The Word of The Year
Well, apparently the stats have been analyzed and the verdict is in. The Oxford University Press word of the year is here, and the winner is….drum roll please…. “brain rot”. According to said dictionary, brain rot is “the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material considered to be trivial or unchallenging.” Believe it or not, they say that the word was first used in 1854, so it isn’t just a new fangled made up word that only won the prize because it is hip. No no, unfortunately, it would appear that the reason it has become so much more common is that we have occasion to use it now more than ever! Oxford says that the term’s use was up so much as it was often “used to capture the concerns about the impact of consuming excessive amounts of low-quality online content, especially on social media.” Aka we were in need of something to describe the negative effects that watching mindless videos and scrolling on our devices has on our brains! I think we could also add our slowly increasing reliance on AI to that list; surely as the use of artificial intelligence increases, we will rely less and less on actual intelligence. I’m almost positive the old “use it or lose it” mantra applies very well to our brain cells .
Certainly the impacts of what happens to our brain when it’s “on technology” has been a concern for many years. We have noticed a significant increase in mental health concerns, lack of social connections, technology addictions, and decreased attention spans - just to name a few. I’m not sure about you, but the fact that the term that represents our year the most is ‘brain rot’, is a sad state of affairs and should ring a few alarm bells for all of us!
Now is a good time to reflect back on your year and see how much that brain rot term applies to you. If not much, then great! Strive to keep it that way! If you find yourself admitting quietly that perhaps it’s got ya a bit, not to worry; just let it be a gentle reminder to yourself for next year. Cutting down even a little bit on technology time is a great place to start. It’s hard to break habits, but making a conscious effort to make it less accessible is an easy first step. Did you know that even having your phone in your pocket or purse means you’ll check it less than when it’s just in your hand or sitting on the desk in front of you? Maybe you’d be able to think out the solution to a problem on your own, without immediately asking Google for the answer if it took you minute to haul out your device first. The more difficult it is to access the less of a knee jerk response to reach for it. A few other things to try are to put it away after a certain time, or to have some time-outs throughout the day when you don’t check it and instead engage in your environment and those around you in real life!
Not everything we do on technology is mindless or intellectually unchallenging, it can be a very useful tool and can also help us expand our horizons and teach us about topics very effectively and efficiently. It might be good to make a concerted effort to spend at least the majority of the technology time on things that don’t zap our mind’s potential, but instead help to expand it with challenging or stimulating content, things that keep your brain sharp and make you think. Finally, perhaps one of the best counter attacks to mindless activity, is mindful activity. Technology and our tendency to spend time on it is not going to go away, so think about what you can add into your day to ensure that you’re also living in the moment and engaging in your surroundings. Maybe it’s just noticing the little things, learning to enjoy the stillness of quiet moments, or challenging yourself to improve in some way by learning a new skill or taking up a new hobby. Start small and go from there!
Now that you’ve thought about countering or avoiding the brain rot, your next task, inspired by Oxford, is to consider what your word of the year was, and what you’d like it to be next year. Brain rot might have taken the cake for the Oxford analysts, but it doesn’t mean it was reflective of your year (I hope!). Think back on what word you found yourself using a lot this year. Consider if it had a positive or a negative vibe and then respond accordingly. No need to tell anyone else or to beat yourself up about it if it isn’t what you’d like for yourself moving forward, just notice it. It isn’t right or wrong, it’s just one clue into how your year went. Having awareness about our tendencies is half the battle (if not more), to improving ourselves and moving forward. So spend a few moments with your coffee or tea and ponder your word of the year. Next, consider what sort of words you might like to be able to use more of next year. Finally, get busy thinking about what activities you might do to spur those on. This simple practice will help ensure that you don’t see brain rot on your highlight reel for next year ;)
Here’s oxford’s analysis - just incase you want to see a little more of how they determined brain rot topped the list:
https://corp.oup.com/news/brain-rot-named-oxford-word-of-the-year-2024/