Oxford Dictionary Picks ‘Brain Rot’ As Word Of The Year 2024

The Oxford dictionary announced its word of the year 2024, and it is ‘Brain Rot.’ The term was reportedly first recorded in 1854 in the book Walden by Henry David Thoreau. Now, it means mindlessly scrolling through social media apps for hours.

The selection process for the word of the year 2024 involved over 37,000 public votes from a shortlist of six words compiled by Oxford University. Brain rot was then selected as the word of the year.

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What Does ‘Brain Rot’ Mean?

Brain rot describes the deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially when they overconsume digital material or non-relevant content considered to be trivial or unchallenging. In the digital world, every person is creating a bubble, especially younger audiences who scroll on social media platforms daily.

According to OUP, ‘Brain Rot’ reflects the increasing concern over how technology is shaping human thought processes and habits. The digital content cultivates our brains into their world, which leads to a decline in a person’s mental health and intellectual state.

In 2024, brain rot is being used to describe both the cause and effect of this. If you constantly consume low-quality and low-value content found on social media, it will have a negative impact that consuming this type of content is perceived to have on an individual or society.

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The Oxford word of the year in the year 2023 was ‘Rizz’ and in 2022 the word was ‘Goblin mode.’ Meanwhile, in 2019, the word of the year the Oxford dictionary picked was ‘Climate emergency.’

The Oxford dictionary word of the year is selected to symbolize the way language is constantly shifting in the era of social media.