Which word captures the spirit of 2024: “brain rot” or “enshittification”? Both have been highlighted by separate dictionary publishers as words that reflect the zeitgeist of the past year – and both show how online culture continues to shape the way we communicate with each other (for better or worse).

“Brain rot” has been awarded the UK's Oxford Word of the Year for 2024. Per their definition, the word describes “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”.

In other words, it describes the feeling of scrolling through inane videos and memes for hours upon hours until the mind seems to hum with a strange sensation, simultaneously dulled and fizzing with stimulation. Prolonged exposure to this sorry state can result in the adoption of seemingly nonsensical language. 

“Brain rot” was picked as the Oxford Word of the Year by a public vote involving 37,000 people. Their voting appears to be in tune with the wider temper of our time as the use of the term increased 230 percent between 2023 and 2024.

“I find it fascinating that the term ‘brain rot’ has been adopted by Gen Z and Gen Alpha, those communities largely responsible for the use and creation of the digital content the term refers to. These communities have amplified the expression through social media channels, the very place said to cause ‘brain rot’. It demonstrates a somewhat cheeky self-awareness in the younger generations about the harmful impact of social media that they’ve inherited,” Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Languages, said in a statement.

“Looking back at the Oxford Word of the Year over the past two decades, you can see society’s growing preoccupation with how our virtual lives are evolving, the way internet culture is permeating so much of who we are and what we talk about. Last year’s winning word, ‘rizz’, was an interesting example of how language is increasingly formed, shaped, and shared within online communities. ‘Brain rot’ speaks to one of the perceived dangers of virtual life, and how we are using our free time. It feels like a rightful next chapter in the cultural conversation about humanity and technology. It’s not surprising that so many voters embraced the term, endorsing it as our choice this year,” Grathwohl added.

Despite its strong association with internet culture, the word has been around for at least 170 years. The first published mention of the word appears in 1854 in Henry David Thoreau’s book Walden to describe how society tends to underappreciate complex ideas. Thoreau writes: “While England endeavours to cure the potato rot, will not any endeavor to cure the brain-rot – which prevails so much more widely and fatally?”

“Brain rot” has competition, though. Meanwhile, “enshittification” has been crowned Macquarie Dictionary’s Word of the Year over in Australia. The selection process involves a committee of editors who compile a long list of words across 13 categories, eventually narrowing it down to a shortlist. This final list is then presented for a public vote.

Per their definition of “enshittification”: noun, the gradual deterioration of a service or product brought about by a reduction in the quality of service provided, especially of an online platform, and as a consequence of profit-seeking.

Describing the significance of the word, the committee said it’s “a very basic Anglo-Saxon term wrapped in affixes which elevate it to being almost formal; almost respectable. This word captures what many of us feel is happening to the world and to so many aspects of our lives at the moment.”

Merriam-Webster, an American publisher of dictionaries, is yet to reveal their word of the year, although our bet is on another word that summarizes how the modern world is becoming increasingly strange, uncertain, and possibly a bit crap.