Screen time is shaping your brain – but you can take control
Every click, scroll and decision is training your brain – and experts say those choices may matter more than you think.
In a recent article for Psychology Today, CQUniversity Adjunct Senior Lecturer Dr Ragnar Purje highlights how individuals can regain control of their lives by making conscious, positive decisions – a concept central to his work and his book Responsibility Theory.
Dr Purje argues that people are not simply passive recipients of circumstance or habit. Instead, they can actively shape their mental and emotional states through deliberate choices.
“Responsibility Theory is about recognising that while we cannot control everything that happens to us, we can control how we respond,” Dr Purje said.
“Each decision we make – even the small ones – contributes to the direction of our lives.”
The brain is always adapting
His work is supported by emerging applied neuroscience research which shows the brain is constantly adapting to repeated behaviours.
This means everyday actions – particularly our screentime – can either strengthen or undermine attention, memory and self-regulation.
CQUniversity’s Head of Educational Neuroscience Professor Ken Purnell says understanding how the brain responds to these patterns is critical in a digitally saturated world.
Attention is a limited resource
“Attention is a finite brain resource. Every time we choose to check a device, scroll or switch tasks, we are directing that resource – and training the brain in the process,” Prof Purnell said.
“Importantly, not checking is also a choice. Choosing to stay offline at times can help protect the mental conditions needed for deeper thinking, creativity and overall mental health.”
Prof Purnell explains that repeated digital behaviours are not neutral.
“Online habits actively shape neural pathways. Constant interruption can reinforce distraction rather than concentration, which can be counter-productive over time,” he said.
“What matters is not just how long people are online, but how intentional that use is. If digital engagement becomes habitual or a way to self-soothe, it may be time to pause and choose something different – even something as simple as stepping outside.”
Your brain learns what you repeat
The neuroscience is clear: the brain adapts to what it repeatedly does.
“Every click practises something,” Prof Purnell said.
“Over time, the brain becomes better at whatever patterns of attention it performs most often – whether that’s sustained focus or constant distraction.”
Together, these insights reinforce Dr Purje’s central message that individuals have more agency than they may realise.
“Positive change doesn’t require dramatic transformation overnight,” Dr Purje said.
“It starts with recognising that each choice matters, and choosing, again and again, to move in a better direction.”
