To Skibidi or not to Skibidi?

Charlie Patmon

If I were to list every “brain rot” phrase or meme trending as of the last six months in this article, this publication would resemble a novel more than a newspaper. “Brain rot,” Oxford University Press’ 2024 Word or Phrase of the Year, is described as the consumption of low-quality, insignificant content, targeted particularly towards the youngest generation, resulting in a decline in critical-thinking skills, or the rotting of the brain.

“Brain rot” has become somewhat of a language, creating a buzz among the youth, leaving the adults stunned and confused. It is a rat-race of stimulant consumption, as all rush to learn and abuse the new phrases, sounds and words until we’re tired of them. To the average viewer, it may seem to resemble the linguistic tendencies of the youth that have occurred since the beginning of time – the “bees knees” in the ‘20s, the ‘60s “far out,” or “fly” in the ‘90s and 2000s. But could there be more to the cacophony of lingo than we know? What, if anything, does “brain rot” really mean for our modern society around the world?

To find out, we must start from the beginning. You might be surprised to learn that the term “brain rot” far predates the mobile phone or social media era. It actually first appears in essayist Henry David Thoreau’s 1854 book “Walden,” where he describes “brain rot” to be society’s backwards slide to oversimplification and mindlessness over enrichment. With this idea of “brain rot”, Thoreau’s proposed solution to stop society’s regression from intellectualism could be as simple as awareness, and to strive to employ more intellectual effort. So, is that all there is to “brain rot”, merely the presence or absence of thought?

Maybe so. But what makes this generation’s vernacular distinctly unique is the rapidly increasing accessibility to social media by some of society’s youngest members, specifically Gen Alpha. The spread of information, trends and language is moving at a speed no generation before has ever imagined. According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, 51 percent of children aged zero to eight years old have their own device (tablet or cellphone)—a staggering and ever-increasing figure. Now, more than ever, “brain rot” can spread and gain popularity amongst the youth faster than older generations can process it. Without much significance behind the phrases and gestures, it can be more easily acquired on social media in a short period of time and leave older generations even more confused.

So what? We know that “brain rot” is gaining popularity like no generation has seen before, spreading more rapidly than we’re able to comprehend. Could it be that it’s the symptom of our society, functioning with exponentially decreasing cognitive capabilities as we descend into the descent into cognitive decay that Thoreau suggests? Or is it just another wave of youthful jargon that comes and goes out of style with the seasons? It’s hard to say. What we do know is that this global phenomenon has become a defining feature of today’s generation and has certainly garnered enough cultural significance to last the test of time—or at least 6–7 days.