Brain Rot: The Psychology of Attention in a Digital World

The apps and platforms many of us spend hours on each day are built using decades of psychological research designed to capture and hold our attention. But what does that constant competition for attention actually do to the way we think, learn, and experience the world?

In this lecture, Dr. Sarah Shepherd, UC Berkeley psychologist and researcher of attention and digital media, explores how modern technology interacts with the human mind and why the story may be more nuanced than the usual “brain rot” narrative.

We'll dive into the psychology of attention in a world engineered to interrupt it, tackling questions many of us quietly ask ourselves while scrolling late at night: Are our brains changing? Can attention be reset? And what happens when our minds collide with systems built to keep us online?

Speaker: Sarah Shepherd, UC Berkeley