đź”— Brain Rotting Technology by Tommy Blanchard of Cognitive Wonderland

The language of addiction and brainrot focuses us on the wrong things. Instead of being a useful device that we should be mindful of, people think of phones as inherently harmful, as necessary evils they have to use. But the truth is they’re just devices that bring a lot of benefits. I can pull out a phone and capture a picture of my kids while they’re playing, share that with my parents who live in another country, increasing the closeness we feel despite being geographically far away. I can instantly look up any information, make friends with people on the other side of the globe, take care of small tasks, get directions to anywhere I could possibly want to be. Phones are great. Recognizing the actual downsides, not the made-up ones, allows us to reap the benefits while mitigating the downsides.

I really like this.

Often when I see other people using their phones or laptop computers at coworking spaces, I become acutely aware of how large the spectrum of things is that you can do or engage with on these devices.

You can watch “hold my beer” and cat videos, or physics lectures on YouTube. It’s right there, sort of adjacent to each other. It’s a choice. Or it should be. And if you feel that it no longer is for you, then that’s something to be concerned about, no doubt.

Then there’s also the fact that it is totally legitimate to watch “hold my beer” and cat videos, too. You may have been working hard for hours and now you just want some light entertainment that makes you giggle.

I guess what I am trying to say is: you never know the exact context, therefore don’t over-generalize or become judgmental.