You wanna know how i got this drip? My father, was a sigma, from ohio. And one night, he goes off sussier than the imposter at 3 am. Mommy gets the baby gronk rizzing up livvy dunn to defend herself. He doesn’t like that. Not. One. Bit. So, me watching, he takes the OG fortnite rizzler to ohio, laughing the ocky way while he does it. He turns to me and says, “What the dog doing?” He griddys at me with the goofy ahh kai cenat grimace gyatt level 3. “WHAT THE DOG DOING?” He sticks the ice spice squid game lightskin stare in my mouth and says . . . “Let’s put a skibidi toilet on that cuh dey board.”

These wise words show us how weird internet brain rot is.

The origin of these slang words is TikTok, where many are forced into swiping into the most low—I mean, high-effort content possible. These brain rot TikToks are usually accompanied by an AI voiceover or someone actually saying these words. Occasionally there will be mobile game clips as well as some cartoon clip playing off to the side to increase viewer retention.

TikTok Brain Rot is not a medical condition, but a term to describe the addictive nature of the platform and its ability to consume hours of your time with its endless stream of content, as well as the stupid content on there that seemingly kills your brain cells with how difficult it is to comprehend.

Most of it comes from Generation Alpha, also known as Gen Alpha, which refers to the generation born between the early 2010s and mid-2020s. This generation is usually identified as the first generation of humans to exist fully in the Internet Age. 

The slang and language used by Generation Alpha are heavily influenced by their immersion in the digital world from a young age. They are often referred to as “iPad kids” and are known for their supposed low attention spans. This generation started in 2010, the year the first iPad was released. If you’ve ever used the phrase “iPad babies” to describe children who are given tablets instead of pacifiers, you were talking about Gen Alpha.

One example of Gen Alpha slang is the word “Skibidi.” The word is used by Gen Alpha to start senseless conversations, most often to compete with other people over the ridiculousness of jokes that are expected to follow.

The slang term “Rizz” is used to describe the skill in charming or seducing a potential romantic partner, especially through verbal communication. It is most commonly applied in the context of men “rizzing” women, but not always. The related term “unspoken rizz” refers to the ability to exude charm or charisma without verbal communication, such as with general confidence and body language. “Rizz” is also used as a verb, often in the form “rizz up”, meaning to charm someone.

The word “rizz” is typically used by younger people, especially on social media and video content platforms like TikTok and YouTube. [Ed. Note—wait, we’re still doing “rizz” in 2024? We need to update our notes real quick.] The word was crowned 2023’s “word of the year” by the Oxford University Press, which it lists as a “colloquial noun, defined as ‘style, charm, or attractiveness; the ability to attract a romantic . . . partner.'” It is believed to stem from the word chaRIZZma.

For their low attention spans, the primary culprit are their iPads/parent’s phones. It is sometimes possible to catch a Gen Alpha kid on a device over-stimulating themselves from how much content there is. This is also another sign of brain rot.

Why does it happen? Well, TikTok’s algorithm is a master at serving up content tailored to your interests. And, somehow, people are interested in things like “skibidi toilet,” particularly the younger generation, who are usually under 13 years old. The reason why the younger generation undergoes this sad, disheartening thing is because people have given up on parenting, or they’re just really bad at it. As a consequence, kids are struggling in school and are having difficulties in reading at a third-grade level. Not only that, kids are acting out and misbehaving more, due to the lack of respectful behaviors taught at home.

It is known as brain rot because, when you listen to it, you have a mental shutdown trying to comprehend what these words mean. If someone were to come up to me in person and say “skibidi toilet in Ohio, rizzed up that rare level 3 gyat,” I would think they were speaking another language.

In conclusion, please get off of the Internet and take time for yourself. Being chronically online is an issue for many people, especially as we move on toward the future.