Brainrot has affected a huge population of our world, from “Skibidi” to “Knee surgery is tomorrow,” people have spent so much time on social media that their brains have become fried — almost numbed out from actual literature and grammar usage to using slang for everything. A dictionary could be dedicated to figuring out the words people have created from ongoing trends.
When people scroll on TikTok or Instagram at least one video will pop up on their feed that uses terms like “rizz” or “gooning.” Hours and hours on social media has turned our society into zombies but instead of zombies saying “brains” they say “alpha male.”
People use brainrotting on TikTok or Instagram as a tool to relieve stress. The more they use it the more they feel okay, and the more they need it. psyche.co states that teenagers are searching on social media platforms for brain rot, “TikTok as well as all the other digital media saturating their lives. As a genre of participation, brain rot is an oasis of calm amid the media chaos.”
Teenagers use social media as an answer to stress relief; often overlooking the stress it adds. Time spent on social media is directly linked to causing stress, with current world events social media provides immediate and often heavily polarized information. The removal of what should be human rights has been amplified by social media’s spread of homophobia, and racism, and people’s opinions on Trump’s re-election and abortion rights. This constant access to media makes teenagers feel as if they can’t do much to help the people that it’s affecting the most. They turn to escaping their own worlds by being on social media for hours on end. Teenagers, kids and even adults are addicted to social media.
It’s not just Gen Z, it’s also the generation that follows — Gen Alpha. This generation has been the most affected when it comes to brain rot, they take it so seriously to the point they have breakdowns if they are unable to access media.
Toddlers have become obsessed with Cocomelon, needing it to eat, to go to bed, or to have social interactions. These toddlers will throw a fit if they don’t have Cocomelon. 7-12 year old girls have been scrounging any Sephora products they can find due to trendy get ready with me videos (GRWM), where they tell a story about something that happened or what they are about to go do, all while using very expensive skincare and make-up. There have been multiple reports from Sephora customers and workers saying these pre-teens will come in and make messes, using and trying out skincare and make-up like Drunk Elephant and R.E.M. When their parents don’t buy them what they want, these pre-teens have been known to throw fits, thinking they need the skincare and make-up to fit in with the rest of the girls at their elementary school.
It’s not just girls that have been influenced and addicted to brain rot, boys in the same age range have had serious problems with something called “Skibidi Toilet,” a toilet with someone’s head in it. There are multiple videos of this toilet doing random things with the song “Skibidi Toilet” in the background. This has led to “skibidi toilet syndrome,” where kids are so addicted to these videos that it infiltrate their vocabulary. Their speech patterns become limited to quoting the “Skibidi Toilet” songs and randomly saying “sikbidi.” Parents are having to set an increasing amount of parental controls on YouTube because of how much it has affected children.
Some people use brain rotting as an escape, but others are purely addicted, frying their brains by watching these videos for hours on end.
