For the longest time, I thought my son coined the phrase “only in Ohio.” When we visited his grandparents in Ohio, he and his sister would spot things we don’t see every day: farming equipment, cornfields, sometimes strange road signs. The kids would chuckle and say, “Only in Ohio.” When I realized it was a meme, I started to wonder how much of my son’s everyday language came from online platforms. Turns out words and phrases like “only in Ohio” have a term to describe them: brain rot.
The Oxford University word of 2024 was brain rot. Essentially, it includes slang and mindless information people pick up online when they’re passing time on YouTube, clicking through Instagram, or doomscrolling the latest news headline. It’s also the idea that spending too much time scrolling through shallow, inconsequential content can negatively affect your mental sharpness or focus. Here’s what you should know about brain rot and its effect on kids.
Brain rot can make your brain…rot.
The phrase has taken off in the last two years as meme culture and brain rot slang have picked up with kids and teens. Words like skibidi, rizz, Ohio, and others have become a part of their language. But the term brain rot is more than just slang. It’s also the time we spend online doomscrolling, playing games, watching videos, and scrolling social media. It’s the result of being glued to our phones, going down rabbit holes, and using the internet to pass time when we’re bored. As health writer Katharine Chan says, “We are so glued to screens, passively feeding our minds with random, useless junk that our brains are rotting.” A morbid thought, for sure.
Your child’s computer or phone contributes to brain rot.
At my kids’ high school, I’ve seen teens checking their phones as they walk to the front doors. Are they avoiding social interaction? Just reading a text or social media post? Why aren’t they looking around or mentally preparing for the day ahead? Free time to think is being chewed up by online activity. Many of us (kids and parents alike) are so used to checking our phones that it has simply become the default when we have a free minute.
Before phones, we had to consult books for information and when we had time to kill, we’d talk to people or build our inner world by thinking. We go online now for everything from news to weather, to information, to fun. Today, when kids have free time in class, many zone out in front of their screens instead of talking to the kid next to them. Brain rot is available to kids in every classroom with online access.
This is how brain rot affects our kids.
When kids spend so much free time online, and devices become a crutch to existing in the world, they miss out on life happening around them. And it seems to be true that as kids get older, they’re given more access to this online culture and to brain rot, as if it just comes with the territory of becoming a tween or teen.
But it doesn’t have to. As Jonathan Haidt says in his book The Anxious Generation, kids shouldn’t own phones until high school and should stay off social media until age 16. Pediatrician Joel Warsh agrees: “Too much media consumption can cause feelings of inadequacy or beliefs that you’re not good enough, which may lead to self-esteem issues,” he says. On the flip side, kids gain confidence and true happiness from experiencing interactions in real life. And when there aren’t enough IRL interactions, kids can fall behind socially.
Many of us have accepted the fact that our kids are online for schoolwork. We can block sites, but when they need YouTube or Google docs for assignments, even the most self-disciplined kid can have a hard time resisting the temptation of doing something fun instead of the assignment.
This is what parents should do.
Take Haidt’s advice and delay giving your kid a smartphone and social media. But if your child already has a phone and an Instagram account? That’s OK. We’re all learning how to handle these new parenting bumps. You have the right to tell your child or teen you’ve changed your mind. Then establish new limits and rules and make sure your kid understands and follows them. Phones and social media have been linked to an increase in loneliness, anxiety, and depression. And being chronically online can expose kids to information and images they aren’t ready to handle or process. Remind yourself when your child’s begging (or when you feel bad about creating new social media rules) that it’ll be better for his or her wellbeing.
“You have an hour to do this assignment, and then I’m cutting you off,” I told my son the other day. It motivated him to stay focused. You can also set online limits for yourself and model what you’d like your kid to adopt. If you end up doomscrolling for an hour, bring it up as a conversation starter with your kids. “I just went down a rabbit hole on TikTok and now dinner’s gonna be late. Ugh. Sorry, guys. Does that ever happen to you?” And look for other activities for your child to fill his free time. Maybe he’s always wanted to try karate? Or draw comics?
We all need to be aware of brain rot so we can work to fight it. Challenge yourself and your kids to lock up phones and devices after dinner or spend screen-free Saturdays doing other activities. Together, you and your kids can keep your brains strong.
What’s your opinion on brain rot and its effect on kids?
