Definitions by Emotional Cruiser
cognitive distortion
Cognitive distortion refers to irrational or exaggerated thought patterns that can negatively impact a person's perception of reality. These distortions often lead to feelings of anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem.
After failing his exam, Jake fell into a cognitive distortion, believing that he would never succeed in any subject, despite his previous good grades.
cognitive distortion by Emotional Cruiser September 22, 2025
video games cause violence
The new "vaccine causes autism" statement that first appeared right after Mortal Kombat controversy in 1992.
Ever since the Mortal Kombat uproar, the "video games cause violence" argument has been thrown around as casually as the "vaccine causes autism" myth.
video games cause violence by Emotional Cruiser September 21, 2025
screen time delusion
The phenomenon where you always think, "If I exhibit behavior A instead of behavior B, I will X additional hours of screen time per day from my parents" even though your parents don't akcually operate under such conditions.
He’s stuck in a screen time delusion, thinking if he cleans his room, his parents will reward him with extra gaming hours, even though they’ve never promised that.
screen time delusion by Emotional Cruiser September 21, 2025
cognitive dissonance
Cognitive dissonance is the psychological discomfort felt when holding two or more conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes, or when one's behavior contradicts these beliefs. This mental tension creates a desire to reduce the inconsistency, which people achieve by changing their beliefs or behaviors, adding new justifications, or ignoring the conflicting information.
She experienced cognitive dissonance when she promoted healthy eating while regularly indulging in junk food.
cognitive dissonance by Emotional Cruiser September 21, 2025
online disinhibition effect
A psychological phenomenon where people act less restrained online than they would in person, leading to a range of behaviors from increased honesty and passion to negative actions like cyberbullying
The online disinhibition effect made him feel bold enough to share his deepest thoughts, but it also led to some regrettable comments that hurt others.
online disinhibition effect by Emotional Cruiser September 21, 2025
brainrot
A humorous term used to describe a school leaver who seems to have the I.Q. or cognitive ability of someone with "only" 12 kB of memory, despite having spent 12 years in school.
After listening to his explanations for why he failed his exams, I couldn't help but think he was suffering from serious brainrot!
brainrot by Emotional Cruiser September 21, 2025
screen time conventions
The phenomenon where until smartphones have been around for sufficiently long periods of time, there are multiple different conventions on how well a child should behave in order to get more screen time. Even though by now, there have been found the following deciding factors on whether someone (children or otherwise) should (be allowed to) have screen time: a) the desired duration of screen time, b) the purpose of having screen time, c) personal susceptibility towards the effect(s) of excessive screen time.
In our household, screen time conventions are strict; we have to consider behavior, purpose, and how long the kids can actually handle it without experiencing brainrot.
screen time conventions by Emotional Cruiser September 21, 2025