Dictionaries have selected enshittification, brain-rot and polarization as their 2024 words of the year.
The publishers of the Oxford English Dictionary selected brain-rot as their Word of the Year. Oxford University Press defined the noun as the “supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as a 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.”
The selection committee 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.” They noted that “the term increased in usage frequency by 230 percent between 2023 and 2024.”
Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford Languages, said, “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.”
Australian English Dictionary Macquarie selected enshittification as their Word of the Year. The dictionary defined the colloquial noun as “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.”
The selection committee commented that the term was 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.”
This year, Merriam-Webster chose polarization as their Word of the Year. Enough said.
Here’s hoping for a new year with less brain-rot, less polarization and less enshittification.
Chris Houston is the president of the Canadian Peace Museum, a non-profit organization.
