‘Brain Rot’, the scourge of chronic online, becomes Oxford’s word of the year 2024

The Oxford University Press has announced its word of the year for 2024: “brain rot,” a term related to the consequences of wasting too much time online.

According to one statement from the publisher, which compiles the Oxford English Dictionary, the word is defined as “the perceived deterioration in a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially seen as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) that is considered trivial or is considered indisputable. Also: something characterized as likely to lead to such deterioration.”

“’Brain rot’ speaks to one of the perceived dangers of virtual life, and how we use our free time,” Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford Languages, said in the statement. “It feels like a rightful next chapter in the cultural conversation about humanity and technology.”

Although its current use is linked to technological advances, “brain rot” dates back more than 150 years. It first appeared in Henry David Thoreau’s 1854 book Waldenwhich chronicles the author’s retreat to a remote cabin in Massachusetts to live in solitude and escape the burdens of communal life.

“While England is trying to cure the potato rot, will there not be some attempt to cure the brain rot – which is so much more widespread and deadly?” wrote Thoreau.

Unfortunately for the author, it appears that brain rot has not been cured. Instead, it has continued to spread. Oxford notes that the term is now linked to a specific type of “low quality, low value” content that is spreading rapidly on social media – and what happens to us when we spend long periods of time consuming more and more of it.

According to Oxford, use of the word has increased by about 230 percent in the past year. It beat out five other finalists: ‘understated’, ‘lore’, ‘romance’, ‘slop’ and ‘dynamic pricing’.

“Choosing the word of the year is a bit of a dark art,” says Grathwohl New York Times‘ Jennifer Schuessler, adds, “The most successful ones are the ones that are somewhat counterintuitive and make people think.”

Last year the publisher’s winning word was ‘rizz’, a shortened version of ‘charisma’. After the announcement, use of the term increased by more than 1,500 percent, the newspaper said Times. Even now, a year later, its use is twice as high as before it was recognized by Oxford.

To determine the 2024 finalists, Oxford’s language experts examined usage data and selected words that “reflect the moods and conversations that helped shape the past year,” the statement said. They then left the final decision to a public poll. This year, more than 37,000 people took part in the vote.

Several other dictionaries also announce their own words of the year. Collins Dictionary has “brat,” which describes someone who is “characterized by a confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude.” Meanwhile, Dictionary.com went the opposite way, opting for “understated,” an adjective defined as “characterized by shyness and modesty.” The word, which was also on the Oxford shortlist, caught on after the American TikToker Jools Lebron described herself as “very understated, very thoughtful” while doing her makeup.

The popularity of ‘brain rot’ is a ‘symptom of the times we live in’ Andreas Przybylskia psychologist specializing in human behavior and technology at the University of Oxford, says BBC newsYasmin Rufo. “It describes our dissatisfaction with the online world, and it’s a word we can use to bundle our concerns around social media.”

While Thoreau helped launch “brain rot,” Casper says today’s younger generations have revived it.

“I find it fascinating that the term ‘brain rot’ has been adopted by Gen Z and Gen Alpha, the communities largely responsible for the use and creation of the digital content the term refers to,” he said in the statement. “It shows a somewhat brutal self-awareness among the younger generations about the damaging impact of social media that they have inherited.”