I don't deny the possibility that there are long-term post viral health effects and covid is obviously a big possibility there, but I've said many times that I think a lot of the health issues that people are experiencing are from stress and anxiety. I say that as someone who has had near lifelong issues with them. When I was going through the experience of working for a company acquired by private equity, it was incredibly stressful to see rounds of layoffs and wondering when my number would come up (I really need my health insurance). When it actually did it was actually relieving and I found I was able to think a lot more clearly and able to learn things much more easily, though this process easily took a year and I'm probably still continuing to improve (through some real work) a few years later.

So while the virus is a real biological factor, I can't help but think that the mass stress event of the pandemic and all that came with it had enormous effects on its own.

Yeah, I suppose it's mostly information overload—scrolling through many apps, constantly ingesting information at a high bandwidth without utilizing memory recall. There could also be some biological origins, perhaps related to food or disruptions in the nervous system.

I wonder if it is in many ways loss of attention span and capability to concentrate due to too many distractions and opportunities to be distracted.

Smartphones, social media, internet in general.