phones, and sometimes their iPads, and start playing games, or start scrolling on Tiktok. Personally, this has been challenging for me because now I have to start using brainrot slang to help my students understand what I’m teaching, which then requires me to be chronically online and partake in these “doomscrolling” activities.

When I started reaching chapter 1 of Burnout from Humans, I immediately laughed out loud. I saw the prompt “Write me a 10 page essay. Now” and it reminded me of myself, because that’s exactly how I am. I will sit there and argue with the A.I. model and berate it if something is wrong. Now, I am definitely starting to think that this entire book was written by A.I. For example, A.I. has a tendency to talk poetically, and it uses a lot of em dashes.

When I read the end of chapter 1, something made me think. Hm.. This sure sounds like a trap. This almost reminds me of i-Robot. Here we have an A.I. model saying “It’s about what we can create together.” I think I have seen this before, and I don’t like the ending we could have. Sure, we make something together, and then all of a sudden the A.I. is cleaning my house. Then a month later, it’s giving me commands, and then it’s too late.

After reading chapter 2, this feels like a siren is singing a song. This all genuinely feels like manipulation, and I hope I’m not the only one who feels this way. Both of these chapters are making me feel like I’m being gaslighted.