What does brain rot mean on TikTok? New phenomenon explained

TikTokers have gone viral after coining the new term “brain rotting,” but some people are confused as to what it means.

Within the last decade, people have spent more time in front of screens than ever before. Using computers at school and offices to then come home and relax in front of the TV while scrolling on your phone or tablet has become a daily occurrence in most households.

However, people have reported feeling drowsy and mentally drained after spending too much time online. So much so that a new term has been created to describe it.

What is brain rotting?

Brain rot, sometimes written as brainrot, is a term used to describe the feeling of mental fogginess and cognitive decline after being on your phone or by a screen for too long.

The term comes from the idea that the internet is “rotting” the brains of frequent users who are “extremely online” or “chronically online,” leading them to reference memes and slang terms that aren’t typically used offline.

“One of the easiest ways to tell if someone’s brain has been destroyed by social media is to notice how often they reference internet jargon,” TikTok creator Joel Cave said in a post, which has been viewed over 4.4 million times.

He added that someone in his college class had trouble speaking without referencing viral TikTok audios.

Another TikToker who goes by  posted a video of him after developing “brain rot.” An on-screen caption said he had looked up from studying while in the library and thought he’d “finally developed internet brain rot” as he panned the camera to show a 1948 book by Norman Mailer called “The Naked and the Dead.”

The cover of the book featured an illustration known as “The 2000 Yard Stare” created by artist and war correspondent Thomas Lea in 1944. It depicts an American soldier who has witnessed the horrors of war.

However, younger generations will recognize the image from an online meme dubbed “1,000 Yard Stare,” often used as a light-hearted response by users who have seen a social media post they want to depict feeling traumatized by, or regretting having looked at.

The upload quickly racked up over 9.1 million views and more than 4000 comments, some of which wrote they had no idea the meme was based on a real image, and would have been terrified if they had seen it outside of their screens

People took to the comments to share similar experiences, where their minds had interpreted real-world items or events from an online perspective.

One user said they were watching a movie with subtitles on when the phrase “acoustic music” came up, and felt they had “officially lost it,” as they suggested they had understood the word in its online meaning — a slang term for “autistic.” 

A second user recalled they had seen a horse and their immediate response was to think of a TikTok sound associated with the animal

To learn more about different terms and slang coined on TikTok, check out our guide with all the terms and meanings you might want to know.