2 weeks Ago By Jewil Anne M. Tabiolo
The words we choose often reflect the world we’re living in, and as 2024 draws to a close, the Oxford English Dictionary has revealed a Word of the Year that captures the spirit of the times. On Dec. 2, Oxford shared that the chosen word for 2024 is “brain rot.
” Surprisingly, this term speaks to a playful sense of self-awareness, a trademark of Gen Z and Gen Alpha, who are among the most frequent users of the word. But here’s the twist — it’s also undeniably tied to something quite mundane: toilets. The term “brain rot” saw a staggering 230 percent rise in usage between 2023 and 2024.
According to Oxford University Press, it’s a phrase used to express concerns about the effects of overindulging in low-quality online content, particularly on social media platforms. If you’re wondering about the origins of the word, let’s clear one thing up, it’s not TikTok’s doing. History The phrase “brain rot” first made its appearance in 1854, not on social media, but in Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden.
” In this classic, Thoreau reflects on his journey of living simply and immersing himself in nature, long before the digital age made the term a modern-day warning. In “Walden,” Thoreau critiques society’s growing preference for simplicity, dismissing complex or nuanced ideas in favor of the easily digestible. He views this shift as a sign of intellectual decline, reflecting a broader trend of diminishing mental effort and depth.
The Oxford University Press has taken out a portion of this classic which Thoreau has written, “While England endeavors to cure the potato rot, will not any endeavour to cure the brain-rot — which prevails so much more widely and fatally?” What Thoreau couldn’t have predicted in 1854 is how Gen Z and Gen Alpha would bring it back into the spotlight over the past 12 months. Statistics In 2024, “brain rot” refers to both the low-quality content found online and its negative impact on individuals and society. “It has also been used more specifically and consistently in reference to online culture.
Often used in a humorous or self-deprecating manner by online communities, it is strongly associated with certain types of content — including creator Alexey Gerasimov’s viral Skibidi Toilet video series, featuring humanoid toilets and user-generated ‘only in Ohio’ memes, which reference bizarre incidents in the state,” shared the press. After two weeks of voting and extensive public discussion, the experts reviewed the results, analyzed language data and ultimately crowned “brain rot” as the Word of the Year for 2024, following input from 37,000 participants in the public vote. “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,” shared Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford Languages.
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