Tired of scrolling? Translated, “brain rot”, the oxford word of the year, means “brain rot”. It refers to the state resulting from excessive consumption of trivial content online. Those looking for examples of the phenomenon can’t help but look at social media platforms: Who can put a condom on their head and blow it up with their nose? Who can scare cows to the tune of the song “Kulikitaka”?
Since 2004, Oxford University Press has chosen a word each year that reflects cultural changes and the annual mood. In the Corona year 2021, the word “vax”, a shortened form of “vaccine”, won. Language experts draw basic data from their corpora, systematic collections of written and oral language.
From 2022, the Oxford Word of the Year is open to public voting. This year more than 37,000 people participated. The result shows: we talk more and more about the effects of media consumption. “Looking back over the last two decades shows how Internet culture permeates so much of who we are and what we talk about,” says Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford Languages.
Use of the word increased by 230%.
The first documented use of the word “brain rot” dates back to 1854. In his book “Walden” the American writer, teacher and philosopher Henry David Thoreau describes simple life in nature and develops a critique of society. This tends to devalue complex ideas in favor of simpler ones, which results in a decrease in intellectual effort.
In the 19th century, one or two uses of the word “brain rot” were still detectable, but usage skyrocketed from 2023 to 2024 alone, by a whopping 230%. “Brain rot” is understood as the cause of mindless media consumption – and its effect.
Last year the term spread especially where it acquires its meaning: on Tiktok. It is engaging that especially Generation Z and Alpha adopt the term “brain rot” because they themselves produced the content that caused the “brain rot,” says grathwohl. On tiktok you can find animated men’s heads sticking out of the toilet in the “Skibidi toilet” video series. “Skibidi” is now a new word for “nonsense.” In othre trends, young people destroy school bathrooms, spray deodorant into their mouths as a test of courage, or eat extremely spicy chips untill the emergency doctor arrives. There must be somthing wrong there.
According to communications scientist Jess Rauchberg of Seton Hall University, brain rot culture represents an attempt to find a self-deprecating and humorous side to older generations’ derogatory judgments of their own cultural practices. In any case, “rotten brain” is one of the few youthful words that seem to easily find the consensus of even older people. “It feels like the next chapter in the cultural conversation about humanity and technology,” Grathwohl said.
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Sure! It seems like your message was cut off. could you specify who or what the “T” refers to in your request? for example, are you referring to a character, an entity, or a particular concept? This will help me create an engaging interview for you.Thank you!