The neuroscience of popcorn brain & how it impacts your resilience

By Kashayá Stewart GMBPsS and Jessica Ross

Have you ever sat down with your phone and thought to yourself ‘just 5 minutes’ and then looked up only to realise it was 2 hours later? As short form videos on platforms like Instagram and TikTok draw you in, it can be hard to break away. On the surface, it seems like a harmless way to pass time, but look beyond the hypnotic catchy songs and colours and our attention spans are changing. Research suggests this can have a knock-on effect on our levels of resilience over time.  

What’s happening here is not just behavioural, it is deeply rooted in brain chemistry. Platforms like TikTok and Instagram are designed to activate the brain’s reward system (Thangavel, 2024), particularly the mesolimbic dopamine pathway (Wang & Wang, 2025). This includes areas like the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the nucleus accumbens, which are responsible for giving us that pleasurable 'hit' when something novel or rewarding happens, like seeing a funny video or getting a like. Over time, this can make scrolling feel irresistible (Termann, 2025). 

The consequences of dazzling distraction

Looking at the research into attention sheds light into why our brains find this kind of content so irresistible. There is no one term that we can use to define attention (Lindsay, 2020), but we can think of it as a way to focus on certain things, while not attuning to others. You may have noticed it in yourself or others around you, our attention spans have become shorter. Mark (n.d.) explains that the average attention span has decreased since 2004, from 2.5 minutes to 47 seconds approximately.

Usage of social media seems to exacerbate this with its colours, sounds and designs, it becomes addictive (Swartz, 2024). Dr Aditi Nerurkar, MD, MPH (2024) aptly describes this phenomenon with the term ‘popcorn brain’ which was originally created by a researcher from the University of Washington called David Levy in 2011. If you have ‘popcorn brain’, then you are likely to experience ‘popping’ from one idea or task to another, like popping kernels.  

Looking at the brain, we can see that our prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for focus, planning, and regulating impulses, is being overridden by constant novelty (Termann, 2025). Simultaneously, the default mode network (DMN), a brain system active during daydreaming and distraction, becomes more dominant. This imbalance makes it harder to stay on one task without being tempted to switch (Su et al., 2021).  

You may pick up your phone with the intention of buying some printer ink — when an advert pops up with a beautiful floral arrangement and you remember a friend's birthday is coming up, so you browse the florist’s online shop, and then remember a birthday card, and thinking of meeting up to celebrate together you open a messaging app to make plans with said friend — when a message notification comes through from another friend sharing something funny on social media... Suddenly, you've lost half an hour scrolling similar content.

By the time you are leaving that LOL emoji, with all the 'popping' between tasks, you may have forgotten about the printer ink.

This kind of task-switching isn’t free. Neurologically, each switch forces your brain to engage the anterior cingulate cortex, which monitors conflicts and shifts focus. While this process is normal, doing it constantly leads to mental fatigue and makes it harder for the brain to stay regulated and efficient (Shanmugasundaram & Tamilarasu, 2023).  

The impact of social media

We have a wealth of information at our fingertips and the potential to be more productive than ever before. But, with so much input we can find it challenging to maintain focus for extended periods or need additional stimulation. For example, how many times have you had the TV on but also started browsing the web?

Interestingly, research from Uncapher et al. (2017) suggests that ‘media multitasking’ can have a detrimental effect on brain development of children and teenagers as it can interfere with cognitive control, the ability to focus, filter distractions, and switch attention intentionally. This is because during adolescence, the prefrontal cortex is still maturing, and when constantly bombarded with stimuli, it may not fully develop the ability to regulate attention and behaviour effectively (Ye et al., 2025).

The impact of this is just becoming apparent. Anecdotal evidence suggests that there has been a difference in children’s attention spans (with a linked impact on academic tasks) due to the widespread introduction of devices, but the extent of this is yet to be fully quantified. However, Korte (2020) cites research from Ofcom, noting that 12 minutes is the average time between smartphone pick-ups in 16–24-year-olds. Frequent phone checking not only fragments attention but also conditions the brain to crave constant stimulation, with each pick-up becoming a mini dopamine loop (Greenfield, 2021). When this cycle is repeated too often, the brain's reward system adapts by becoming less sensitive, meaning we need even more stimulation to feel satisfied, a phenomenon known as dopamine downregulation (Greenfield, 2021).

Furthermore, there is research stating that too much time with social media can have an impact on children’s sleep and mental health (Hoge et al., 2017; cited in Korte, 2020). It would be possible to extrapolate that overuse of social media and devices could have a similar impact on adults (especially those new to the workforce) and decrease levels of emotional resilience. Poor sleep quality has its own cognitive effects. It disrupts the function of the hippocampus, which consolidates memory, and dysregulates the amygdala, which processes emotional responses (Chen et al., 2023). A tired brain is not only forgetful it is also more emotionally reactive, less resilient, and less able to concentrate.

Why do our brains get so hooked?

Dopamine. One of the oldest neurotransmitters, Costa and Schoenbaum (2022) note that its role comprises of motivating, movement and learning, among other things. You know that good feeling you get after eating some chocolate? You can blame the dopamine hit for motivating you to eat more, or in the context of social media, repeat behaviours that make you feel good (Haynes, n.d.).

Social media platforms replicate this reward loop with their pull down to refresh design, essentially a slot machine for the brain. The unpredictable reward - "Will I see something funny? A message? A like?" - triggers a surge in dopamine, reinforcing the scrolling behaviour (Termann, 2025). Even though this rush of dopamine feels good in the moment, and there is most definitely beneficial content online, over time, being stuck in a cycle of scrolling can negatively affect our feelings of wellbeing. This is because the brain's dopaminergic system isn’t designed for constant stimulation, it needs rest and balance. (Termann, 2025). Overuse of social media can reduce natural motivation, leading to a state called anhedonia, where once pleasurable activities feel dull (Cangelosi et al., 2024). 

To support our mood and feelings of wellness, it is beneficial to spend time socialising, engaging in movement or doing the tasks that need to be done. But if not carefully managed, scrolling can leech into time for these activities, and if we consistently do not carve out time for our wellbeing, this can leave us feeling drained and demotivated with reduced resilience to challenges that we may encounter.   

What can we do to manage popcorn brain? 

Given how ubiquitous social media has become in our lives, it's important that we not only monitor our own usage, but we are also mindful about its impact on younger generations. As Korte (2020) justly argues, it is the ways in which we use devices and the amount of time that can have a major impact (both on wellbeing and popcorn brain).

To regain control and increase our resilience, there are a few adjustments we can make. At its most basic, resilience can be nurtured by prioritising time for self-care. When we feel resilient, we are more likely to be able to improve attention span while also maintaining helpful boundaries with social media. Our resilience is supported by healthy brain function, especially communication between the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus (Egan et al., 2024). When we sleep well, manage stress, and connect with others, we reduce overactivation of the amygdala and strengthen regulatory circuits in the prefrontal cortex (Viviana Lo Martire et al., 2024). 

For example, Suzuki (2022) explained that there are several things which can improve attention span: sleep, meditation, and exercise. Indeed, there has been extensive research noting the importance of sleep for maintaining health, both physical and mental. Practising good sleep hygiene habits like coming off screens at least an hour before bed, among other things, can ensure we get a good night's rest. Adopting healthy sleep habits can help to enhance memory and learning by consolidating experiences in the hippocampus while also regulating cortisol (the stress hormone) by calming the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis (Drigas & Mitsea, 2021). 

Meditation is also known to calm. Engaging in deep breathing or guided meditation exercises can help to bring us to a quieter, more balanced state of mind. Meditation increases activity in the anterior cingulate cortex and insula, brain areas associated with attention and emotional regulation and can help rewire the brain for better focus and calm (Verma et al., 2022). 

Finally, exercise has been proven to release endorphins and help support better sleep. Physical activity increases brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein that supports the growth and resilience of neurons, especially in the hippocampus (Faraji & Metz, 2024).

‘Exercise snacks’ – short periods of movement throughout the day can help you to break up the monotony of sedentary work and incorporate more movement into your day. A standing desk can help your physical and mental fitness while approaching work from a different perspective and aiding attention. While there is no ‘magic pill’ to fix popcorn brain, taking decisive action can help us to manage how we interact with social media, other people and ourselves. 

Did you know we all have different resilience characteristics, strengths and risks? Our BeTalent Resilience tool can give you insight into how you and your team manage stress.

References  

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