Mental Overclocking: Why our Brain Feels Fried After Scrolling
In computing, overclocking1 is the practice of pushing a processor beyond its rated speed. It temporarily boosts performance, but it also generates excess heat, instability, and ultimately reduces the lifespan of the hardware.
Lately, I’ve started to wonder: Are we doing this to our own brains?
We’ve all been there. You sit down to read an article, check a notification, or scroll through a social media feed, and suddenly your mind is racing at a hundred miles an hour. Your attention fragments, jumping frantically from one stimulus to the next and you've forgotten something you wanted to do a mere minute ago. In those moments, it feels less like you are in the driver's seat and more like your prefrontal cortex has been hijacked by your dopamine system.
By now, it’s no secret that modern apps and social media feeds are engineered to be addictive, operating on the exact same psychological principles as slot machines2. While I’m not a neuroscientist, I like to call the algorithms they use Dopamine Hijacking Algorithms.
When we submit to them, we experience what I call and coin Mental Overclocking.
Just like an overstressed computer processor running past its limits, our brains weren't built to sustain that kind of prolonged artificial acceleration. It often results in mental depletion, fried focus and an absence of motivation.
Our brain has a processing speed. Recognising when my brain is being "overclocked" has helped me become more intentional about stepping away from my modern digital vices. Perhaps it can be an aid to you as well.