'Brain rot' is Oxford's Word of the Year for 2024
The selection was made following a public vote, in which over 37,000 people participated.
The Oxford University Press has announced 'brain rot' as the Word of the Year for 2024, reviving a 170-year-old term with renewed significance in the age of social media.
Defined as "the supposed deterioration of a person's mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material considered to be trivial or unchallenging," the term has captured the zeitgeist of a digital age increasingly concerned about the quality of online content, reports Euronews.
The selection was made following a public vote, in which over 37,000 people participated.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
'Brain rot' emerged victorious from a shortlist of six contenders, including 'demure' (reserved or restrained in appearance or behavior), 'dynamic pricing' (adjusting prices based on market demand), and 'romantasy' (a genre blending romance and fantasy).
The term's origins date back to 1854 when it appeared in Henry David Thoreau's Walden. Thoreau criticised societal tendencies to devalue complex ideas, writing, "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?"
In modern usage, 'brain rot' has seen a 230% increase in frequency between 2023 and 2024.
The term has gained prominence as a descriptor of the effects of excessive consumption of low-quality content, particularly on social media platforms.
Meanwhile, the word 'Brat' was selected by Collins Dictionary as the 2024 Word of the Year.
