Social media algorithms are like a double-edged sword. But there is not only bad content, there is also no dearth of content that provides informative and healthy entertainment. Which of these you choose to watch depends on how big the risk of ‘brain rot’ is
Only a few days are left for the year 2024 to be lost in the pages of history. Not only will it be remembered for facing the horrors of war and pollution, it will also be remembered because this year the English word ‘brain rot’ was chosen as the ‘Oxford Word of the Year’. ‘Brain rot’ is defined as a deterioration in the mental or intellectual state of a person due to excessive consumption of allegedly substandard material. Nowadays it is used specifically to refer to low quality online content on the Internet.
By the way, ‘brain rot’ is not a new invention in the English language. Its first use was in 1854 in Henry David Thoreau’s book Walden. But, according to reports, there has been a huge jump in its use in the last one or two years. The use of the word is expected to increase by 230 percent between 2023 and 2024. In the digital age, due to the extraordinary popularity of various social media platforms and its negative impact, it is being used indiscriminately. The amount of time people are spending on social media today and the quality of content available to them during that time has become a cause of concern for sociologists. He believes that low quality content is hindering a person’s mental and intellectual development. There is no doubt that not only in India, but all over the world, people are spending more time than necessary reading and watching useless content. All types of obscene content, including porn, are easily available, legal efforts to ban it have failed. Discretion rather than law is more effective in using such available online material. But can this be expected from every section of society, especially teenagers or youth? This is the class that uses social media the most.
Today life without mobile phone is unimaginable for everyone. Due to internet access and availability of cheap or free data, social media has penetrated into every section of the society. The addiction of making reels and uploading them on platforms like Instagram has captured a large section of the society. The desire to get more and more ‘likes’ and ‘subscribers’ has made people crazy. Due to this desire they can go to any extent to make a reel. Because of this, the internet world is filled with useless content. The art of attracting people’s attention by showing off her body is no longer limited to models living in a metropolitan city. Now even housewives living in remote villages are seen dancing to obscene songs. Many women who make such reels today have more than one million followers.
Obviously, the reason behind this phenomenon is not just the desire to get cheap popularity overnight. It has its own economics. Social media has also become a source of income. People who were considered anonymous till yesterday, are today earning lakhs of rupees by becoming social media stars, content creators and influencers. People are liking his reels. Even if you don’t like it, it is not easy to avoid them. In the social media ecosystem, if someone accidentally sees any of their content, then their social media accounts will be flooded with similar content. Even if someone accidentally sees an obscene reel of a semi-nude dancer, then it does not take long for the ‘spies’ keeping a close eye on her social media account to understand what her interest is.
Such algorithms of social media are like a double-edged sword. This is just a medium between those who watch poor content and those who create poor content. The problem is also that when only indecent material is forwarded by friends and relatives on social media platforms like WhatsApp, then how to avoid the temptation of not watching it? But the more they see it, the more their risk of ‘brain rot’ will increase.
However, it would not be correct to say that every content available on social media is insignificant for the society. There is no dearth of such content here, which is not only informative but also provides healthy entertainment. For example, if someone ever reads a couplet of Ghalib there, then the five and a half inch screen of his mobile will become a platform for the Mushaira of poets from all over the world. So it completely depends on the consumer how he wants to watch the content. How big the risk of ‘brain rot’ is for you depends on what you choose to consume from the content available on social media.