Lecture on memes & the brain
After a long day, you come home and fall into bed. You don’t feel like doing anything and decide to scroll on TikTok to relax a bit. In a flash, an hour goes by. Is this just harmless entertainment? Or can this simple content “rot” your brain? And what is brain rot anyway?
Date: Tuesday, May 27, 2025
Time: 19:30-21:00 (walk-in from 19:10)
Location: Erasmus Pavilion
Admission: free, reservations strongly recommended.
One need only open TikTok, Reels or Shorts to be confronted with the strangest and/or easiest to consume content imaginable. A very famous example is Skibidi Toilet , but “brainrot” is everywhere. During The Science of Brainrot, we look at the scientific side of this issue. Why is this kind of content so appealing? What does it do to us? And is it really true that it can affect the development of our brains?
Guests include:
- Dr. Wouter van den Bos, Associate Professor at the Developmental Psychology Department of the University of Amsterdam & Director of the Connected Minds Lab. His research focuses on the relationship between changes in brain function and structure and the development of learning and decision making.
- Dr. Idil Galip, lecturer in New Media and Digital Culture at the University of Amsterdam. Her research focuses on memes and how they are created and shared.
This event is organized by Studium Generale.
