Is Your Brain Rotten?

Social media has been around for a long time and increasingly advanced in its culture. Two of the most popular platforms being Instagram and Tik Tok. Instagram has been around for almost 15 years now and TikTok for about 7. Throughout the years, there have been many trends and catch phrases that make their way into our everyday lives. 

Since the start of quarantine, Tik Tok has come out with numerous trends every month. These trends become so big that they travel to other social media platforms. In 2022, the “brain rot” trend started to become what's known as “a new era of Tik Tok.”  When someone refers to something being “brain rot”, this means that something someone has said or referred to is “chronically online.” The term “chronically online” refers to when someone spends a lot of time online so it results in them revolving their personality around the internet culture. 

While interviewing Hillcrest, a highschool filled with teenagers of different ages, we asked them several questions on brain rot. A student here stated, “I think it’s negative just because it makes us talk illiterate, because like you would make a whole sentence out of brain rot and it’s illiterate and nobody’s going to understand it if they speak brain rot.” Additionally another student said something similar, “I think it’s negative because you just look dumb doing it. You can’t unironically say skibidi in a sentence and not expect me to fall on the floor laughing.” All students knew what brain rot is and gave similar examples. They hold similar beliefs. Brain Rot has a negative impact on teenagers and upcoming generations. 12th grade student David Cameron stated “As a person who’s into comedy and appreciates it very much I think brain rot is kind of getting out of hand and ruining a real sense of humor in teens. We are starting to move away from real comedic art in exchange for quick, effortless and digital pieces that really have no creativity behind it. These constant 15 second videos of GYATS and Skibidi toilet is literally destroying what truly is funny. In my opinion comedy is supposed to be what pushes the boundaries on the second amendment and protects it in a way. However brain rot is not doing it, It’s making us corny and slowing us down."

All in all, brain rot has been around for quite some time and will continue to grow with the generations to come. While they build a sense of community, they can also reduce our thinking and creativity. As social media changes, it's important to encourage deeper connections with content to keep communication and creativity strong especially with the generations to come.