在超过37,000人参与的公众投票中，牛津大学出版社宣布2024年牛津年度词汇为“Brain Rot”（脑力退化/大脑腐蚀）。
牛津语言专家精心挑选了一个由六个单词组成的候选名单，旨在反映过去一年塑造社会情绪和对话的关键词。经过两周的公众投票和广泛的讨论，专家们综合公众意见、投票结果以及语言数据，最终将“Brain Rot”评为2024年度词汇。
‘Brain rot’ is defined as “the supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewedas 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”.
“Brain rot” 被定义为：“一种被认为是人的精神或智力状态恶化的现象，尤其是因为过度接触琐碎或无挑战性的内容（现在主要指网络内容）而导致的。此外，它也可以指那些可能会引发这种恶化的事物。”
The first recorded use of ‘brain rot’ was found in 1854 in Henry David Thoreau’s book Walden, which reports his experiences of living a simple lifestyle in the natural world.As part of his conclusions, Thoreau criticizes society’s tendency to devalue complex ideas, or those that can be interpreted in multiple ways, in favour of simple ones, and sees this as indicative of a general decline in mental and intellectual effort: “While England endeavours to cure the potato rot, will not any endeavour to cure the brain-rot – which prevails so much more widely and fatally?”
“Brain rot” 一词最早的使用记录出现在1854年亨利·大卫·梭罗（Henry David Thoreau）的著作《瓦尔登湖》（Walden）中。这本书记录了他在自然世界中过着简朴生活的经历。在总结中，梭罗批评了社会倾向于贬低复杂思想（尤其是那些可以有多种解读的思想），而更偏爱简单观念的现象，并将其视为人类精神和智力努力普遍衰退的标志。他写道：“当英国努力治疗土豆腐烂时，难道没人努力治疗‘脑腐’吗？这种现象蔓延得更加广泛且致命。”
The term has taken on new significance in the digital age, especially over the past 12 months. Initially gaining traction on social media platform—particularly on TikTok among Gen Z and Gen Alpha communities—’brain rot’ is now seeing more widespread use, such as in mainstream journalism, amidst societal concerns about the negative impact of overconsuming online content.
“Brain rot” 一词在数字时代，尤其是在过去12个月里，赋予了新的意义。最初，这个词在社交媒体上流行起来，特别是在 TikTok 上的 Z 世代和阿尔法世代用户中。如今，随着人们越来越担忧过度消费网络内容的负面影响，它的使用范围已经扩展到了主流媒体和社会讨论中。
In 2024, ‘brain rot’ is used to describe both the cause and effect of this, referring to low-quality, low-value content found on social media and the internet, as well as the subsequent negative impact that consuming this type of content is perceived to have on an individual or society.
到了2024年，“Brain rot” 用来描述这种现象的因果关系：既指社交媒体和互联网中低质量、低价值的内容，也指人们认为消费此类内容对个人或社会带来的负面影响。
It has also been used more specifically and consistently in reference to online culture. Often used in a humorous or self-deprecating manner by online communities, it is strongly associated with certain types of content—including creator Alexey Gerasimov’s viral Skibidi Toilet video series, featuring humanoid toilets, and user-generated ‘only in Ohio’ memes, which reference bizarre incidents in the state. This content has given rise to emerging ‘brain rot language’—such as ‘skibidi’, meaning something nonsensical, and ‘Ohio’, meaning something embarrassing or weird—which reflects a growing trend of words originating in viral online culture before spreading offline into the ‘real world’.
此外，这个词在网络文化中被更具体且一致地使用。许多在线社群常以幽默或自嘲的方式使用“Brain rot”，它还与某些特定类型的内容联系紧密，例如创作者阿列克谢·格拉西莫夫（Alexey Gerasimov）的病毒式短片《Skibidi Toilet》系列，这些影片中出现了具有人类特征的马桶角色；以及“Only in Ohio”梗，调侃俄亥俄州各种奇葩事件。这类内容还催生了“脑腐语言”（Brain Rot Language）的出现，例如“skibidi”被用来形容荒诞的事情，而“Ohio”则表示尴尬或奇怪。这些词汇体现了网络文化中产生的新词如何从线上逐渐渗透到线下的“现实世界”。
Now also gaining momentum is a broader, more serious conversation about the potential negative impact that excessively consuming this content might have on mental health, particularly in children and young people. Earlier this year, a mental health centre in the US even published advice online about how to recognize and avoid ‘brain rot’.
与此同时，关于过度消费此类内容对心理健康潜在影响的更严肃讨论也在升温，尤其是对儿童和青少年的影响。今年早些时候，美国的一家心理健康中心甚至发布了在线建议，帮助人们识别和避免“Brain rot”。
Speaking about this year’s selection process and the 2024 winner, Casper Grathwohl, President of Oxford Languages, said: “It’s been insightful and deeply moving to see language lovers all over the world participate and help us select the Oxford Word of the Year 2024.
谈及今年的评选过程和2024年的年度词汇，牛津语言部总裁卡斯帕·格拉思沃尔（Casper Grathwohl）表示：“看到来自世界各地的语言爱好者积极参与并帮助我们选出2024年牛津年度词汇，这种过程既充满洞察力又令人感动。
“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.
“回顾过去二十年的牛津年度词汇，可以发现社会对虚拟生活演变的关注越来越多，以及网络文化如何渗透到我们的身份和对话中。去年的获选词‘rizz’就是一个有趣的例子，它展示了语言如何在网络社区中被创造、塑造并传播。而‘brain rot’则触及了虚拟生活的一个潜在危险，以及我们如何利用空闲时间的问题。这可以说是人类与科技文化对话中合乎逻辑的下一章。因此，许多选民选择支持这个词汇作为今年的代表也不足为奇。
“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.”
“我觉得非常有趣的是，‘brain rot’这一词被Z世代和阿尔法世代所采用，而正是这些群体在很大程度上创造并使用了这一词汇所指代的数字内容。他们通过社交媒体这一被认为导致‘脑腐’的渠道大力推广了这一表达，这展现了年轻一代对社交媒体潜在危害的一种调侃式的自我认知。”
在信息爆炸的时代，“Brain Rot”并非不可避免，它提醒我们重新审视自己与数字世界的关系。或许，是时候让我们的注意力和时间回归到更加有价值的内容上了。
你的大脑，值得更好的呵护！
【信息来源】
