ReviewCurrent psychiatry reports2026
'Brain Rot' Among University Students in the Digital Age: A Phenomenological Study.
Review in Current psychiatry reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Mindfulness-based interventions in psychopedagogy for students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): a scoping review.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Pooled it
- Investigating the Impact of Fast-Paced Digital Content, Social Media Engagement, and Lifestyle Factors on Attention, Cognitive Load, and Behavioral Impulsivity: A Machine Learning Approach.Brain and behavior · 2026Article
- Nomophobia and Adolescent Social Isolation in a Rapidly Transforming Cultural Context: Evidence From Kyrgyzstan.Public health challenges · 2026Article
- Digital personas of AI use in nursing education: a latent class analysis of learning behaviors and academic engagement.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
1 author.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purpose of reviewThis study uses a phenomenological approach to explore how university students perceive and experience "brain rot," a digital-age phenomenon marked by cognitive decline, attention deficits, and emotional desensitization from prolonged exposure to low-quality digital content. RECENT
findingsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 university students selected through maximum variation sampling, and data were analyzed using Moustakas' phenomenological method. Findings showed that students associated brain rot with reduced productivity, poor concentration, and impaired decision-making. They reported that low-quality digital content harmed academic performance, caused social isolation, and evoked inadequacy, while coping through self-regulation strategies such as exercise, digital detox, and mindfulness. Ultimately, this study provides the first qualitative evidence of how university students experience brain rot as a result of exposure to low-quality digital content and offers a unique and in-depth conceptual framework regarding its impact on individual and academic life in the digital era.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.