Society as a whole deserves a pat on the back — for collectively overachieving in the art of scrolling itself into oblivion. Oxford University Press has rewarded this achievement with a linguistic gold star. The 2024 Word of the Year is ‘brain rot’ — an evocative term for the intellectual malaise brought on by bingeing trivial online content. If your brain feels like it’s been microwaved after six hours on TikTok, well, the English language officially has your back. This year’s shortlist included contenders like ‘doomscroll’, ‘vibe shift’, and the inexplicable ‘cheugy’. But ‘brain rot’ surged to victory, perhaps because it feels less like a word and more like a diagnosis. With usage up 230% since last year, it seems the modern human condition can be summed up as “enjoying the sounds heard from the toilet” on TikTok.
Of course, this digital affliction has a noble lineage. The term first surfaced in 1854, when the English writer Henry David Thoreau bemoaned society’s intellectual decay in Walden. One can only imagine his reaction if he saw today’s Twitter debates about whether a hot dog is a sandwich. Yet, one can’t help but marvel at the irony: the very platforms fostering this mental erosion were undoubtedly aflutter with hashtags celebrating its coronation. So here we are, a civilisation juggling AI breakthroughs and cat videos, simultaneously curing diseases and inventing the “quiet quitting” trend. ‘Brain rot’ isn’t just a word; it’s a mirror, reflecting society’s collective march toward a future where critical thinking is a quaint relic of the past. And if, after reading this, anyone feels compelled to open YouTube to enjoy a video of farting in public, Thoreau would be so proud of coining ‘brain rot’.
