'뇌 썩음' ; 옥스포드대 2024년 올해의 단어

'뇌 썩음' : "사람의 정신적 또는 지적 상태가 악화되는 것으로, 특히 사소하거나 도전할 가치가 없는 것으로 여겨지는 자료(현재는 특히 온라인 콘텐츠)를 과도하게 소비한 결과로 여겨지며, 그러한 악화로 이어질 가능성이 있는 것으로 특징지어지는 것"으로 정의된다.

12월 2일 옥스포드대 출판부가 '뇌 썩음'을 '올해의 단어'로 선정했다. 

'뇌 썩음'은 저급하고 하찮은 온라인 콘텐츠를 과잉 소비한 결과 인간의 정신적 지적 상태가 퇴보하는 현상을 의미한다. 

'뇌 썩음'은 SNS 과잉 소비 등 가상세계와 관련된 위험성과 사람들이 여가시간을 어떻게 사용하는지에 대한 우려를 담고 있다. 

'뇌 썩음'이라는 용어가 처음 기록된 것은 1854년 헨리 데이비드 소로의 책 '월든'에서 발견된다.

소로는 사회가 복잡하거나 여러 가지 방식으로 해석될 수 있는 아이디어를 단순한 것으로 선호하여 평가 절하하는 정신적 및 지적 노력의 전반적인 쇠퇴를 나타내는 것이라고 했다.

The Oxford Word of the Year for 2024 is ‘brain rot’.

Why ‘brain rot’?

‘Brain rot’ is defined as “the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging. Also: something characterized as likely to lead to such deterioration”.

Our experts noticed that ‘brain rot’ gained new prominence this year as a term used to capture concerns about the impact of consuming excessive amounts of low-quality online content, especially on social media. The term increased in usage frequency by 230% between 2023 and 2024.

The first recorded use of ‘brain rot’ was found in 1854 in Henry David Thoreau’s book Walden, which reports his experiences of living a simple lifestyle in the natural world. 

As part of his conclusions, Thoreau criticizes society’s tendency to devalue complex ideas, or those that can be interpreted in multiple ways, in favour of simple ones, and sees this as indicative of a general decline in mental and intellectual effort: 

“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?”

The term has taken on new significance in the digital age, especially over the past 12 months. 

Initially gaining traction on social media platform—particularly on TikTok among Gen Z and Gen Alpha communities—’brain rot’ is now seeing more widespread use, such as in mainstream journalism, amidst societal concerns about the negative impact of overconsuming online content. 

In 2024, ‘brain rot’ is used to describe both the cause and effect of this, referring to low-quality, low-value content found on social media and the internet, as well as the subsequent negative impact that consuming this type of content is perceived to have on an individual or society.

It has also been used more specifically and consistently in reference to online culture. 

Often used in a humorous or self-deprecating manner by online communities, it is strongly associated with certain types of content—including creator Alexey Gerasimov’s viral Skibidi Toilet video series, featuring humanoid toilets, and user-generated ‘only in Ohio’ memes, which reference bizarre incidents in the state. 

This content has given rise to emerging ‘brain rot language’—such as ‘skibidi’, meaning something nonsensical, and ‘Ohio’, meaning something embarrassing or weird—which reflects a growing trend of words originating in viral online culture before spreading offline into the ‘real world’.

Now also gaining momentum is a broader, more serious conversation about the potential negative impact that excessively consuming this content might have on mental health, particularly in children and young people. Earlier this year, a mental health centre in the US even published advice online about how to recognize and avoid ‘brain rot’.

* Source : Oxford University Press