FEATURE: Your Phone is Stealing Your Brain
By Fatimah Yusuf Usman,
Lately, I’ve seen more and more people, online and offline, saying they’re in a “reading slump.” Some share it with humour, others with frustration. They miss the days when reading was second nature — when they could lose themselves in a book for hours, fully immersed, fully alive in the story.
Now, they can barely read a page. The spark is gone. The focus is gone. The joy is gone.
But here’s a hard truth: for many of us, this isn’t just a reading slump. It’s brain rot — the quiet, creeping damage caused by constant, mindless scrolling.
Let’s call it what it is.
Our brains weren’t designed to absorb thousands of microbursts of content every single day. Reels. Tweets. TikToks. Threads. Stories. Posts. The algorithm never sleeps — and neither do our thumbs.
We scroll endlessly, glazed-eyed, while our attention is dragged from one shiny thing to the next. We tell ourselves we’re “winding down,” but what we’re really doing is eroding our ability to sit still with our own thoughts.
It’s not relaxation. It’s decay.
Studies keep showing that our attention spans are shrinking, especially among those of us who grew up in the digital world. We’ve been rewired. What once took minutes of gentle focus now feels like a burden.
We can no longer read deeply because our minds have been trained to skim, to swipe, to crave the next dopamine hit — not depth, not meaning.
So when I hear someone say they’re in a reading slump, I often want to gently ask: are you really? Or have you just been rewired by your screen?
I ask this not just of others, but of myself.
I’ve tried everything. I’ve returned to old favourites. I’ve opened my annotated novels, hoping to reignite something. I’ve picked up short stories and articles. But nothing hit the way it used to. The words didn’t land.
My mind drifted. The silence that once felt peaceful now felt unbearable. That was when I had to admit the truth: I wasn’t just in a slump. My brain had changed.
So here it is — the hard thing we don’t want to say out loud: maybe you’re not in a reading slump either. Maybe it’s brain rot. And maybe it’s time we faced that.
This isn’t a cry to quit social media. That would be naïve — and unnecessary. But it is a call to become aware.
If we don’t become intentional about the content we consume and how we consume it, we stand to lose more than just our ability to read. We lose our ability to think deeply. To feel fully. To be alone with ourselves and not be afraid.
That 30-minute doomscroll before bed? It steals the stillness that books thrive in. That innocent morning scroll on Instagram? It shapes your brain’s focus for the entire day.
And the scariest part is how quietly it all happens. You won’t notice — until you start to feel like a stranger in your own mind.
We think we’re relaxing. But most of the time, we’re just numbing.
If you love books but haven’t finished one in months, this isn’t me shaming you. It’s me reminding you — and myself — that our minds are worth protecting.
We are living in the golden age of content, but also in the dark age of attention. The only way out is through deliberate, intentional effort.
So start small:
– Put your phone away for one hour.
– Read a single page, even if your brain resists.
– Sit with boredom instead of fleeing it.
– Revisit a book you once loved — and see who you’ve become.
– Rebuild your focus like a muscle: slowly, gently, consistently.
Let’s stop lying to ourselves. Most of us are not in a reading slump. We’re in a loop of constant scroll — and it’s time to break out of it.
Because this isn’t just about books. It’s about life.
It’s about learning to be present — with a story, with our own thoughts, with the people around us. It’s about remembering that attention isn’t just a skill. It’s a form of love. And we owe that love to ourselves.
So next time you reach for your phone, “just for five minutes,” and find yourself an hour deep in reels, ask: is this how I want to spend my presence?
And if the answer is no — close the app. Pick up a book. It might feel hard at first, but your brain — and your soul — will thank you later.
Fatimah Yusuf Usman writes from PRNigeria Centre, Abuja. She can be reached at: [email protected]
