‘Brain rot’ marked as Oxford’s word of the year

FROM what is a famously known expression heavily used amongst the younger generation, earned a spot for this year’s Oxford Word of the Year. 

According to the Oxford University Press last Monday, December 2– it was announced that the word ‘brain rot’ was Oxford Word of the Year for 2024—following a public vote in which 37,000 people had their word.  

The word ‘brain rot,’ is defined as the “deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material considered trivial or unchallenging.”  

Both the cause and the consequence of this are referred to as “brain rot,” which refers to the low-quality, low-value content that can be found on the internet and social media as well as the imagined harm that ingesting this kind of content can cause to a person or society.

“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 term increased in usage frequency by 230% between 2023 and 2024.” Said on the Oxford University Press website. 

Courtesy: Oxford University Press 

The earliest known use of brain rot was documented back then by Henry David Thoreau in his book Walden in 1854. 

This is where he condemns society’s tendency to underestimate complex ideas and how it contributes to the general decline in both mental and intellectual effort. 

The word is mainly used by both younger Gen Z and Gen Alpha who are mostly active on social media and due to its definition, the word has gained traction among younger generations. 

“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,” Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Languages, said. 

Grathwohl also added on how these communities have amplified the expression through social media channels. The place that caused ‘brain rot’ amongst people. 

“It demonstrates a somewhat cheeky self-awareness in the younger generations about the harmful impact of social media that they’ve inherited.” He added.  

Other words that are listed as Oxford’s word of the year include demure, lore, dynamic pricing, romantasy, and slop. 

Last year, the word “rizz” referring to someone’s ability to attract another person became Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year.