brain rot, n.Trivia

Pope ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠Francis used the term in 2025 while urging people to cut back on social media.

Oxford ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠named it Word of the Year for 2024, beating "demure" and "romantasy," after usage rose 230% per million words.

Its ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠earliest recorded use is in Thoreau's Walden (1854): "will not any endeavor to cure the brain-rot, which prevails so much more widely and fatally?"