Jonathan Haidt: Why short-form video rewires young brains

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

February 16, 2026

Duration

2h 18m

Channel

The Diary of a CEO

Watch on YouTube

▶ Open ↗

📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

How is Tiktok rewiring your brain? Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt and Harvard physician Dr Aditi Nerurkar reveal how tech addiction and short-form video are ROTTING your brain, and why AI chatbots could cause the next global addiction CRISIS! Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist at NYU Stern and the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Anxious Generation. Dr. Aditi Nerurkar is a world-renowned expert in stress, burnout, and mental health, and best-selling author of ‘The 5 Resets’. Enjoyed the episode? Share this link and earn points for every referral - redeem them for exclusive prizes: https://doac-perks.com They explain: ◼️The "brain hacking" secrets tech companies use to hook you ◼️Why short-form video is shattering the global attention span ◼️The link between phone-based childhoods and the teen mental health crisis ◼️How TikTok causes a 40% drop in memory accuracy ◼️Why you must delete addictive slot-machine apps to reclaim your focus 00:00 Intro 02:40 The Largest Threat To Humanity Right Now 06:44 How Short-Form Videos Are Rewiring Your Brain For The Worse 09:40 What Your Phone Is Doing To Your Sleep, Heart, And Stress Levels 16:29 Why Short-Form Content Is Quietly Destroying Your Ability To Think 19:21 What’s Really Happening In Your Brain When You Scroll 26:38 What Happens When You Quit Social Media And Take Back Control 30:14 The Real Danger Behind Meta, Snapchat, And TikTok 36:18 The Dark Side Of Snapchat: Cyberbullying And Predators Exposed 41:37 Oxytocin, AI Chatbots, And What This Means For Your Brain 55:34 What If Your Business Depends On Social Media,Is There Another Way? 01:00:42 Why So Many People Feel Lost—And How Technology Plays A Role 01:06:30 Ads 01:07:31 The Simple Test To Know If You’re Addicted To Your Phone 01:26:22 What Is “Popcorn Brain” And Is It Happening To You? 01:28:18 Brain Rot: Why Adults Can Recover—But Teens Might Not 01:31:59 Why Australia Banned Social Media For Under-16s—And What Happens Next 01:43:30 Ads 01:45:47 Why Parents Can’t Sue Social Media Companies And What This Law Protects 02:04:43 How Technology Is Eroding Our Sense Of Meaning 02:08:53 How To Reclaim Meaning And Joy In A Hyper-Digital World 02:14:28 The 3-Second Brain Reset That Breaks The Scroll Cycle Follow Dr Aditi: Instagram - https://linkly.link/2aYTX Website - https://linkly.link/2aYTZ You can purchase Aditi’s book, ‘The 5 Resets’, here: https://linkly.link/2aYTd Follow Jonathan: X - https://linkly.link/2aYTq Website - https://linkly.link/2aYTs You can purchase Jonathan’s book, ‘The Amazing Generation’, here: https://linkly.link/2aYU7 Independent research: https://stevenbartlett.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/DOAC-Attention-Discussion-Independent-Research-further-reading.pdf The Diary Of A CEO: ◼️Join DOAC circle here - https://doaccircle.com/ ◼️Buy The Diary Of A CEO book here - https://smarturl.it/DOACbook ◼️The 1% Diary is back - limited time only: https://bit.ly/3YFbJbt ◼️The Diary Of A CEO Conversation Cards (Second Edition): https://g2ul0.app.link/f31dsUttKKb ◼️Get email updates - https://bit.ly/diary-of-a-ceo-yt ◼️Follow Steven - https://g2ul0.app.link/gnGqL4IsKKb Sponsors: Wispr - Get 14 days of Wispr Flow for free at https://wisprflow.ai/DOAC Function Health - https://Functionhealth.com/DOAC to sign up for $365 a year. One dollar a day for your health Pipedrive - https://pipedrive.com/CEO

🎤 SPEAKERS

• Steven Bartlett

  host

• Jonathan Haidt

  guest

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of The Diary of a CEO, featuring Steven Bartlett and Steven Bartlett, Jonathan Haidt: Why short-form video rewires young brains explores short-form video and AI companions are hijacking attention and meaning Steven Bartlett interviews social psychologist Jonathan Haidt and Harvard physician Aditi Nerurkar about a fast-escalating “brain rot” crisis driven by short-form social video and addictive platform design.

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