Brain rot

According to Oxford University Press, the first recorded use of the term traces back to the 1854 book Walden by Henry David Thoreau.{{Cite news |last=Levitin |first=Mia |date=2024-12-28 |title=Social media, brain rot and the slow death of reading |url=https://www.ft.com/content/fe9963aa-f4fd-4839-8732-5df7bc4317bb |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250102144015/https://www.ft.com/content/fe9963aa-f4fd-4839-8732-5df7bc4317bb |archive-date=2025-01-02 |access-date=2025-02-15 |work=Financial Times}} Thoreau was criticizing what he saw as a decline in intellectual standards, with complex ideas being less highly regarded, and compared this to the 1840s "potato rot" in Europe.{{cite web |last=Rufo |first=Yasmin |year=2024 |title=Losing your mind looking at memes? The dictionary has a word for that |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2n2r695nzo |website=BBC |publisher=}}

In online settings, it was used as early as 2004. In 2007, the term "brain rot" was used by Twitter users to describe dating game shows, video games and "hanging out online".{{Cite web |last=Prema |first=Shivé |date=8 February 2024 |title=What is 'brain rot'? Do you have it? |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/what-is-brain-rot-do-you-have-it/39fexbr4u |access-date=2024-08-26 |website=SBS News |language=en}} Usage of the phrase increased online in the 2010s before rapidly increasing in popularity in 2020 on Discord, when it became an Internet meme. As of 2024, it was most frequently used in the context of Generation Alpha's digital habits, by critics expressing that the generation is "excessively immersed in online culture".{{Cite web |last=North |first=Anna |date=2024-09-05 |title=iPad kids speak up |url=https://www.vox.com/life/369953/skibidi-tweens-gen-alpha-brainrot-ipad-kids |access-date=2024-09-16 |website=Vox |language=en-US}} It is commonly associated with an individual's vocabulary consisting exclusively of Internet references. From 2023 to 2024, Oxford reported the term's usage increased by 230% in frequency per million words. Linguist Brent Henderson predicted that the term will stay around, citing its memorability and relevance.{{Cite web |last=Shanes |first=Aileyahu |date=2024-12-30 |title=UF professor weighs in on Oxford's word of the year: brain rot |url=https://www.wuft.org/florida-good/2024-12-30/uf-professor-weighs-in-on-oxfords-word-of-the-year-brain-rot |access-date=2025-01-10 |website=WUFT {{!}} News and public media for north central Florida |language=en}}

The term is often linked with slang and trends popular among Generation Alpha and Generation Z social media users, such as "skibidi" (a reference to the YouTube Shorts series Skibidi Toilet), "rizz" (charm), "gyatt" (referring to the buttocks), "fanum tax" (stealing food), "sigma" (referring to a leader or alpha male), and "delulu" (truncation of delusional).{{Cite web |date=2024-08-10 |title=Parents and Gen Alpha kids are having unintelligible convos because of 'brainrot' language |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/gen-alpha-kids-parents-brainrot-language-rcna162227 |access-date=2024-09-16 |website=NBC News |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Press-Reynolds |first=Kieran |date=25 June 2024 |title=How brainrot humour infected the internet with surreal gibberish |url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture/article/62947/1/how-brainrot-humour-infected-the-internet-with-surreal-gibberish-tiktok-skibidi |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240626103639/https://www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture/article/62947/1/how-brainrot-humour-infected-the-internet-with-surreal-gibberish-tiktok-skibidi |archive-date=26 June 2024 |access-date=26 June 2024 |website=Dazed |language=en}}

The term was named Oxford Word of the Year in 2024, beating other words like demure and romantasy.{{cite web |author= |date=2 December 2024 |title='Brain rot' named Oxford Word of the Year 2024 |url=https://corp.oup.com/news/brain-rot-named-oxford-word-of-the-year-2024/ |access-date=2 December 2024 |website=corp.oup.com |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford}} Its modern usage is defined by the Oxford University Press as "the supposed deterioration of a person's mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging".

In the same year, millennial Australian senator Fatima Payman made headlines by making a short speech to the Australian parliament using Generation Alpha slang. She introduced the speech as addressing "an oft-forgotten section of our society", referring to Generations Z and Alpha, and said that she would "render the remainder of my statement using language they're familiar with".{{cite web |title='Skibidi': Payman opposes social age limit in speech to gen Z and gen Alpha |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQi9uFPEOWY |website=YouTube |access-date=13 November 2024 |date=11 September 2024}} Using slang terms, Payman criticised the government's plans to ban under-14s from social media and closed by saying that, "Though some of you cannot yet vote, I hope that, when you do, it will be in a more goated Australia for a government with more aura. Skibidi!"{{Cite web |last=Weedston |first=Lindsey |date=2024-09-13 |title=Fatima Payman Gen Z Slang Speech Declared 'Brainrot' |url=https://www.dailydot.com/memes/fatima-payman-gen-z-slang-speech/ |access-date=2024-09-16 |website=The Daily Dot |language=en-US}} The speech, written by a 21-year-old staff member, was labeled by some as an example of "brainrot" outside the online world.

In 2025 Jubilee of the World of Communications, the term was also used by Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, as he urged for people to reduce their use of social media and avoid "{{Lang|it|putrefazione cerebrale}}".{{Cite web |last=Craig |first=Sean |date=2025-01-27 |title=Pope Francis Says Too Much Online Scrolling Causes 'Brain Rot' |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/pope-francis-says-too-much-online-scrolling-causes-brain-rot/ |access-date=2025-01-30 |website=The Daily Beast |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2025-01-25 |title=Il Papa: La dipendenza dai social media provoca 'putrefazione cerebrale' |url=https://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/politica/2025/01/25/il-papa-la-dipendenza-dai-social-media-provoca-putrefazione-cerebrale_6463b211-b0ac-4a6d-b281-5396a97cc125.html |access-date=2025-01-30 |website=Agenzia ANSA |language=it}}

{{Wiktionary|brain rot}}

• {{annotated link|AI slop}}
• {{annotated link|Algospeak}}
• {{annotated link|Digital media use and mental health}}
• {{annotated link|Elsagate}}
• {{annotated link|Enshittification}}
• {{annotated link|Glossary of Generation Z slang}}
• {{annotated link|Low culture}}
• {{annotated link|Shitposting}}
• {{annotated link|Sludge content}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Generation Z slang|state=expanded}}

{{Portal bar|Humor|Internet|2020s}}

Category:Internet memes introduced in 2023

Category:Internet terminology

Category:Generation Alpha

Category:Generation Z

Category:2020s fads and trends