BookXcess’ ‘Brain Un-Rot Library’ turns 100 books into short TikTok clips similar to the type of videos blamed for wrecking attention span
4-MIN READ4-MIN ListenIman Muttaqin YusofPublished: 1:00pm, 4 Apr 2026“You don’t even have to look for it,” nine-year-old Anaqi said of the short videos he watches online. “It just shows up automatically, and it’s super interesting.”
He is worried about the effect of such content as too much of what the boys watch is “nonsense” that is not meant for children.
Their attention span and language skills also appear to have deteriorated since watching them. “If they watch for too long, they struggle to focus,” he said.
He has also noticed problems with fine motor skills. “Writing becomes difficult. Even lifting heavier things becomes difficult.”
In 2024, Oxford University Press named “brain rot” its word of the year, defining it as the supposed mental or intellectual decline linked to overconsumption of trivial or unchallenging online content.
