The Oxford University Press has selected “Brain Rot” as its word of the year. Following a public vote in which over 37,000 people had their say, we’re pleased to announce that the Oxford Word of the Year for 2024 is ‘brain rot’.[1]
They define Brain Rot as the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material considered trivial or unchallenging. In particular, they say ‘brain rot’ gained new prominence this year as a term used to capture concerns about the impact of consuming excessive low-quality online content, especially on social media.
Thoreau used the word in his 1854 book, “Walden,” about his experiences of living a simple lifestyle in the natural world.
More recently, the word has been popular on social media platforms like TikTok among Gen Z and Gen Alpha communities. And it’s showing up in mainstream journalism, amidst societal concerns about the negative impact of overconsuming online content. Oxford University insists it refers to low-quality, low-value content found on social media and the internet.
It has also been used consistently in reference to online culture. It relates to a humorous or self-deprecating manner by online communities 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.[2]
From an older adult perspective, brain rot is a slang term used by ordinary folk, not neurologists, and not by people with mild, moderate, or severe cognitive impairment. People with Alzheimer’s disease know their brains are not rotting, just deteriorating.
Madame Wikipedia calls it “Internet” culture used to debase or demean content considered of considered of low quality or value, or the supposed negative psychological and cognitive effects caused by it. The term also refers to excessive use of digital media, especially short-form entertainment, which may affect cognitive health.[3]
The Conversation newsletter posts academic rigor and journalistic flair. Its headline blared, “Polarization, brain rot and brat – the 2024 words of the year point to the power, perils and ephemeral nature of digital life.”
Just before the 2024 U.S. election, Collins Dictionary chose ‘brat’ as its word of the year. The publisher defined it as “characterized by a confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude.”[4]
Not coincidentally, it was also the name of a chart-topping album released by Charli XCX in June 2024. In late July, the singer tweeted, “Kamala IS brat,” signaling her support for the Democratic presidential candidate. With Harris’ loss, brat lost some of its luster.”
The Atlantic is an American magazine and publisher covering a wide range of topics, including politics, culture, business, and technology. On December 3, 2024, it published a longish article titled, “Behind the Brain Rot.” They say the word captures how chronically online life has become. “The image is black-and-white, lending it an air of historical artifact: A modern-day Donald Trump standing next to Elvis Presley. The president-elect posted the picture on Truth Social last night. Presley is strumming a guitar; Trump is idling in the frame. Of course, this scene is impossible, and it’s not a real photograph. Elvis died in 1977 when Trump was 31 years old. Nevertheless, here’s Trump, side by side with the King, not smiling, not singing, just… hanging out. There is no punch line or even a semblance of a joke. It is literally just something to look at.”[5]
In the 2024 Presidential Election, U.S. News summed it up; “ Many of us have felt it, and now it’s official: ‘Brain Rot’ is the Oxford dictionary word of the year.[6]
Newsweek headlined the word in its February 20, 2024, release; “Donald Trump’s Causing ‘Brain Rot’ in America.”[7] In context, their headline comes from a former Trump staffer who allegedly said, “her ex-boss’s influence is causing brain rot in the United States.”
Using the term is no joke, Nieman Lab said. “The Trump assassination attempt meets the internet’s brain-rot era. They cite an article from the New Yorker on July 17, 2024. “Fittingly, for an event involving a former President notorious for spreading disinformation and inanity online. The assassination attempt on Trump suggests just how rapidly today’s social platforms can distort a deadly serious news event into misleading tidbits and gleefully empty jokes.”[8]
The 2024 presidential election result raises questions about sanity, competence, and intellect. Yahoo News posed the question, “What is brain rot” and answered it, “[Brain Rot] is turning modern life in our minds to mush.”[9]
Calling out someone by labeling them as “brain rot” has ethical overtones. Neuroethics is defined as a subfield of bioethics that focuses on the ethical, legal, and social dimensions of neuroscientific research, particularly addressing the ethical issues arising from developments in neuroscience and the implications of interventions in the brain in society.[10]
Those terms used in casual conversation are not ethical. They are dismissive and derogatory, particularly when used to describe people or situations that deserve more nuanced discussion.[11] “They oversimplify by labeling certain people, often politicians’ mental state as “rotten” based on their consumption of certain types of social media content, potentially ignoring complex factors contributing to their thoughts or opinions.”[12]
Tick Tok uniformly raises ethical concerns surrounding use of its algorithm because it reinforces racist views among users.[13] Premier Publishing studied the ethical issues in TikTok.
Through the analysis of the TikTok dataset and some visual data processing methods, how the recommendation system works is better displayed in this paper. By analyzing the data, the paper also makes it clear why the recommendation system brings the threat of spreading inappropriate information, both in text and videos. . . This paper analyzes the measures taken by the government and TikTok to face these problems. It emphasized that moral problems with Douyin are inevitable, but in addition to social platforms and the government, this research has concluded that there are better ways for TikTok to alleviate the problem to some extent. This paper recommends further research into more social media apps besides TikTok and further analysis of the potential problems that appeared in these apps or some common problems both share.”[14]
Using the dubious words of the year (Brain Rot & Brat) is ethically debatable. On the one hand, they are innocuous as just “words.” But when used indiscriminately, they should be rejected as slanderous and unethical. It’s an area where professional writers should stick to their legal and ethical imperatives. In the mouths of today’s rebellious politicians, hecklers, and miscreants, we should think about using muzzles. We cannot stop the use of the 2024 words of the year, but we can call out people who do.
[1] https://corp.oup.com/news/brain-rot-named-oxford-word-of-the-year-2024/
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skibidi_Toilet
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain_rot#:~:text
[4] https://apnews.com/article/collins-word-year-brat-c495163b1562bd72f611192ddc5da3c2
[5] https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2024/12/behind-the-brain-rot/680866/
[6] https://www.usnews.com/news/offbeat/articles/2024-12-02/think-brain-rot-summed-up-2024-oxford-agrees-it-was-the-word-of-the-year
[7] https://www.newsweek.com/alyssa-farah-griffin-says-donald-trump-causing-brain-rot-america-1871637
[8] https://www.niemanlab.org/reading/the-trump-assassination-attempt-meets-the-internets-brain-rot-era/
[9] https://www.yahoo.com/news/lifestyle/brain-rot-modern-life-turning-070000390.html
[10] https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/neuroethics#:~:text=Neuroethics%20is%20defined%20as%20a,in%20the%20brain%20on%20society.
[11] https://www.google.com/search?q=are+using+the+words+brain+rot+or+brat+ethical%3F&oq=are+using+the+words+brain+rot+or+brat+ethical%3F&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigATIHCAMQIRigATIHCAQQIRigATIHCAUQIRigATIHCAYQIRiPAjIHCAcQIRiPAtIBCTI2MDA0ajBqN6gCALACAA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
[12] https://theconversation.com/polarization-brain-rot-and-brat-the-2024-words-of-the-year-point-to-the-power-perils-and-ephemeral-nature-of-digital-life-245251#:~:text=The%20Macquarie%20Dictionary%20of%20Australian,prevailed%20%E2%80%9Cwidely%20and%20fatally.%E2%80%9D
[13] https://medium.com/si-410-ethics-and-information-technology/tiktoks-addictive-and-unethical-algorithm-3f44f41f1f3c#:~:text=TikTok%20has%20also%20received%20backlash,A%20Race%20Problem?%E2%80%9D%20).
[14] https://ppublishing.org/archive/publication/78-study-of-the-ethical-issues-in-tiktok
I am an author and a part-time lawyer with a focus on ethics and professional discipline. I teach creative writing and ethics to law students at Arizona State University. Read my bio.
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I am an author and a part-time lawyer with a focus on ethics and professional discipline. I teach creative writing and ethics to law students at Arizona State University. 
My latest novel is Hide & Be. 
If you have an important story you want told, you can commission me to write it for you. 