I see a lot of people blaming tiktok and “brain rot” content for the increasing ADHD diagnoses, but I think its a matter of better detection, similar to how OCD and autism diagnosis have increased too.
Also as someone with ADHD, it feels like shit that it could be “my fault” or that I have brainrot.
ADHD is, as I understand it with my shitty, distantly earned BS in psychology, congenital and not acquired. You can’t just “catch” ADHD, your brain was born with a neurochemical issue - not that I understand neuroscience well, but the dopamine isn’t doing its job of keeping your thoughts on target, hence why only immediately rewarding things seem to be possible sometimes.
There are a lot more diagnoses of late, but I’ve read that part of it is the war on drugs making the Rx systematically scarce so it’s just easier to blame people for seeking care rather than addressing the systemic issues. Sort of akin to blaming the consumer for climate change.
TikTok is probably not helping, and it is easy to become addicted. This is a separate matter however.
The rates are also increasing. Not just better detection.
RCCX Theory.
you cant really cause adhd but Theres are a lot of people on tiktok that want to be mentally ill, so they make shit up, or believe in signs that are ordinary. also, tiktok probably made more people lazy & depressed so they had to go to therapy which is why they even got a chance to be diagnosed.
source: I was one of them.
or “tiktok”?
I have ADHD. I have never used tiktok.
Case proven? :)
You can’t cause ADHD, you can’t prevent ADHD; it’s genetic. It’s not a result of patterns of thought, or video games, or television. You don’t have to ‘train’ your child’s attention span, nor can you destroy it.
People with adhd are naturally drawn to high-stimulation activities, so people associate the two - but that’s like saying that smoke burns the toast.
It was Saturday morning cartoons when I was a kid. Then it was video games. Now they blame TikTok.
Don’t believe those people. They want any excuse except the actual answer, that humanity exists on several sliding scales. And while there is a normative zone, it’s not at all abnormal to be outside that zone.
While I am very much against the idea that “things were better in my day”, I don’t think the idea that the rise of social media, short form content and rapid gratification has had on today’s society and upcoming generations should be tossed out offhand. I do think there is something fundamentally different with some of the content presented nowadays, and how easy to access and addictive it can be.
It’s not just short form video algorithms. Streaming TV shows are made to where they effectively end about 15 minutes into the next episode. Video games are workshopped right down to the sounds they use for loot boxes.
And all of that might have an effect, but that effect is pretty clearly to draw in normal people. Not to somehow create ADHD.
Maybe it won’t create more, but it can agravante symptoms and lead to increased detection rates
It’s probably better detection.
As for internet brain rot, I suspect that’s due to the idolization of swiftly delivered entertainment over everything else.
People don’t read anymore because it takes time and effort to get into the book. It takes commitment and thought. People would rather have entertainment fed to us in thousands of smaller doses. Get those micro dopamine hits with each swipe of your phone.
I suspect it’s also a form of escapism. The world is turning to shit and TikTok brain rot works much in the same way as abusing drugs.
Easy diagnosis. Take speed. Calms you down? ADHD. Speeds you up? No ADHD.
My best friend is ADHD. Dated a long-time friend that was ADHD. My daughter is ADHD.
Give 'em speed, they chill. Give me speed, I bounce off the walls. Many of the same symptoms.
I see tons of young people online, “I want to be special. I have ADHD! Also, I’m trans and gay!”
STFU. You’re young, wildly horny and figuring life out. We all went through that.
“But I’m SPECIAL!!!”
No, odds are you aren’t. Stop taking away from people who actually have these conditions/problems/lives.
“OK. But I’m OCD!”
Jesus. STFU.
