Paris Demetriades
"Brain rot" was named the word of the year, but I believe it could rightfully be described as the word of the entire decade.
Recently, the Oxford English Dictionary proclaimed "brain rot" as the word of the year. This choice struck me as so fitting that I contend it aptly captures not just the essence of 2023, but of the last ten years as a whole.
The term describes the mental decay and cognitive fog brought on by endless scrolling—a numbing of the mind. This concept, reflected in its Greek equivalent and voted for by over 37,000 people, highlights one of the most pervasive, alarming, and dangerous phenomena of our era. It impacts almost everyone and touches virtually every aspect of our public and private lives. Consider how it shapes the way we engage in politics and choose our leaders—a quick glance at who is elected and the often-flimsy criteria behind those choices is proof enough. It influences how we interpret global crises, like pandemics and wars, and even how we navigate personal interactions, from romantic pursuits to the simplest forms of everyday communication.
If we accept that reading books is a form of mental exercise—a focused, immersive act of attention—then we must be alarmed by what has taken its place. Thoughtfully written, often lengthy books that demand our undivided time are increasingly supplanted by a chaotic flood of bite-sized, often trivial information. This deluge, consumed daily in the misleading depths of the internet, is reshaping how we process and prioritize information.
Most of what we encounter in the endless scroll is unreliable, frivolous, or outright false. Each piece of content flashes by in mere seconds, fostering a culture of constant distraction. As a result, even listening to the person next to us has become a challenge. It is simply impossible for the human brain to absorb, process, and make sense of such a relentless torrent of largely irrelevant information. While mindless content isn’t new—the era of television was full of what we once called "dumb information"—today, its sheer volume and inanity have reached unprecedented heights.
What, then, is the solution? Is there a way back? Perhaps the answer lies in personal choices: how each of us decides to spend our limited free time. This scarcity of time is, itself, perhaps not unrelated to the phenomenon of brain rot. Still, there is some room for optimism, as suggested by Casper Grathwol, chairman of Oxford Languages, who commented on the word of the year: "I also find it fascinating that the word 'brain rot' has been adopted by Gen Z and Gen Alpha, those communities largely responsible for the use and creation of the digital content the term refers to."
His observation suggests a potential for self-awareness among the generations most impacted by the very forces behind "brain rot." Whether this awareness will translate into meaningful change remains to be seen. For now, the term serves as both a diagnosis and a warning for the times we live in.
This opinion was translated from its Greek original.
