Your brain circuitry starting to pop based on overstimulation.

In your book, you use this term popcorn brain.

When I read what popcorn brain meant, I started to think maybe I now have a popcorn brain.

What is a popcorn brain?

Most people have popcorn brain.

Popcorn brain is a biological phenomenon, a real biological phenomenon, coined by a man named Dr. Levy, a psychologist.

It is essentially your brain circuitry starting to pop based on overstimulation.

So it's not like your brain is actually popping, but it's that sensation of popcorning because of spending too much time online.

It is hard to disengage from what's happening online because there's a constant information stream.

And it is difficult to live fully offline where life moves at a decidedly slower pace.

Popcorn brain is an affliction that nearly every single person has right now.

Think about what you do when you're waiting in line at the grocery store.

You're not just like letting your brain wander, pondering things.

You are on your phone.

What are you doing at the bank?

On your phone, at a car wash, at a traffic light.

We rarely give our brains a moment of rest.

A lot of people will ask me, is popcorn brain internet addiction?

No.

Internet addiction interferes with your life.

You're unable to do certain things.

Popcorn brain, on the other hand, is ubiquitous.

It's everywhere.

It is what defines modern life.

Those two are very different things.

And when we are feeling a sense of stress, we are especially prone to popcorn brain.

We scroll incessantly when we feel a sense of stress because it is our primal urge.

Evolutionarily, when we were all cave people, there was a night watch person.

That person would sit by the fire.

The tribe would sleep.

That person would scan for danger.

It is the way our amygdala feels a sense of safety because we are scanning for danger.

We are no longer in a tribe.

We're not cave people anymore.

So what do we do?

We scroll.

That is how we are scanning for danger, especially when we are feeling stressed.

In recent times, there's been a lot of bad news.

In fact, it feels like the onslaught of bad news.

One thing after another, whether it's a climate disaster or a conflict in a certain part of the world or something or the other is always happening now.

So how do we?

The goal is really not to limit our social media use or media use because we know studies have shown that it is not about abstinence because that actually doesn't have a positive impact on our mental health or our well-being.

But what does have an impact on our mental health and well-being is decreasing our reliance to our phones.

The goal here is to reconsider your relationship with your phone.

It is not about abstinence.

We're not trying to become digital monks here.

It's about creating digital boundaries in every relationship in your life.

You have boundaries.

You have a boundary with your partner, with your children, with your colleagues, because relationships need boundaries, right, to thrive.

Why don't we have a boundary when it comes to the relationship we have with our phone?

One antidote to popcorn brain is a media diet.

And there are really three ways that you can instill into your life to help with your primal urge to scroll.

The first is time limits, 20 minutes a day.

Set a timer if you have to for engaging and consuming bad news.

The second is geographical limits during the day.

Keep your phone 10 feet away from your workstation if you can, out of reach, out of arm's reach, and at night off your nightstand.

Keeping your phone off your nightstand could be the biggest game changer, because in the morning when you wake up, like most people checking their phone, instead you aren't just scrolling, you're getting up, maybe brushing your teeth, using the bathroom, and then you can engage with technology.

But that one small shift could be key.

And the third is to set some logistical limits.

So creating some sort of boundary in a digital boundary could make all of the difference in your relationship with your phone, thereby improving your stress and mental health.