Brain Rot Emergency: These Internal Documents Prove They’re Controlling You!

The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett

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Monday, 16 February 2026 - 2 hours 19 minutes

How is Tiktok rewiring your brain? Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt and Harvard physician Dr Aditi Nerurkar reveal how tech addiction and short-form video are ROTTING your brain, and why AI chatbots could cause the next global addiction CRISIS! 

Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist at NYU Stern and the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Anxious Generation. Dr. Aditi Nerurkar is a world-renowned expert in stress, burnout, and mental health, and best-selling author of ‘The 5 Resets’. 

They explain:

◼️The "brain hacking" secrets tech companies use to hook you

◼️Why short-form video is shattering the global attention span

◼️The link between phone-based childhoods and the teen mental health crisis

◼️How TikTok causes a 40% drop in memory accuracy

◼️Why you must delete addictive slot-machine apps to reclaim your focus

Enjoyed the episode? Share this link and earn points for every referral - redeem them for exclusive prizes: https://doac-perks.com 

00:00 Intro
02:26 The Largest Threat To Humanity Right Now—And Why No One Wants To Admit It
06:31 How Short-Form Videos Are Rewiring Your Brain For The Worse
09:26 What Your Phone Is Doing To Your Sleep, Heart, And Stress Levels
16:15 Why Short-Form Content Is Quietly Killing Deep Thinking
19:07 What’s Really Happening In Your Brain When You Scroll
26:24 What Happens When You Quit Social Media—And Take Back Control
30:00 The Real Danger Behind Meta, Snapchat, And TikTok
36:05 The Dark Side Of Snapchat: Cyberbullying And Predators Exposed
41:23 Oxytocin, AI Chatbots, And What This Means For Your Brain
55:20 What If Your Business Depends On Social Media—Is There Another Way?
01:00:28 Why So Many People Feel Lost—And How Tech Plays A Role
01:06:16 Ads
01:07:17 The Simple Test To Know If You’re Addicted To Your Phone
01:26:08 What Is “Popcorn Brain”—And Do You Have It?
01:28:04 Brain Rot: Why Adults Can Recover—But Teens Might Not
01:31:45 Why Australia Banned Social Media For Under-16s—And What Happens Next
01:43:16 Ads
01:45:33 Why Parents Can’t Sue Social Media Companies—And What This Law Protects
02:04:29 How Technology Is Eroding Our Sense Of Meaning
02:08:39 How To Reclaim Meaning And Joy In A Hyper-Digital World
02:14:14 The 3-Second Brain Reset That Breaks The Scroll Cycle

Follow Dr Aditi:

Instagram - https://linkly.link/2aYTX 

Website - https://linkly.link/2aYTZ

You can purchase Aditi’s book, ‘The 5 Resets’, here: https://linkly.link/2aYTd 

Follow Jonathan:

X - https://linkly.link/2aYTq

Website - https://linkly.link/2aYTs 

You can purchase Jonathan’s book, ‘The Amazing Generation’, here: https://linkly.link/2aYU7 

Independent research: https://stevenbartlett.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/DOAC-Attention-Discussion-Independent-Research-further-reading.pdf

The Diary Of A CEO:

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