Everyone seems to have a hunch that their phone is destroying their attention span, but is there any science to back it up?

In episode one of Brain Rot, we’re doing our best to focus on the topic of attention for a full 25 minutes — and find out what's actually happening in your brain every time your phone buzzes or dings.

Is brain rot a real thing? Or just another moral panic?

And how do you know when your own screen use has gone too far?

This episode originally aired on Brain Rot, a series of the ABC podcast Science Friction. Sana will be back with all-new episodes of All in the Mind in mid-October.

Guests:

Anna Seirian

CEO, Internet People

Dr Mark Williams

Professor, Macquarie University; Cognitive neuroscientist

Michoel Moshel

Clinical Neuropsychologist Registrar; Phd Candidate, Macquarie University

Professor Marion Thain

Professor of Culture and Technology, University of Edinburgh; Director, Edinburgh Futures Institute

Credits:

• Presenter: Ange Lavoipierre
• Producer: Fiona Pepper
• Senior Producer: James Bullen
• Sound Engineer: Brendan O'Neill

More information:

Neuropsychological Deficits in Disordered Screen Use Behaviours: A Systematic Review and Meta‑Analysis - Neuropsychology Review, 2024.

Do we have your attention? How people focus and live in the modern information environment - King's College London, 2022.

Internet addiction-induced brain structure and function alterations: a systematic review and meta-analysis of voxel-based morphometry and resting-state functional connectivity studies - Brain Imaging and Behavior, 2023.

You can catch up on more episodes of the All in the Mind podcast with journalist and presenter Sana Qadar, exploring the psychology of topics like stress, memory, communication and relationships on the ABC Listen app (Australia) or wherever you get your podcasts.

If you'd like to access the transcript for this episode, head to its original webpage.