In a world where social media has taken charge, it has taken up the little to no time people have post their work. Scrolling mindlessly on social media has become and habit and it has led to people suffering from sleep deprivation because one moment, its 11:00 pm and you’re all set to go to bed and start scrolling and within no time you realise that the clock has passed the mark of 2:00 am. This phenomenon clearly makes you the victim of ‘brain rot’– the newly termed Oxford Word Of The Year 2024.
The technical definition of brain rot as described by the Oxford Press is, “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.”
Why is brain rot termed as Oxford word of the year?
The term brain rot, first recorded in 1854 by Henry David Thoreau in his book Walden, has gained new meaning in the digital age. Over the past year, it has become popular on social media, especially among Gen Z and Gen Alpha users on TikTok.
In 2024, brain rot is widely used to describe both the problem and its effects. It refers to the low-quality, low-value content often found on social media and the internet, as well as the negative impact this type of content can have on individuals and society.
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The term has now moved beyond social media and is being used in mainstream journalism, reflecting growing concerns about the effects of overconsuming online content.
Casper Grathwohl, President, Oxford Languages, says,”‘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.”
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What importance does Oxford Word Of The Year hold?
Oxford Word of the Year is a word or expression that reflects a defining theme from the past twelve months, either having potential as a term of lasting cultural significance or providing a snapshot of society at a certain time. For two decades, it has highlighted the language that has shaped conversations and reflected the cultural shifts, patterns, and sentiments of a particular year.
Supported by evidence of real language usage, Oxford University Press (OUP) experts track candidates throughout the year via a 26-billion-word corpus of global language data. Previous words chosen by OUP have included ‘selfie’ (2013), ‘climate emergency’ (2019), and ‘vax’ (2021). Since 2022, OUP has opened the selection process to the public, resulting in ‘goblin mode’ (2022) and last year’s winner, ‘rizz’. Words that were shortlisted for this year were brain rot, demure, lore, romantasy, slop & dynamic pricing.
