I know, it’s an absolute shit show right now, and it’s hard to keep our emotions in check, but there is something we can address – the causes of brain rot and what we can do about it. The term brain rot was the Oxford Word of the Year in 2024 and it means: (n.) Supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as a result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging. Also: something characterized as likely to lead to such deterioration.
Here is a great piece discussing how we overcome it – An antidote to brain rot (according to a neuroscientist). In the article, the author Julie Fratantoni, PhD, explains that the word is slang to describe:
- Feeling foggy or distracted
- Reduced ability to focus
- Drained mental energy and clarity
- Lack of motivation for meaningful tasks
While most peri/menopausal women could relate to these symptoms, as well as people who’ve had Covid a couple of times, the meaning here is around that fact that if you’re spending too many hours scrolling social media, brain rot is likely to set in. How to tackle it?
- Rest
- Regulate emotions
- Resist instant gratification
- Reflect (critical thinking)
Here are four examples from this week that I believe contribute to brain rot.
The first is the news that Nicole Kidman filed for divorce from Keith Urban. The absolute shite circulating on social media about why this happened is completely out of control and sickening. None of us know these two personally, we have absolutely no idea what went on behind closed doors, this is an intensely personal experience between two people and their family, so why are we so addicted to gossiping about it? It’s cruel, dishonest and contemptible. Frankly, I find it all pathetic.
Then we have the whole Emma Watson/JK Rowling “fight”. Honestly, I feel embarrassed for both of them seeing this playing out in the public eye. It is undignified and I place it at the feet of JK Rowling. I used to think she was untouchable due to her positive impact on the world, these days, not at all – Emma Watson speaks about JK Rowling rift: ‘I hope I can keep loving people I don’t share the same opinion with’ | Film | The Guardian.
Kieran Culkin got slammed after asking his wife at the Oscars for another baby. Well apparently, she was already pregnant at that time, but the keyboard warriors went to town anyway. Why do people care so much about other people’s lives? Stop with the judgemental, cancel culture bullshit, please – Kieran Culkin’s Wife Jazz Charton Pregnant At Oscars.
This is a different take on the examples I’m providing, but a story broke about the AI actor, Tilly Norwood. One reason I don’t see this as a real threat to actors is she won’t have any gossip for people to share. No love life to disentangle, no weight gain or weight loss to criticize, no poor judgement to be dissected by bored people, etc… – Hollywood celebrities outraged over new ‘AI actor’ Tilly Norwood – BBC News.
Seriously, what really bothers me about all of this is the critical issues don’t get anywhere near the same level of attention. Who cares? We’d rather stitch and bitch about people we don’t even know.
Look, just so you know, I’m absolutely 100% against gossip. I hate it and when people gossip around me, I call it out. It’s something I’ve been very explicit about in raising my kids too. I hate it. I appreciate that speaking up against gossip and trash media is a fight I will never win, but at least we can recognize that scrolling through bollocks on social media, listening to horrid commentary about other people’s lives, and being part of these discussions is not serving us.
I fully appreciate that people want to be distracted from ugliness, I get it, but this is a distraction that harms us. Let’s take control and get our lives and brains back. Don’t click the click bait. Don’t feed this terrible industry. It’s preying on people. We can be better than that.
When it comes to the worst gossip, without question the British Royal family gets a shellacking. I find it so disgusting how people speak about any of them, especially the women in the family.
Talking of women in the British Royal family, how’s this for irony? Duchess Fergie has lost everything because of her association with Jeffrey Epstein. So, we have Ghislaine Maxwell in prison, Fergie has lost everything, and yet, the only men who have suffered from association with Epstein are academics who happened to be on the island for real reasons. No “famous” men have suffered any blowback, and we have Elon Musk, Steve Bannon, Peter Thiel and Prince Andrew all named in the Epstein files. I don’t see them losing anything. The hypocrisy is outstanding.
And here’s some more shit, showing the world we live in! No wonder no one knows what to believe anymore.
In the meantime, the important stuff that needs our attention isn’t getting it. For example:
- Climate change is messing with global wind speeds, impacting planetary health
- World’s major cities hit by 25% leap in extremely hot days since the 1990s
- Study finds wildfires are now four times more frequent due to climate change
- ‘Listen to the cry of the Earth’: Pope Leo takes aim at climate change sceptics
- Colon cancer is on the rise among young people – and research points to one major culprit
- Our world is hurtling into climate disaster and what do politicians give us? Oilfields and new runways
- Environmental damage is putting European way of life at risk, says report
We also saw the release of the EAT-Lancet report: which shows that food production is the primary driver for breaching FIVE of the nine planetary boundaries and accounts for around 30 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, while billions still lack access to healthy diets. We MUST change how we eat.
Thinking of the people impacted by climate extremes, as well as earth’s rumblings, there is a lot of suffering right now, including in the Philippines, Indonesia, Bulgaria, and Vietnam, all the way through to the young protestors dying in Morocco. GenZ is rising and that scares governments. It gives me hope.
In the meantime, all we hear about is growth, growth, growth, and while we need to secure an economic future, if we keep growing as we are – which means doubling our economies over the next 20 or so years – can you imagine what that looks like?
Whether nature delivers it, or we screw it up, an economic crash is coming, one way or the other. According to Deutsche Bank, AI might be the culprit – Deutsche Bank Issues Grim Warning for AI Industry.
If you want to get your head around an economy that services us AND nature, the latest iteration from the Doughnut Economics Action Lab, by Kate Raworth, is out, and this is a must read. We need a new economic model and she is leading the way – The Evolving Doughnut | DEAL.
A couple of other AI stories in the news this week:
- OpenAI Is Preparing to Launch a Social App for AI-Generated Videos | WIRED
- Stuffing AI Into Everything Is Backfiring Spectacularly
One of our greatest threats are the tech bros (or the Nerd Reich), and Palantir is EVERYWHERE! Honestly, we must push back on this, so please, watch this video, and read this article too ‘WHAT WILL JESUS SAY?’: TONY BLAIR, BIG TECH AND THE ISRAEL CONNECTION. In all my life, I never thought Tony Blair would be “Jesus”… but there we go.
Oh and SubStacker’s, apparently it’s a Nerd Reich asset too – The Substack Dilemma: How Creators Are Inadvertently Fueling America’s Failure.
My quick take-aways from the video
- Automated warfare – leads to immense number of civilian deaths, destruction, and mistakes
- Hollywood style advertising
- It’s all about producing a vibe – it’s dark and appealing to a sense of danger
- Taps into fear
- Palantir is a data company – it collects, interprets and automates information
- It’s message is the West has a culture of complacency
- It’s founders – Co-Founder and CEO Alex Karp, Co-Founder and Chairman Peter Thiel – are steeped in the philosophy of language, information, and how these tools can be weaponized
- It’s a clash of civilizations narrative
- In their marketing/branding – they are hype men, considered defence influencers
- They make outrageous claims, the world is in crisis
- Techno militarism is sweeping Silicon Valley
- It’s a sleek start-up aesthetic, but for war
- They are playing an active political role, even in genocide
There’s so much else I could draw your attention to, including the potential for peace in Gaza (I’m very wary of this), the US government shut down and the role of Project 2025 which Trump now claims, how tech is bending the knee to authoritarianism, the Synagogue attack in Manchester, and so much more (click through to the world news section below for more), but I want to leave you with this discussion on the military meeting in the US, which I found completely cringe. This discussion is a sane reflection.
Well said!
I really appreciate that this is an emotionally intense time. I am feeling it too and some days are hard to face, but we must stand up, speak up and fight. We can not let this group of buffoons lead us. This is not an American issue; it’s insidious tentacles are infecting our societies everywhere.
Please, do not back down. We are fighting for our kids and grandkids future. They deserve everything we have. If 87-year-old Jane Fonda can fight, so can we. Let her be your inspiration. In the meantime, get your pirate flag out!!
Visual storytelling
Chortle, Baby Boohoo
It’s pretty straight forward, no?
So cringe
This seems a long long time ago, bit this also happened this week
I’m sure this is happening in a lot of houses right now across the US
Such an incompetent man
Indeed
Always listen to the ladies
And then of course, we have this piece of news. Apparently, you can’t have living people on coins. Maybe he’s had a premonition?
My content and my friends
It was wonderful having newly minted 30 year old Alexander (Sasha) Thilmany to give us the millenial view of the polycrisis. We must listen to each other, it’s absolutely critical.
We lost a GREAT lady this week, a lady who expressed herself with love and compassion. Let’s all seek to leave a legacy worthy of Jane Goodall as we fight for a live-able future for all life on earth.
A reminder, I’ve set up an information resources section, which collects content on all these very relevant topics every week. Use it when you want to do a deep dive. It’s updated regularly.
Dig into the news
As always, there’s plenty more to read, listen to or watch, so do click through to the reads at the image below, and a reminder, this platform has articles going back weeks, so have a scan and read/watch/listen to whatever jumps out at you.
Let me know what caught your attention? Or share with me what has your attention now? There’s a lot going on, which means none of us can cover everything. Besides, it’s always great to get feedback so I know I’m delivering something of value.
Cheers
Andrea
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