TS Eliot once characterised modern man as an individual with a “headpiece filled with straw” for stuffing his mind with things that are worthless. It was an indictment of the moral and intellectual decay of those times. Now, in the age of the internet the human brain is subjected to indescribable assault as it is turned into a storehouse of mindless contents dished out almost every fraction of a second by social media. This is a sordid reality of present-day life and the Oxford English Dictionary has sought to crystalize this moment in our lives by announcing “Brain Rot” as the Oxford Word of the Year 2024. It very eloquently addresses the concerns over endless social media consumption and mind-numbing content. Brain Rot is defined as the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of online content that are considered trivial or unchallenging. However, despite its present rise to prominence, its first recorded use was in Henry David Thoreau’s book Walden in 1854.
Over 37,000 people voted to help choose the winner from a shortlist of six words drawn up by Oxford University Press (OUP), the publisher of the Oxford English Dictionary. Incidentally, this year marks the 20th anniversary of selecting the word – or sometimes two words – that in some way sums up the most striking trend of human thoughts during a given year.
For this year six words contended for the coveted pride of place. Interestingly, all six contenders – slop, brain rot, demure, romantasy, lore and dynamic pricing – on the shortlist have one thing in common – the internet. “Slop” refers to anxieties about online phenomena, while “brain rot” is caused by consuming too much “slop” and other material. Social media has also popularised old-fashioned words such as “demure,” “lore” and “romantasy,” the latter meaning a blend of romance and fantasy so much loved by BookToker. A “BookToker” is a member of the BookTok community on TikTok, which is a sub-community dedicated to books and literature. The word “dynamic pricing” relates to skyrocketing costs of tickets for fans in virtual queues. Perhaps it is a reflection of the times we are living in that the list of words ignore the eventful year in real life which witnessed elections in the UK, the US and other countries. Some of the words that gained currency during the run-up to the elections are – “cat lady”, “supermajority”, “MAGA” (Make America Great Again), “Trumpism” and “weird.” Any of these could have been included as contenders. The OUP has often linguistically responded to global events with new coinages such as “post-truth” following Donald Trump’s 2016 win, “climate emergency” chosen in 2019 and the “vax” that won the spotlight in 2021 following upheavals in 2020 caused by COVID-19. It is pertinent to remember that writers from Shakespeare to JK Rowling have been supplying new words for centuries. It is no surprise that the internet is now taking over since new technology requires new words and new ways of saying things. It is worth remembering that the invention of the telephone had given rise to the usage of “hello” and “hi”.
In fact, during the past two decades, the words that have captured the mind globally are “podcast” and “selfie.” The question is whether the word of the year is a mere PR stunt or a worthwhile pursuit. The answer is language is dynamic. It is constantly evolving. The exercise of choosing a word reflecting a key tendency of human pursuits during a year is laudable as it is a reminder of progress or its opposite.