For the past 20 years, Oxford University Press has chosen a word of the year to sum up the zeitgeist of the previous 12 months. In 2024, they chose two words that describe one concept: ‘brain rot’. The publishers noted that ‘brain rot’ could be found as early as 1854 in Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, the author’s reflections on living simply, surrounded by nature. However, their researchers noticed a 230% increase in the term’s use between 2023 and 2024 to explain people’s “… concerns about the impact of consuming excessive amounts of low-quality online content, especially on social media”.
Streaming entertainment services are also adding to our concerns, as dramas such as Adolescence highlight the extreme dangers of living more time in the online world, with its fast-evolving use of cloaked language that can lead to cyber bullying and cult-like behaviour. These dramas also create their own online feeding frenzy as entertainment and news channels vie to keep up with trending content.
Parents who are concerned have been advised to learn more about changing text and visual languages to keep pace with their teens, and demystify expressions to better deal with them. For example, the Australian Government’s online content, ‘The Algorithm of Disrespect’, invites readers to explore a young person’s online social media experience:
The UK’s eSafety Commissioner sees critical thinking as one solution and provides a series of online tools to foster this skill:
Critical thinking is seen as one way to retrain our brains to think before we click, and to overcome the mostly negative and alarming headlines that fill our scrolling screens. Are there other things we should be doing to fight back and keep our brains more positive and active? I’ve been investigating online, and most sources agree to focus on the ‘four Cs’: critical thinking; creative thinking; communicating; and collaborating. So, here are some ideas to start you thinking about combatting ‘brain rot’.
- Continue reading online but think critically. Question everything. Find opposing views, and make up your own mind.
- Visit a gallery and focus on the visual displays.
- Take a guided tour and try to remember as much as you can about the facts your guide imparts.
- Read a scientific article and write a short summary.
- Read a poem – and then write one. Stephen Fry’s The Ode Less Travelled is a good place to start.
- Look into mindfulness.
- Engage in problem-solving – do a word puzzle, jigsaw, or play Backgammon with a favourite uncle or aunt!
- Join a debating group or book club.
- Take a drawing class or learn a new craft for fun.
- Listen to an audio book.
- Check out a podcast episode or read a journal article and then explain it as briefly as possible to a friend.
- If you can afford to, enrol in an online class – there are even short courses in critical thinking.
- Listen to classical (or modern) music and imagine what sort of film it could be the soundtrack to. Write an elevator pitch for your film.
- Take a tip from Thoreau – seek out and spend time in nature’s green spaces!
If you have other ideas, please let us know by leaving a comment on our socials.
