this post was submitted on 10 Jan 2025
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I see a lot of people blaming tiktok and "brain rot" content for the increasing ADHD diagnoses, but I think its a matter of better detection, similar to how OCD and autism diagnosis have increased too.

Also as someone with ADHD, it feels like shit that it could be "my fault" or that I have brainrot.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I struggled in school despite being smart. I was tested but they said I didn't have it.

Then as an adult, I re-tested. They updated the things they look for and are more aware of how people can try to mask and deal with their symptoms, which in the past made it difficult to diagnose. I was diagnosed then.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

Going through this with ASD now after my surprise adult ADHD diagnosis a few years ago lol

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 week ago

If you test more, you detect more.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago

both? i was diagnosed super young, and by the time i got to college some people around me spent so much time on their phones or dodged so much homework it made me feel i was on a more even playing field lol

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 week ago

Ehhhhhh, I think it's a little of column A and a little of column B.

I think the biggest tik tok contributor is people now hear about ADHD and decide because they get bored in schoo sometimes they must have it etc. (As someone who struggles not to chew through their own gums as a form of fidgeting, I find this really irritating.) But let's put that aside because I don't think that's what you're asking about. I'll also ignore the fact that more people are walking into therapists having read all the symptoms and knowing essentially what to say to receive a "diagnosis."

To the actual question, I do think TikTok/smartphones/internet are definitely rewiring our brains in ways that mirror a lot of symptoms of ADD/ADHD. There's a depressingly good book about it called the Shallows but the basic thesis is that the financial incentives of the internet are geared to keep you clicking and moving through things (so you see more new ads) which habituated people to very short term impulses/reward structures. In other words, impulse control and trouble focusing long term.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago

Not better detection and not tiktok in particular, better information available and less stigma allowing more people to out themselves. Same with LGBTQ+ and many other non-apparent, but taboo traits throughout history. As they become more widely aceptable, people can be out or at least people can better understand that these traits are not them being broken, lazy, evil, or selfish.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 week ago

I think it's because a lot of people struggle to match the expectations put on them. Said expectations are too high even for neurtypical people, to the point where they seek diagnosisses to get accomdations. Late stage capitalism making everyone feel like they aren't up to par when par is 16 swings on an 18-hole course.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Humans are the product of their environment, and the younger you are, the more affected you will be.

If I put you in the rain forest with animals and plants and shamans, you would absolutely start to calm down and start to listen to people and become much calmer with time. Since the entire energy of the place is calm.

But if you sit in front of phones and computers on social media, where you have this constant energy of consuming content you forget a day later, your brain will start to be unable to think and focus after a while. It will feel stressful to listen to someone who talks even, because it's not fast enough.

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