“Brain rot” has been introduced because the Oxford phrase of the yr for 2024, amid considerations over countless social media scrolling and mind-numbing content material.
More than 37,000 folks voted to assist select the winner from a shortlist of six phrases drawn up by Oxford University Press, the writer of the Oxford English Dictionary.
Its annual award, whose earlier winners have included “rizz” and “local weather emergency”, goals to mirror the moods and tendencies of the yr.
Brain rot is outlined as “the supposed deterioration of an individual’s psychological or mental state, particularly considered as the results of overconsumption of fabric (now significantly on-line content material) thought-about to be trivial or unchallenging”.
Oxford University Press mentioned the time period “gained new prominence in 2024 as a time period used to seize considerations in regards to the affect of consuming extreme quantities of low-quality on-line content material, particularly on social media”.
Despite its latest rise to prominence, its first recorded use was in Henry David Thoreau’s e-book Walden in 1854.
Casper Grathwohl, Oxford Languages president, mentioned: “Brain rot speaks to one of many perceived risks of digital life, and the way we’re utilizing our free time. It seems like a rightful subsequent chapter within the cultural dialog about humanity and expertise. It’s not stunning that so many citizens embraced the time period, endorsing it as our selection this yr.
“I additionally discover it fascinating that the phrase mind rot has been adopted by gen Z and gen Alpha, these communities largely liable for the use and creation of the digital content material the time period refers to.”
The 5 unsuccessful shortlisted phrases included “demure”, which rose to prominence following a social media pattern through the summer time that refers to reserved or accountable behaviour; “dynamic pricing”, the place the value of a services or products varies to mirror demand; “lore”, a physique of information and background data associated to somebody or one thing; “romantasy”, a fiction style combining romance and fantasy; and “slop”, low-quality content material on-line generated utilizing synthetic intelligence.
The shortlist was determined by a panel of 4 specialists, chaired by lexicographer Susie Dent, greatest identified for her appearances on Channel 4’s Countdown.
Oxford University Press took the general public vote into consideration because it selected the winner, in addition to public commentary and different evaluation earlier than saying it on Sunday night.
Recent winners of the Oxford prize embrace “rizz”, an abbreviation of the phrase charisma, which took the title final yr. “Goblin mode” took the crown in 2022 and the pandemic-era “vax” gained in 2021.
Across the Oxbridge divide, Cambridge Dictionary’s phrase of the yr was introduced final month as “manifest”, which is a wellness pattern to think about reaching a aim within the hope it can make it extra more likely to occur.
The phrase had been searched 130,000 occasions on the Cambridge Dictionary web site.
Social media tendencies have been additionally linked to “demure” being awarded as Dictionary.com’s winner, linked to a TikTok motion through the summer time advising folks to be reserved and conscious of their behaviour.
Another summer time craze led Collins Dictionary to make “brat” its phrase of the yr, after Charli xcx’s hit album of the identical title launched in June.
