Wetin be brain rot? Oxford University word of di year

You dey spend hours dey scroll through Instagram reels and TikTok? If so, you fit dey suffer from brain rot, wey Oxford University Press don name dia phrase or word of di year.

Na term wey capture di worries about di impact of consuming too much amounts of low-quality online content, especially for social media. Di use of di word see increase of 230% for im frequency from 2023 to 2024.

Psychologist and Oxford University Professor Andrew Przybylski tok say di popularity of di word na "symptom of di time wey we dey live in".

Brain rot beat five oda phrases or words for di dictionary publisher shortlist, including demure, Romantasy and dynamic pricing.

Wetin be brain rot?

Dem define brain rot as situation where pesin mental and intellectual state dey go down, dem especially see am as di result of overconsumption of material wey dey considered to be trivial or unchallenging,

especially di one wey look like di result of overconsumption of material wey dey considered to not dey so important or unchallenging,

Di first recorded use of brain rot date much bifor di creation of di internet - e dey written down in 1854 by Henry David Thoreau for im book Walden.

E dey criticise society way to dey devalue complex ideas and how dis na part of a general reduction in mental and intellectual effort.

E bin lead am to ask: "While England dey try cure di potato rot, shey nobody go try to cure di brain-rot – wey dey so much more widely and worse?"

Di word initially bin gain ground on social media among Gen Z and Gen Alpha communities, but now, dem dey use am for mainstream as a way to describe low-quality, low-value content wey dey social media.

Prof Przybylski tok say "evidence no dey say brain rot na actually something".

"Instead, e dey describe our dissatisfaction wit di online world and na word wey we fit use to tag our anxieties wey we get around social media."

Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Languages, say to look back at di Oxford Word of di Year over di last two decades "you go see society growing preoccupation wit how our virtual lives dey evolve, di way internet culture dey enter so much of who we be and wetin we dey tok about".

"Last year winning word, 'rizz,' na interesting example of how language dey increasingly formed, shaped, and shared within online communities.

"Brain rot speak to one of di dangers of virtual life, and how we dey use our free time."

Which oda words make di shortlist?

Other dictionary words of di year

Oxford University Press - publishers of di Oxford English Dictionary - no be di only one wey get a word of di year. Last month, Cambridge Dictionary bin announce say manifest na dia own winner.

Di traditional definition of manifest include di adjective - "easily noticed or obvious" and di noun "to show something clearly through signs or actions".

E now include "to manifest" in di sense of "to imagine achieving something wey you want, in di belief say to do so go make am more likely to happun".

E come off di back of one global wellness trend by celebrities including singer Dua Lipa wey bin tok say she bin manifest her headline slot for Glastonbury bin endorse.

Collins English Dictionary also bin announce for November say dia word of di year na brat - one word wey bin don dey everywhere over di last couple of months thanks to Charli XCX's viral album.

Brat dey defined as pesin wit a kind of "confident, independent and pleasure-seeking attitude".

E bin start as di name of her number one album, but e bin grow into a cultural movement for some, wit pipo wey adopt di brat way of life.

Anoda internet phenomenon don inspire di Dictionary.com word of di year wey be demure.

Di word bin take off for August afta content creator Jools Lebron, bin post on TikTok abut her demure work outfit and mindful make-up.

Di "very demure, very mindful" trend bin take off afta dat and di ironic idea bin make fun at di stereotypical ideas of femininity.