The Implications Of The Word 'Brain Rot'
By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
6 November 2024
"Words also have lean or purple patches, phases and lives. Certain words remain in a dormant state like a volcano. They erupt suddenly to make their presence felt and at times, completely new words are coined to capture the prevalent spirit of a specific period or phase. Words represent the times we're in. "
Translated From The Editorial In A Dutch Newspaper
Following a public vote in which more than 37,000 people had their say, we’re pleased to announce that the Oxford Word of the Year for 2024 is ‘brain rot’.
Our language experts created a shortlist of six words to reflect the moods and conversations that have helped shape the past year. After two weeks of public voting and widespread conversation, our experts came together to consider the public’s input, voting results, and our language data, before declaring ‘brain rot’ as the definitive Word of the Year for 2024.
Courtesy, OUP (Oxford University Press)
'Brain rot’ is defined as “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. Also: something characterized as likely to lead to such deterioration”.
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.
It's worthwhile to mention that the first recorded use of ‘brain rot’ was found in 1854 in Henry David Thoreau’s book Walden, which reports his experiences of living a simple lifestyle in the natural world. As part of his conclusions, Thoreau criticizes society’s tendency to devalue complex ideas, or those that can be interpreted in multiple ways, in favour of simple ones, and sees this as indicative of a general decline in mental and intellectual effort: “While England endeavours to cure the potato rot, will not any endeavour to cure the brain-rot – which prevails so much more widely and fatally?”
The term has taken on new significance in the digital age, especially over the past 12 months. Initially gaining traction on social media platform—particularly on TikTok among Gen-Z and Gen Alpha communities—’brain rot’ is now seeing more widespread use, such as in mainstream journalism, amidst societal concerns about the negative impact of overconsuming online content.
In 2024, ‘brain rot’ is used to describe both the cause and effect of this, referring to low-quality, low-value content found on social media and the internet, as well as the subsequent negative impact that consuming this type of content is perceived to have on an individual or society.
At the moment, social media is full of putrid stuff that's actually damaging and detrimental to the users' mental and emotional health.
Recently, Australia passed into law a social media ban for children aged under 16 after an emotive debate that gripped the nation, setting a benchmark for jurisdictions around the world with one of the toughest regulations targeting Big Tech.
World's top-notch linguist and lexicographer David Crystal is of the view that a language determines an individual's overall growth and it (language) helps him grow into a socially and culturally balanced human.
Neuro-linguists are also of the same opinion that linguistically sound individuals make a significant difference in a positive way. On the contrary, linguistically unsound people are not only uncouth, they tend to gravitate towards crimes and shady activities. In short, language and mindset are Siamese Twins.
The rotten stuff on social media in an equally rancid language is not only spoiling the language of the Generation-Z and post-millennials, but is also defiling the language and mindset of adults. This is alarming. Social media lingo has seeped into our (linguistic) consciousness and the uncensored material on it has damaged our brains. Ironically, though we call it social media, it has made all of us unsocial! Mental health experts believe that the constant hammering of substandard and often outright despicable pieces of information can permanently damage human brains. The overdose of unverified 'facts' is making us more and more gullible. When the brain gets accustomed to receiving only that which is lowly, untrue and below par, it refuses to accept what's good and true.
To quote Marcel Proust, "The worst mind resists and resents the best things." This is happening on social media which's causing widespread 'brain-rot.' Human brain needs nurturing and it's very pliable. It (brain) acts, reacts and responds the way an individual uses it. If we nurture and nourish it aesthetically, we'll have epicureans and if we treat it shabbily and shoddily, we'll have savages and barbarians. It all depends upon how we feed our brains. Social media has oversimplified a lot many things by making them ridiculously accessible to all and sundry. Now the brain doesn't have to exercise its grey cells to get and understand them. This has atrophied our brains to languish in the craniums.
So, ‘Brain rot’ isn’t just a word; it’s a mirror, reflecting society’s collective march toward a future where critical thinking is a quaint relic of the past. And if, after reading this, anyone feels compelled to open YouTube to enjoy a video of farting in public, Thoreau would be so proud of coining ‘brain rot’.
-----
A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian.
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/implications-word-brain-rot/d/133942
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism