2 weeks Ago By Arianna Johnson, Forbes Staff
Topline The viral “Ohio” social media meme—used to describe something as weird—has rapidly grown in popularity and gained a total of 10.2 million likes, comments, shares and other engagements on social platforms in July alone, making it one of the biggest social media trends of the summer. Welcome to Ohio sign along a rural farm road at the Ohio/Michigan state line.
Key Facts Mentions of it on social media grew 193% year over year between July 1, 2023 and July 31, 2024 compared to a similar timeframe covering the previous year, according to data from social media analytics firm Social Sprout. The meme originates from when social media users would post crazy videos and news articles of things happening in Ohio during 2021 and 2022, and people would comment “only in Ohio”—similar to the “ Florida man ” news story trend. The phrase was shortened to just “Ohio,” and it’s now used by Generation Alpha—those born after 2009—to describe something weird or bizarre, according to NBC News.
Social media users are now combining Ohio with other viral social slang words—including the gibberish term “skibidi” and the word “rizz,” which means to flirt—to create new sentences and phrases like “skibidi Ohio rizz,” which is an insult meaning a weird person who doesn’t have the ability to flirt. There were 10.2 million total social engagements—how users interact with content through likes, comments, shares and more—with the meme across all platforms in July, increasing by 214% since June, according to Social Sprout.
What Other Slang Words Are Associated With Ohio? What Is Brain Rot? Parents and experts have described the use of these slang words as an effect of “brain rot.” Although it’s not a medically recognized condition, brain rot is a “state of mental fogginess and cognitive decline that results from excessive screen engagement,” according to the Newport Institute, a collection of substance abuse and mental health centers for young adults. Excessively using technology in ways like binge watching YouTube videos, endlessly scrolling on social media or using multiple devices at once—watching television and scrolling through social media on a phone—can cause brain rot, according to the Newport Institute.
Parents have reported holding “unintelligible” conversations with their children because of the new slang terms they’ve created, NBC News reports , though younger generations have historically created new slang words that older generations may not always understand, like the millennial terms “on fleek” and “krunk,” and Gen Z’s terms “bussin’” and “ate.” Section Title The ‘Florida Man Games’: Meme Comes To Life In New Competition (Forbes) Parents and Gen Alpha kids are having unintelligible convos because of ‘brainrot’ language (NBC News) What does 'no cap' mean? Here's the definition of the slang term and how to use it. (USA Today) What do teens mean when they say ‘sigma’? (TODAY).
