Get the best new essays in your inbox

A weekly roundup of the highest-rated reads on ponder. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Articles & Essays

Best of 2026 Highest Rated Most Popular Recent Random

Writers

All Writers Highest Rated Most Read

Topics

Culture Personal Crime Technology Science All Topics

More

Lists Publications Community Your Shelf

Site Details

How It Works About Support Privacy Policy Terms of Use Contact

© ponder

The Ponder Readers Awards

The Best Articles of 2026

Andrew Tate’s Empire of Abuse

The Way Home is a Circle

The Extremist in the Family

Opinion | The Truth About Brain Rot: It’s a Cry for Help

By Maxi Heitmayer · The New York Times · September 2026

#11 in Culture·#12 in Technology

Opinion | The Truth About Brain Rot: It’s a Cry for Help

9.01 ratings·1 reads logged

"Maybe consuming meaningless content is the only way to be free online."

Read full essay at The New York Times ↗

Added by @colin

Found In These Lists

You Might Also Like

The Internet’s AI Slop Problem Is Only Going to Get Worse

9.0(1)

The Internet’s AI Slop Problem Is Only Going to Get Worse

Max Read · Intelligencer

Opinion | I Visited 47 Sites. Hundreds of Trackers Followed Me. (Published 2019)

6.0(1)

Opinion | I Visited 47 Sites. Hundreds of Trackers Followed Me. (Published 2019)

colin's September 2026 List

by colin Brain Rot

Comments

Sign in to leave a comment.

Loading comments…

Publication

The New York Times

Avg score 7.8 · 485 essays

Stats

1

Ratings

1

Reads

1

Comments

0

Saved

2

Lists

0

Favorites

Topics

Technology Culture

More from The New York Times

Nature’s Super Feather

How Cornell University Chi Phi Fraternity Members Responded After Rape Accusation

A Teen Autopsy Marks the Arrival of a Deadly Drug in San Francisco

Farhad Manjoo · The New York Times

Is doom scrolling really rotting our brains? The evidence is getting harder to ignore

7.0(1)

Is doom scrolling really rotting our brains? The evidence is getting harder to ignore

Siân Boyle · The Guardian

The surprising way doomscrolling rewires your brain

7.0(1)

The surprising way doomscrolling rewires your brain

Julia Ries Wexler · National Geographic