On 2 December 2024, the Oxford University Press announced their Oxford Word of the Year. Brain rot!
What is brain rot?
Good question. I’d never heard of it either. It could be a generational thing.
‘Brain rot’, according to their press office, is defined as:
the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material (now particularly online content) considered to be trivial or unchallenging. Also: something characterized as likely to lead to such deterioration.
Coined by Thoreau in 1854
The first recorded use of the term was in Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, published in 1854. Thoreau criticized society’s tendency to devalue complex ideas in favor of simpler ones, writing:
While England endeavours to cure the potato rot, will not any endeavour to cure the brain-rot – which prevails so much more widely and fatally?
It’s like the client I was speaking to this week. She was lamenting her kids’ (and their teenage friends) tendency to give up if they couldn’t do something quickly and easily. They’d say it’s too hard. She’s working hard to get them to break the problem down, solve it step by step, and discover the joy of figuring things out.
The word of the year in 2024
I can’t help but see the irony. I don’t think anyone in favour of less mental and intellectual effort would read Thoreau. Whoever brought the word back must have had a good education.
And brain rot has come back with a vengeance. Again, according to the press office:
Our experts noticed that ‘brain rot’ gained new prominence this year as a term used to capture concerns about the impact of consuming excessive amounts of low-quality online content, especially on social media. The term increased in usage frequency by 230% between 2023 and 2024.
The problem with brain rot for leaders
The problem with the non-stop gaming, zombie scrolling, doom scrolling and social media addiction in general, is that it results in mental fatigue. You start to have trouble functioning well in other areas of life. And that includes work.
A peer reviewed study of 1,051 young adults between 18 and 27 years old found that social media addiction has a significant negative association with executive functioning skills such as planning, organization, problem-solving, decision-making, and working memory.
Just like my client was lamenting with her school aged teenagers. But this study includes people of working age. Got any younger employees not performing to their potential? Brain rot might be why.
An antidote for brain rot
There’s no magic fix for brain rot, but there are ways to counter its effects. Rest is a big part of the solution—giving your brain the space to recover from the constant onslaught of trivial content. But rest alone isn’t enough. It helps you reset and bring you back to baseline. But to truly thrive, you need to re-engage with activities that challenge your thinking and bring a sense of purpose and joy.
Another reason to spark joy
Think about what sparks your creativity or inspires you to think deeply—whether it’s solving a complex problem, learning a new skill, or simply stepping away from the noise for a meaningful conversation. These moments remind us why the trivial stuff is, well, trivial. You want to clear that out (Marie Kondo style) and let yourself have more moments that spark joy too.
For you and your team
For leaders, this isn’t just about personal recovery. It’s about creating an environment where your team can break free from distraction and find focus, energy, and clarity. In my webinar, The Rested Executive, I dive into how rest and re-engagement can help leaders recharge and build habits that restore both their own performance and their team’s potential.
If this sounds like something that could benefit you or your team, feel free to message me, and I’ll provide you with on-demand access to the replay.
I developed this because many of my clients expressed feeling tired. What I didn’t anticipate was how much I would learn about rest myself—and I’m already experiencing the benefits. I hope you will too.
Image by marlon rondal from Pixabay
