TikTok Brain Rot?

As I gear up to teach a summer course on the Sociology of TikTok, I'm thinking about questions to ask students to characterize TikTok and describe how and why they use it. I'm reminded of something a student said in a different course when we talked about TikTok and social media use. The student, Luke, looked up during the conversation and said: "Brain rot." It stuck with me. 

Fun fact: Brain rot was the Oxford word of the year in 2024, defined as “the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging”. 

An article on Yahoo notes: "The term comes from the idea that the internet is “rotting” the brains of frequent users who are “extremely online” or “chronically online,” leading them to reference memes and slang terms that aren’t typically used offline — and they're doing it a lot."

Interesting. I don't know if my brain is rotting, or if it already rotted from many decades of watching television. As a Gen X person who uses TikTok, maybe I'm a couch potato with brain rot. I will admit that my hand hurts from holding my phone too much. I check too many things too much of the time: email, social media, the news. The phone makes it so easy. Earlier this morning I did yoga. I go to the gym 2-3 times a week. I go on 45-minute walks with my wife. I have a job. But I still have many hours in the day to look at things on my phone. I look at recipes. I watch sports highlights. I see videos of people playing Van Halen guitar riffs. Recently footage of 70-year-old David Lee Roth in tight pants kind of singing Van Halen songs made it onto my feed. It's fine. I like short form videos as part of my information and entertainment mix. TikTok knows I like baseball, so I see MLB highlights. Once in a while the song from This Week in Baseball shows up for me (it makes me happy). I like to keep up with things...I learn Gen Z slang from my Gen Z kids but also from TikTok. When I began hearing the name Mel Robbins I was easily able to find out who that is from TikTok. It's byte size information, pretty easily digestible. I also consume some of my news on TikTok and watch videos about politics. And TikTok knows I'm interested in a variety of social issues, so I'm presented with informative videos like this one about gender, politics, and marriage and this one with data points about life satisfaction and age. If I want my students to think about child labor laws in the present, then TikTok is a pretty good place to start. If I want students to consider arguments in favor of banning TikTok, then TikTok offers one way to do so. Ultimately, I'm pro TikTok. I appreciate its availability for a range of serious, semi-serious, and unserious purposes. Not the first such platform, and not the last. 

One more thought: I think last year I read more books than in any other year of my adulthood. Is reading books a countervailing force to social media brain rot? 

What Time of the Day Do You Prefer to Teach?

When do you like to teach? Are you a morning person? Do you like weekly seminars? Are you living the online asynchronous life? How much choice do you have in the matter?

In my 25 years of teaching, I've taught many different schedules. Back in the day as an adjunct it was a once a week 3-hour class after filing TPS reports in an iron cage. Not sure I have the stamina for that now. Once I became full-time I settled into customary M/W/F or T/TH offerings. For a long time, I'd teach a class, have a break, teach another class, and then one more. Or teach two classes, take a break, and have one more. I should note we used to be on 4/4 at the beginning of my career but for most of my career it's been a 3/3 which I still experience today. 

The problem for me as an overthinker is that if I had a break in between classes I might think too much about how class went and overcorrect for the next session. My energy would also drop and I'd find it hard to get the energy back up for a class later in the day. I've always had colleagues who teach their classes consecutively, no breaks. Do it all and be done. I avoided that for years, thinking I'd get too tired by the third class. It turns out that's the schedule that works for me. For a few years in a row I've taught my classes consecutively, both the 55-minute M/W/F classes and the 80-minute T/TH classes. Not gonna lie, doing the 80-minute classes back to back to back is tough but I can do it and then do office hours before or after class. No schedule is perfect for it works for me. I'm a true morning person so I prefer to get classes started each semester at 9:00 a.m. 

As I mentioned, I'm an overthinker, and teaching all my classes in a row prevents overthinking. There's no time to wallow in the mire, it might be said. I just keep swimming and do the best I can. Sometimes it leads me to be loose and free...okay, I think to myself with just a few minutes between classes, let's try something different with the next group. Don't rinse and repeat. I'm also more forgiving when I'm not having a great day. If I'm in a teaching sl*mp (a word I don't like to use in baseball or teaching) then it helps not to have time in between classes. Or to have too long in the day before classes begin (that's why I like to start early). I always strive to go 3 for 3 in terms of what I deem to be "good classes" but I've learned to be satisfied when I go 2 for 3. 1 for 3 is bad day, 0 for 3 is really bad day. But I try to process those bad days during my commute home and get back in the swing of things the next time through. I should also note that in any given semester I teach two sections of one course and one section of a different course. 

What's your preference for when you teach and what do you find works for you?

it just stresses me out so much less

it just stresses me out so much less to make dinner at 12:46.

for years i tried to time it out and have everything ready at official dinner time.

plated with preferences accommodated.

now with the kids being older and on the run it makes sense to make meals ahead of time with less pressure to eat together as a family unit.

i wasn't present when the kids would be in the kitchen talking to me asking questions as i was trying to cook while listening.

we still eat together a lot but not all the time which is fine.

i'm more present and a better listener when food is ready for them.

food and nourishment is love at anytime.

i watch people on tiktok meal prep effortlessly or so it appears.

"here's all my lunches for the week" looking pretty without breaking a sweat.

that ain't me.

i do the best i can the best i can.

chicken parm 

a family favorite

ft. cheater sauce

How to Give Unsolicited Advice

Part of our front yard doesn't look great right now. We had drainage installed last week. I've been working to make it look better. One of my favorite neighbors was walking his dog this morning as I finished putting some work in. Over the years he's seen me play catch with one of my kids and he's complimented my son on how he throws and catches. I've always liked his positive small talk with me. He's told me his kids are older and occasionally he's nostalgic about when his kids were younger. 

Today, I pointed to the mess on our lawn and told him I've been working on it. He paused. "I'm an advice seeker," he said. Another pause. "But if I could give one piece of advice...when you put down grass seed I'd put some peat moss over it. I speak from experience." He went on to briefly explain that a little peat moss will keep the moisture in and help the grass grow faster. That was it. About 15 seconds. I sincerely thanked him for good advice. Honestly, he could've said just about anything after opening with "I'm an advice seeker." I might borrow this. Brilliant. I believe him when he implies he's not one to be in the business of giving advice. 

I generally don't care for unsolicited advice, mostly because of how people tend to introduce their advice. "Why don't you....." is an opening phrase that's always irritated me. It's often accompanied by a condescending manner. But in a case like this, the person carefully and thoughtfully offered a few words of advice based on similar experience. That works for me. I appreciate help. I'm not too proud to take advice. It's all in how you give it.

(Not) Instilling Confidence

A recent observation at a baseball game of 13 and 14 year old players. Late in the game, close score. The team that's losing is batting. Soundtrack would be Billy Joel "Pressure" if it were the 1980s. Point is, kid at the plate is already feeling the pressure of the situation. Kid is way down in their lineup, so apparently not one of their stronger hitters. He swings and misses. Coach (positioned at third base) hollers "You're not gonna hit anything looking at me!" A way of saying he pulled his head and wasn't in a good hitting position. Fair point BUT that struck me as a very unhelpful thing to say. As a not super strong hitter in a pressure situation, making him feel like he did something wrong isn't likely to boost his confidence.

I sound judgy, I acknowledge that. I'm certain I've said many unhelpful and unproductive things while coaching kids for the past 5 years. Just recently I saw a video of someone suggesting coaches avoid saying "You're due!" to a kid who's been struggling at the plate. It sounds supportive...suppose a player is in a mini slump and hasn't been hitting. You say "You're due" which might sound encouraging BUT the person in the video points out saying "You're due" reminds the kid he hasn't been hitting!!! I know I've used this phrase before and almost used it *this week* until I caught myself. 

I like when coaches keep it simple and stick to phrases like "You got this." A guy I coached with for a long time made a great change to his approach last year when a kid would be at the plate down in the count with 2 strikes. Usually coaches say things like "shorten up" when a kid has 2 strikes. It's not an aggressive mentality. Last year the coach changed his chatter in those situations to instead say "Stay aggressive" or "Attack" and I love that. I've since borrowed that and holler that when a kid is in that tough situation. "Stay on the attack" is a waaay different message than saying something that will make a kid feel like he's doing something wrong. Kids are already their own harshest critics. This is a reminder to myself and fellow coaches and parents to not make them feel worse about their performance. 

Playing the Mini Crossword Together

I'm in a group text with four buddies I've known since the mid 1990s. We've always been competitive. When we get together for reunions we've competed in Bocce, Pickleball, Wiffle ball, and the art/sport of Talking Shit. We've mellowed out in middle-age. Currently we post our scores on the New York Times mini crossword to our chat. We've competed every day in May. For fun I've started keeping track of the daily winner. It's a fun way to stay in touch. Robert Putnam wrote about the decline of social capital in Bowling Alone. I like how texting and sharing crossword times is a form of social capital in our peer group. We celebrate the accomplishments of our kids and post pics when we travel. It's easily a group of guys I could've lost touch with years ago, but texting and new ways of having fun have helped us stay together. 

Sociological Song - Love Canal

Having been born and raised in Niagara Falls, NY, I've always been interested in Love Canal. Fortunately I lived in neighborhoods not impacted by the Love Canal disaster caused by chemicals dumped by Hooker Chemical Corporation. It wasn't until this year, at the age of 51, that I learned there's a song called Love Canal, by Flipper. 

Last month, PBS aired "Poisoned Ground: The Tragedy at Love Canal." 

Here are some articles and another video if you're not familiar with Love Canal...

From homemaker to hell-raiser in Love Canal 

Residents say Love Canal chemicals continue to make them sick (PBS News Hour story from 2018) 

Lois Gibbs Love Canal Papers

Extraordinary Lives - Lois Gibbs (11 minutes video)