“Oxford Word of the Year 2024”
“Brain rot”: How the Internet is changing our brains
12/17/2024 – 2:36 p.mReading time: 2 min.
The Internet has transformed our world into a fast-paced place. This also has consequences for users of digital content – “brain rot” is spreading.
Have you recently read a book but found yourself constantly distracted? Or did you even have to read a paragraph again because you somehow couldn’t process the information properly? Then it could be that you are suffering from “brain rot”.
“Brain rot,” which translates to something like “brain rot,” was recently voted “Oxford Word of the Year 2024.” It describes a phenomenon that we have to thank for the fast-moving world of the Internet. The colloquial metaphor humorously describes the feeling that one’s brain is “rotting” or “atrophying” as a result of certain activities or content.
Scrolling for hours on TikTok or Instagram can lead to you only being used to short, quick content. Long, complex texts and concentrated work seem exhausting afterwards – including reading a book.
Many users of these platforms take the problem with humor. If you enter “brain rot” on TikTok, for example, you will find a number of videos that self-reflectively satirize the phenomenon.
Recently, there was even a viral trend on the social media platform called “cat brain rot.” The clips show a spinning cat, usually against a neon green background, while a catchy techno song plays. Apparently some cats were very impressed and almost hypnotized by what their owners recorded and immediately posted again on TikTok. Apparently our four-legged friends are not completely immune to “brain rot”.
But behind the internet phenomenon’s ironic and funny façade lies a serious problem. The brain gets used to fast, “easy” stimuli and then gets bored more quickly with demanding or longer content. The short videos provide immediate visual and auditory feedback. This activates the reward system in the brain by releasing the happiness hormone dopamine.
Short videos and constantly new content regularly give us little “dopamine kicks”. Dopamine is released when reading a good book, but the effect doesn’t occur as quickly. That’s why we find it rather strenuous. In the long term, this can lead to us becoming more impatient and avoiding long texts or tasks.
However, we are not hopelessly lost. Because what the brain has forgotten, it can learn again. Our brain is flexible and can “retrain” itself. Anyone who reads regularly or consciously takes time for periods of concentration can strengthen their ability to work persistently. So it can help not to immediately reach for your cell phone if you have to wait a long time for the train. And a social media break never hurts anyway.