“Brain degradation”, “polarization”, “money”: what they say about the modern world of words in 2024
In today’s world, words replicated through digital technology have enormous power. They not only describe reality, but also shape our thoughts, influence our perception and determine current trends. Each year, language experts and dictionaries choose words that best reflect the spirit of the times. In 2024, such concepts became “brain rot”, “brat”, “polarization”, “demure” and the Japanese character for “gold/money”. Each of them not only reflects important social phenomena, but also reveals to us new aspects of worldview caused by digital transformations, political changes and cultural shifts.
A word that is dangerous for each of us in the digital age
Many of us sin by mindlessly scrolling through the feed and uncritically consuming Internet content. Facebook, Instagram, Tik-Tok, X – short videos, photos, posts… There is a lot of information – zero meaning. Consumers are only getting tired of information overload. And they can’t remember after dinner what such an interesting thing they wrote in the morning.
Memory weakens, concentration of attention decreases, other cognitive abilities decline. Doctors claim that this can cause so-called “mental degradation”.
Brain rot (literally “brain rot”) is an English phrase named by the Oxford dictionary as the word of the year 2024. For the first time, the term brain rot appears in the book “Walden, or Life in the Woods”, written by the American poet Henry David Thoreau and published in 1854. However, in Thoreau it appears in a completely different context. The artist describes the simple life of a person in nature and protests against the extremely simplistic judgments of ordinary people who ignore complex and meaningful topics. He writes: “While England is endeavoring to stop the potato rot, is no one thinking of curing the brain rot, which is far more common and dangerous?”
Language experts determined brain rot as “deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual abilities, which occurs as a result of excessive consumption of materials (mainly Internet content) that are considered superficial or that do not require effort to perceive“.
This year, the term brain rot was significantly updated, as it denoted a situation of concern over the influence of excessive consumption of low-quality content, especially in the network space. It was estimated that the frequency of its use in search queries increased by 230% between 2023 and 2024.
Infographic: IA “FACT”
Brat by Kamala Harris
The word brat became the word of the year according to the version of the compilers of the Collins dictionary, which was reported on November 1 at official website. The term gained popularity thanks to British singer Charli XCX’s album of the same name, as well as its use in the election campaign of Kamala Harris.
“Brat became one of the most talked about words of 2024, resonating with people all over the world, and the concept of ‘brat summer’ turned into an entire aesthetic and lifestyle”, — note in Collins.
Brat used to mean a person who behaves badly or annoys others, but now its meaning has changed. The word is associated with a confident, independent and hedonistic attitude to life. According to Charli XCX, brat represents a girl who “likes parties, is emotional, but always honest and open“.
The popularity of the term has been boosted by trends on TikTok, and Kamala Harris’ team has even adapted the style of their social media to attract a younger audience.
The 2024 election has polarized society like never before
We are talking, of course, about the USA, the next election divided Republicans and Democrats and their electorate. So it’s no surprise that the American dictionary Merriam-Webster named the concept of “polarization” as the word of the year 2024.
“Polarization is a split, but of a special nature” Peter Sokolowski, editor-in-chief of Merriam-Webster, explained in an interview Associated Press before announcing the word of the year. “This process reflects our movement toward extreme positions, not toward compromise or middle.”
Infographic: IA “FACT”
The 2024 presidential election turned out to be so socially acute and controversial that many Americans began to perceive the opponent’s candidate as no less than a threat to the nation. According to the results poll In an AP VoteCast of more than 120,000 voters, about 80% of Kamala Harris’ supporters said they believed Donald Trump’s views were too radical, unlike Harris’s. By contrast, about 70% of Trump voters expressed similar concerns about Harris, but not about Trump.
It is interesting that the term “polarization” appeared only at the beginning of the 19th century. unlike other scientific terms that came before. However, its relevance is evidenced by today’s need to label complex phenomena of modern society.
Elegance from Dictionary
At the same time, the American online dictionary Dictionary.com chose your word in 2024. It became the concept of Demure. In August, the word was looked up in the dictionary more than 13 million times a week.
According to the compilers of the dictionary, Demure originally described modest and restrained behavior. However, in social networks, it has acquired a new meaning associated with refined and elegant style or manners.
Infographic: IA “FACT”
The popularity of this term has increased thanks to blogger Jules LeBron’s TikTok videos. In her video, she humorously talked about how to be “modest” (demure), “aware” (mindful) and “sweet” (cutesie). Her ironic tone turned the phrase “very modest, very aware” (very demure, very mindful) to a viral meme that caused a wave of discussion and a new interpretation of the word.
Gold character of the year
Meanwhile in Japan chose hieroglyph of the year It became the kanji, which is translated as both “gold” and “money”. The selection was made by popular vote via postal cards, online and in bookstores. By the way, the Japanese chose this character for the fifth time, starting in 1995.
In 2024, the chosen symbol gained popularity due to its multiple meanings and relevance. The main reasons for the choice were associations with the gold medals that Japanese athletes won at the Olympic Games in Paris, as well as with the high-profile “money scandals” that shook the Liberal Democratic Party and became the subject of wide public discussion.
The character “money” symbolizes not only victories and successes, but also reminds of the challenges that the country faced during the year. On the one hand, it embodies national pride in sports achievements, and on the other, it serves as a symbol of public discontent due to corruption scandals and abuse of power. This choice emphasizes how important the topics of financial responsibility and morality have become for Japanese society.
