Oxford Word Of The Year 2024 Is ‘Brain Rot’ — You Know What It Is If You Are Into Doomscrolling
Oxford Word Of The Year 2024: "Brain rot", a term coined in 1854, has been named the word of the year. Gen Z and Gen Alpha users have popularised the term on platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
Oxford Word of the Year 2024: How much time do you spend scrolling YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and Facebook videos? A lot, right? This mindless scrolling now has a word in the Oxford dictionary — 'brain rot'. Oxford University Press has named it the phrase or word of the year 2024.
Oxford’s language experts reviewed public input, voting results, and language data to conclude that “brain rot” best encapsulates the collective experience and concerns of the past year. The word was chosen after a public vote that saw over 37,000 people having their say. 'Brain rot' claimed the top spot pipping five other words/phrases on the shortlist, which included 'demure', 'dynamic pricing', 'lore', 'romantasy', and 'slop'.
Usage of the phrase increased by a remarkable 230% compared to 2023, reflecting its growing presence in everyday conversations, according to OUP.
Quoting Oxford University Professor Andrew Przybylski, a psychologist, a BBC report said the popularity of the phrase is a "symptom of the time we're living in".
The Oxford words of the year were 'rizz', 'Goblin mode', and 'vax' in 2023, 2022, and 2021, respectively.
What Is ‘Brain Rot’? Definition And Origin
OUP defines ‘Brain Rot’ 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".
Though the term has surged in relevance in 2024, it roots date back to 1854, when Henry David Thoreau used it in Walden. Thoreau criticised society’s preference for simplicity over complexity, coining “brain rot” to describe what he perceived as a societal decline in intellectual effort.
While his critique was aimed at his contemporaries, the phrase resonates anew in today’s digital age, where online content has become a dominant force shaping our intellectual landscapes.
Medically, 'brain rot' refers to a state of mental fatigue, sluggishness, shortened attention span, and cognitive decline, often attributed to excessive screen time, according to an article on the website of Newport Institute, a mental health centre in the US.
One common example of brain rot behaviour, it says, is doomscrolling — spending extended periods browsing through distressing or negative news online.
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The Rise of ‘Brain Rot’ In Digital Era
In 2024, “brain rot” gained traction as a descriptor for both the low-quality content found on social media platforms and the perceived negative effects of consuming such content. Its popularity first emerged on platforms like TikTok, particularly among Gen Z and Gen Alpha users. These communities often use the term humorously or self-deprecatingly to describe their binge consumption of online trends, viral memes, and videos.
Among the most cited examples of “brain rot”-inducing content are Alexey Gerasimov’s 'Skibidi Toilet' video series, featuring surreal, humanoid toilets, and the “only in Ohio” meme trend, which highlights bizarre incidents associated with the state, OUP points out. These cultural phenomena have even given rise to new slang: terms like “skibidi” (nonsensical) and “Ohio” (embarrassing or weird) showcase how online culture spawns language that spills over into mainstream conversations.
“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," Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Languages, was quoted as saying.
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How Harmful Is ‘Brain Rot’?
"‘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. It’s not surprising that so many voters embraced the term, endorsing it as our choice this year," Grathwohl said, speaking about the 2024 Oxford Word of the Year.
While he found it "fascinating that the term ‘brain rot’ has been adopted by Gen Z and Gen Alpha", Grathwohl said this demonstrated a "somewhat cheeky self-awareness in the younger generations about the harmful impact of social media that they’ve inherited".
There is indeed a growing serious discussion emerging about the potential harm that excessive consumption of this type of content may have on mental health, especially among children and adolescents.
Stating that the effects of brain rot can manifest as challenges in organising thoughts, solving problems, making decisions, or remembering important information, the Newport Institute article suggested ways to mitigate brain rot by considering strategies such as reducing screen time, removing distracting apps from your device, and disabling non-essential notifications.
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