Brain Rot – Have You Got It?

Oxford University Press has selected ‘brain rot’ as the Word of the Year for 2024. The term disparages the mind-numbing effect of endless distractions and doomscrolling on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X (formerly Twitter).

A venerable institution, Oxford University probably thinks it is thoroughly hip and on-trend in making this selection. Yet, the idea of brain rot is one of the most ancient known to man. A moral panic always attends the arrival of a new medium. Commentators decry most of the following: “Young people spending too much time on it”, “Not good for their minds”, “They need to get into the fresh air more often”, “Civilisation is in decline”, and “Old ways are better and more morally improving.”

This kind of discourse among our self-appointed moral guardians can be traced to ancient times. When writing arrived, the thought leaders of the day were worried about its impact on the mind. An oral culture requires prodigious memorisation; writing leads to laziness, they said – or ‘brain rot’, in other words.

Today, if you read ‘improving’ novels, you are thought to be the cultured and brainy type, capable of sustained attention, which is, of course, superior to the dopamine hit of someone liking your post on Instagram or TikTok.

It was not always so. In the 18th and 19th centuries, novels were thought to be addictive, shallow and so absorbing that they could cut readers off from everyday life. Fast forward to the 20th century, and almost the same fears for today’s youth are expressed about gaming. Our news media is full of images of wan and unhealthy young men stuck indoors, glued to a screen, thumbs on a console, chowing down on fast food because they can’t tear themselves away.

Yet, a more intriguing perspective to view news media lies in its power to rewire our brains in unfamiliar ways that have highly unpredictable outcomes.

When Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, there were many warnings of the dangers of too much book learning. Theologians quoted the Acts of the Apostles: “Much learning doth make thee mad.” The rapid and widespread availability of the Bible in vernacular languages (rather than only Latin) in the 16th century was certainly bad news for the Catholic Church. You don’t need a priest to intercede for you with God if you have your Bible at hand as a personal spiritual guide. What followed was the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther, who initiated it, was a master of penning powerful propaganda leaflets that were cheap to print and widely distributed. There had been critics of the corruption of the Catholic Church before Luther, but the printing press enabled him to create a radical break with the past.

As for gaming, it turns out that all those young men are exactly what the modern military needs to fight a war. Gaming enables you to hone new skills of hand-eye coordination and digital dexterity. This is what you need to fly drones, which, as the war in Ukraine has shown, is increasingly important for battlefield success.

So, is ‘brain rot’ a good choice as the word of the year? It is certainly not a new thing. I would have nominated doomscrolling – a new behaviour enabled by a new technology – the smartphone. Is it bad for you? It’s way too early to tell.

Julian Saunders is a strategist, writer and teacher.
julians@joinedupcompany.com