Is your smartphone rotting your brain?

 … a 2021 study in Korea that showed major increases in brain activity — the negative effects of smartphone addiction. … In the study, the MRI images of addicted smartphone users' brains were so colorful, meaning so active, it made them less attentive and more easily distracted — what is now informally called "brain rot." “Smartphone addiction is leading to "brain rot," doctors say,” Meg Oliver, CBS Evening News, March 19, 2025

Watching this segment of the news last night, had me asking if I spend too much time on my own smartphone. And whether using it is somehow damaging what little brain this old fart has left.

The focus on the CBS story was a college freshman who scrolled on her phone up to nine hours a day. Being a Boomer, my scrolling is pretty much limited to a newsfeed and Facebook. No Twitter (X), no Instagram, no TikTok. 

But that doesn’t mean I don’t use my phone a lot every day. I use GoogleMaps to help me navigate when doing my volunteer driving. When I have to wait for some reason, I read my ebooks on the small screen. When the random question pops into my head - “What do I need to bring when renewing my drivers license?” - the phone answers pretty reliably. It is my calendar. I use it to deposit paper checks digitally and check my bank balance. My physical “terrorist” installed some physical therapy exercise videos on a recent visit. I use MapMyWalk to record how far and how fast I hike and bike. I check the weather, book haircut appointments, and use the calculator to determine my gas mileage. On rare occasions I use the phone to summon Uber or Lyft.

Oh, and I actually still make phone calls on it. (And I rely on it to store all the phone numbers.)

Am I rotting my brain by using my phone so much? 

A smartphone is a tool, and like all tools, it can be used productively or destructively. (Johnson’s Rule of Technology Neutrality: Tools are neither good nor bad. The same hammer can both break windows and build cathedrals.) 

I still think it is rather sad that schools and governments continue to push a ban on smartphone use in schools. The little devils have so much potential educational value if we only taught kids (and adults) how to actually use them well.