Continuous partial attention helps explain both brain rot as a mental state – because what is it if not cognitive overwhelm, the point at which you stop resisting the onslaught of digital distraction and allow your brain to rest in the internet’s warm, murky shallows? – and the existence of the online slop itself. After all, what matters to tech companies financially is not that you want to be reading what you’re reading, or that you love what you listen to or what you’re looking at, only that you are unwilling or unable to pull yourself away. This is why streaming services such as Netflix crank out bland, formulaic films that are euphemistically labelled “casual viewing” and are literally designed for viewers who aren’t really watching, and Spotify playlists are filled with generic stock music by fake artists, to provide background music, “Chill Out” or “Party” vibes, for listeners who aren’t really listening. In short, the modern internet doesn’t necessarily make you an idiot, but it definitely primes you to act like one.