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

How is Tiktok rewiring your brain?

In this 15 February 2026 published video, host Steven Bartlett talks with social psychologist Jonathan Haidt and Harvard physician Dr Aditi Nerurkar who 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

https://youtu.be/EScgrk7oEwU

00:00 Intro
02:40 The Largest Threat To Humanity Right Now
06:44 How Short-Form Videos Are Rewiring Your Brain For The Worse
09:40 What Your Phone Is Doing To Your Sleep, Heart, And Stress Levels
16:29 Why Short-Form Content Is Quietly Destroying Your Ability To Think
19:21 What’s Really Happening In Your Brain When You Scroll
26:38 What Happens When You Quit Social Media And Take Back Control
30:14 The Real Danger Behind Meta, Snapchat, And TikTok
36:18 The Dark Side Of Snapchat: Cyberbullying And Predators Exposed
41:37 Oxytocin, AI Chatbots, And What This Means For Your Brain
55:34 What If Your Business Depends On Social Media,Is There Another Way?
01:00:42 Why So Many People Feel Lost—And How Technology Plays A Role
01:06:30 Ads
01:07:31 The Simple Test To Know If You’re Addicted To Your Phone
01:26:22 What Is “Popcorn Brain” And Is It Happening To You?
01:28:18 Brain Rot: Why Adults Can Recover—But Teens Might Not
01:31:59 Why Australia Banned Social Media For Under-16s—And What Happens Next
01:43:30 Ads
01:45:47 Why Parents Can’t Sue Social Media Companies And What This Law Protects
02:04:43 How Technology Is Eroding Our Sense Of Meaning
02:08:53 How To Reclaim Meaning And Joy In A Hyper-Digital World
02:14:28 The 3-Second Brain Reset That Breaks The Scroll Cycle