Nicholas Jackson is a PhD candidate at Saint Louis University.
If there is one thing the world would likely agree on, it’s that social media has become a dominant part of our society. It’s integral to our daily lives—whether it be trends, comedy, makeup routines, financial advice, travel recommendations, and so much more. Yet many people consider scrolling an act that eventually causes “brain rot”— a term defined as mental fog or decline from consuming too much low-quality, mindless content.
What if this wasn’t the case?
According to Datareportal’s Digital 2026 Global Overview Report, over 5.6 billion people worldwide use social media, a staggering 70% of the world’s population, with steady growth adding millions of new users monthly to platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. In the United States, around 250 million people use social media, representing about 73% of the total population (Bianes, 2025). This begs the question: Is social media really contributing to brain rot? Let’s compare academic numbers. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), roughly 264 million people were enrolled in universities worldwide as of late 2025. Based on this number, it would mean that only about 4.7% of the social media–using population enroll in a university. In America, around 35% of U.S. adults hold a bachelor’s degree (Census Bureau, 2025); this would be about 60% of the social media users. If you look at advanced degrees beyond a bachelor’s, we see that roughly 17% of U.S. adults hold an advanced degree (Poache, 2025), or about 30% of social media users.
The Creator Economy
This is all correlative information assuming the amount of content a person consumes is directly associated with their academic knowledge. This does not account for the fact that not all content created is strictly brain rot. As a matter of fact, content is no longer made by only well-known influencers to promote products and influence people. In an article for The Brussels Times, Maïthe Chini writes that over 40% of young people prefer using TikTok to Google for their information searches. Creators share their knowledge to make content. Users have found educational content to be much more enticing as a means of engagement, as the information they learn could become practical in their everyday lives.
As social media platforms become more accepting of educational content, I found a unique space for myself to add value on TikTok and Instagram. I started with the goal of educating people on science and immunology-based facts. I wanted to make science feel more accessible so that young students who had a similar background to me would know that pursuing science could be achievable for them as well. I wanted to shed light on the constant need for DEI in STEM and thought social media could increase visibility on the subject. I wanted to take an approach that was educational while also incorporating a good amount of humor to keep people interested and entertained. By consistently posting, I was able to find an audience that truly enjoyed my content, appreciated the digestible scientific knowledge, and connected with my sense of humor.
This to me would imply that social media might not be all brain rot and there are beneficial educational topics that can be presented online. But how can we hone this information to make it more practical?
The Current Education Paradigm
With easy access to social media, and convenient means to become a content creator, anyone can make content on any topic. I chose an educational niche based on my knowledge and skill sets, and many others online do the same. Easy accessibility typically implies very little screening in terms of the type of creators the platform hosts, and what kind of information these creators can provide. The connection to making money though social media also invites certain (perhaps misinformed) characters to capitalize on human psychology. This means that social media cannot be a substitute for gathering educational information. There are no checks or balances. Social media also appeals to instant gratification. This doesn’t align with the traditional academic settings, such as lectures that could be an hour or more in length.
However, instead of condemning the current culture of quick, attention-grabbing brain rot content, it might be beneficial to see this as an opportunity to expand the view of the traditional academic lessons taught in universities. There is a current structure for universities where students pay to attend college. They decide on classes that benefit their career choices, work in labs to further their practical knowledge, complete various homework and writing assignments for grades, and eventually graduate after a set amount of time.
Professors, on the other hand, have a set obligation depending on their contract. They receive compensation from grant proposals for research and compensation from tuition funds provided by students. This introduces hurdles to students and professors. Students may not be able to attend certain courses they are interested in due to financial limitations. In many cases, people might not be able to attend university at all, due to education expenses. This could prevent them from getting the knowledge they desire. Professors could also see a cap in their salary due to the number of courses they are allowed to teach or difficulties getting grant funds. Here is where social media could flip this structure on its head. Here is where educational content creators like me could really make an impact.
Social Media: A Tool to Increase Access to Education
In January 2025, Dr. Leah Barlow at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University posted a TikTok to provide information about her class to her current students. Instead of posting privately, this post was mistakenly made public and garnered attention from hundreds of thousands of individuals showing interest in wanting to take her class, even if they did not attend the university. She proceeded to publish small parts of her lecture for the public to participate in.
For Dr. Barlow and her university, this attention showcased how fun and engaging college courses could be. For TikTok users like me, her short video started a trend that showed us we could educate the masses on our specialized skill sets for free, and people would listen and learn from our expertise. If this educational process was incorporated at the university level, social media–active professors could gain potential benefits, such as more teaching time, public and online speaking experience, and possible supplemental revenue. Universities could participate by verifying the professors and the courses they teach, so people online avoid brain rot and only engage in actual educational content. And social media users would benefit from valuable, vetted educational content instead of misinformation. There could also be a middle ground for people such as myself, who desire an educational path, but do not want to fully commit to a semester-long course as a professor. Instead, I could take the information I already present online, develop it in a mini course–style format, and have a university back content and provide me with additional credibility.
What’s the Point?
With a better understanding of social media, we can find ways to engage audiences far and wide. With the growing interest in educational content, we can find ways to further public education and engage people in learning on the platforms they already use. The short-form content generated by educators can be engaging, yet quick and to the point. This can address the instant gratification that social media provides while satisfying a desire to learn. With the help of universities providing credibility to the educators that create content, we could possibly bridge the gap between the educated and those with less available means to receive said education. We can also increase the number of educators in a low-stakes scenario, where social media platforms could supplement the income that an educator needs for a mini course, while universities can provide credibility to the “social media professors.” Social media could drive the future of publicly available education in this country and beyond.
References:
Barlow, Leah. “Afamstudies.” TikTok. https://www.tiktok.com/@afamstudies
Bianes, G. (2025, May 8). What percentage of Americans use social media? SOAX. Retrieved March 6, 2026, from https://soax.com/research/what-percentage-of-americans-use-social-media
Census Bureau Releases New Educational Attainment Data. (2025, September 3). Census Bureau. Retrieved March 6, 2026, from https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2025/educational-attainment-data.html
Chini, M. (2024, February 15). TikTok overtakes Google as most popular search engine among Gen Z. The Brussels Times. Retrieved March 6, 2026, from https://www.brusselstimes.com/925953/tiktok-overtakes-google-as-most-popular-search-engine-among-gen-z
Higher education. (n.d.). UNESCO. Retrieved March 6, 2026, from https://www.unesco.org/en/higher-education
Influencer MarketingHub. (2024, June 24). 20 Creator Economy Statistics That Will Blow You Away in 2023. Influencer Marketing Hub. Retrieved March 6, 2026, from https://influencermarketinghub.com/creator-economy-stats/#toc-1
Kemp, S. (2025, October 15). Digital 2026: Global Overview Report — DataReportal – Global Digital Insights. DataReportal. Retrieved March 6, 2026, from https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2026-global-overview-report
Poche, F. (2025, November 12). What Percentage of Americans Have a College Degree? EssayShark. Retrieved March 06, 2026, from https://essayshark.com/blog/what-percentage-of-americans-have-a-college-degree/#:~:text=Over%204.7%20million%20students%20graduate,level%20in%202023-24
MEET THE AUTHOR
Nicholas Jackson is a PhD candidate at Saint Louis University. He is a science communicator known as Nick the Immunologist on social media, where he shares science facts and promotes DEI in STEM. He is a member of the American Association of Immunologists, where he held a position as the graduate student liaison for their public communications committee. He is dedicated to providing representation for students in STEM. Follow him on Instagram and TikTok: @nick.Immunologist.