brain rot

Noun

brain rot (uncountable)

1. (derogatory) The degradation of mental faculties, intelligence, common sense, or moral character.
   • While England endeavors to cure the potato-rot, will not any endeavor to cure the brain-rot, which prevails so much more widely and fatally?1854 August 9, Henry D[avid] Thoreau, “Conclusion”, in Walden; or, Life in the Woods, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC, page 348
   • And then our parents decided that comics books were to blame for their children's brain rot, tossing most of these halftone gems in the garbage.2016 April, Tom Royer, “Rated M for Millennials”, in Mankato Magazine, published 2017, page 25
2. (derogatory, slang) Any form of media content that is deemed to hold little artistic value or negatively impact those who consume it.
   • […] I remember that I had to stay home and receive a stern lecture on the evils of Tinseltown brainrot.1978, Lionel Menuhin Rolfe, The Menuhins: A Family Odyssey, page 47
   • It could be a great album, like Big Star’s Radio City, or it could be one composed entirely of what I deemed to be drab, scum-sucking brainrot, like The Stereophonics’ Performance And Cocktails.2003, Tom Cox, Educating Peter, page 111
3. (slang, derogatory or self-deprecatory) The state of being obsessed with a particular work of media, particularly to an extent considered to be embarrassing.
   • Jojo^([sic]) brain rot is real because why have I just spent the last 10 minutes thinking who'd be better at parallel parking-2024 July 8, LeiaThompson3, Twitter
   • I said they both can't act, I still liked the prequels and the acolyte, but it could just be the star wars brain rot that got me lol2024 July 19, @TFMSW, Twitter