The term “brain rot” describes the mental and intellectual deterioration supposedly caused by excessive consumption of online content. — AFP Relaxnews
This year's Word of the Year could also be a word of warning. The term “brain rot” tops the list for 2024, according to the publisher of the Oxford English Dictionary, reflecting growing concerns about the impact of over-consuming large amounts of online content, particularly on social networks.
It's a term that Internet users have undoubtedly seen over and again on social networks, especially since the frequency of its use has risen by 230% in one year, peaking in September. The expression “brain rot“ was chosen as Word of the Year by over 37,000 people from a list of six words proposed by Oxford University Press, after two weeks of voting.
“Our experts noticed that ‘brain rot’ gained new prominence this year as a term used to capture concerns about the impact of consuming excessive amounts of low-quality online content, especially on social media,” the Oxford University Press explains.
However, the emergence of the expression “brain rot“ dates back to the last century. It was in 1854 that the phrase was first used by Henry David Thoreau in his book Walden, about his experiences of living a simple lifestyle in the natural world.
According to Oxford University Press, the tome reads: “While England endeavours to cure the potato rot, will not any endeavour to cure the brain-rot – which prevails so much more widely and fatally?”
The expression has been gaining momentum over the past year, the British publisher reports. This interest was noted particularly among generations Z and Alpha. And with good reason. Oxford University Press explains that the increased use of this expression is also linked to research into improving mental health.
Younger generations are particularly affected by the decline in their mental and physical health, due to excessive use of social networks, as numerous studies on the subject have shown.
“Looking back at the Oxford Word of the Year over the past two decades, you can see society’s growing preoccupation with how our virtual lives are evolving, the way internet culture is permeating so much of who we are and what we talk about. ... ‘Brain rot’ speaks to one of the perceived dangers of virtual life, and how we are using our free time. It feels like a rightful next chapter in the cultural conversation about humanity and technology.
“I find it fascinating that the term ‘brain rot’ has been adopted by Gen Z and Gen Alpha, those communities largely responsible for the use and creation of the digital content the term refers to. These communities have amplified the expression through social media channels, the very place said to cause ‘brain rot’.
“It demonstrates a somewhat cheeky self-awareness in the younger generations about the harmful impact of social media that they’ve inherited,“ said Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Languages.
Oxford University Press states that voters could choose between six pre-selected words: “brain rot”, “demure”, “dynamic pricing”, “lore”, “romantasy” and “slop”. – AFP Relaxnews
