"Manifest" and "Brain Rot" have become the representative words of 2024! What social phenomena do these words reflect?

2024 is coming to an end. On December 2, Oxford University Press in the UK selected "Brain Rot" as the Oxford word of the year for 2024.

By definition, brain rot refers to "the deterioration of a person's mental or intellectual state, especially as a result of overexposure to content considered trivial or unchallenging." Applied in the Internet age, the term refers directly to low quality. , low-value social media and online content flood daily life, which may lead to individual and group intelligence degradation and negative psychological impact.

Oxford Keyword "Brain Rot": The Young Generation's Reflections on Social Content

The Oxford website pointed out that the frequency of use of the word "brain rot" increased by 230% in one year. However, as early as 1854, the famous American writer Henry Thoreau used this term in his "Walden" to criticize society's tendency to pursue simple things and ignore deep thinking. He writes in the book, "While Britain was working to cure potato rot, who would be working to cure brain rot, a much more widespread and deadly disease?"

Nowadays, under the interpretation of modern Internet life, "brain rot" has become a self-deprecating term for Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012) and Generation Alpha (born between 2013 and 2024) on platforms such as TikTok. Concerns about the negative impact of road content.

Caspar Grathwohl, President of Oxford Languages said that as the main audience of social platforms, the younger generation has begun to reflect on fragmented content such as short videos and videos, showing some awareness of the impact of social media.

"Cambridge Dictionary" Keyword of the Year "Manifest": Is it positive thinking or unrealistic?

In addition, "Cambridge Dictionary" selected "manifest" as the word of the year for 2024. The word is defined as "imagining yourself realizing your wishes and believing that doing so will increase the possibility of success." It represents "putting dreams into practice". The meaning of "realization".

The term "manifest" began to gain traction during the pandemic and has continued to gain momentum in the years since, especially on TikTok and other social media, with millions of posts and videos using the #manifest tag. In 2024, many celebrities such as singer Dua Lipa and American gymnastics queen Simone Biles have all mentioned how "manifest" helped them succeed, further increasing the popularity and making it a global phenomenon.

For example, before Lipa became a singer and released her first album, she had "manifest" that she could become the finale performer at the Glastonbury Festival, the world's largest open-air music festival. In 2024, she really achieved this goal.

Nowadays, "manifest" is widely favored by the younger generation, emphasizing the importance of positive thinking and goal setting. Well-known methods include the "3-6-9 method", which means you are required to write down your wishes three times in the morning, six times in the afternoon, and nine times in the evening.

Cambridge psychology professor Sander van der Linden said that although these behaviors will make people take action, they may not have obvious benefits. "Believing in yourself, having a positive attitude, setting realistic goals and working hard are beneficial methods. "

However, research has also confirmed that self-affirmation and goal setting do help to achieve change, but if you just "manifest" wealth, love or power, you may have unrealistic expectations and disappointment. "People must distinguish between the power of positive thinking and the  pure fantasy of using your thoughts to change reality."

In addition to Oxford University Press and Cambridge Dictionaries, other institutions or media have also selected representative words of the year:

"The Economist": "Kakistocracy" shows people's worries about the future

2024 is called a super election year, with 76 countries electing their latest leading governments this year. "The Economist" mentioned that Donald Trump returned to the White House. Donald Trump will create many unknown variables and impacts for the United States and other countries or regions.

The Economist uses the term kakistocracy meaning "rule by the worst" to reflect the concerns of some American people about the future. Google searches for kakistocracy surged the day after Trump was elected, when he nominated former Florida Rep Matt Gaetz is the Attorney General. However, Gaetz continues to be investigated by the Department of Justice due to the sex scandal. In addition, Trump also nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who embraces conspiracy theories, as the Secretary of Health, which immediately caused an uproar among the people.

Demure: to ridicule the established values ​​of society

Dictionary.com analyzed a large amount of data, including news headlines, social media trends, search engine results, etc., and found that the word "demure" has increased by nearly 1,200% this year. The reason is that Tiktok Internet celebrity Jools Lebron. In a short video released by Jools Lebron in early August, he used the phrase "very demure, very mindful" (very quiet and very decent), which triggered a craze of imitation overnight.

The word "quiet" originally describes a low-key and well-behaved person. In Lebron's short video, it extends to the definition of "a refined and elegant appearance or behavior suitable for various occasions", mocking the established values ​​of society. There are potential restrictions on what to wear and what makeup to wear for different occasions.

Brat: having emotions but still facing life calmly

In the summer of 2024, the use of "brat" on social media increased by approximately 1,000%, quickly becoming the hottest pop culture word today. Even U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris used brat in her campaign slogan, so Collins Dictionary selected it as the word of the year.

The source of the popularity comes from the release of the new album "brat" by British singer Charli XCX in June 2024. Originally "brat" referred to the derogatory "boy", but under the interpretation of cool girl Charlie, it became an attitude towards life.

She said in Tiktok that brat is a girl who is a bit chaotic, likes to party, and may occasionally say stupid things. It is used to express an honest, straightforward, somewhat emotional but still calm attitude towards life. "Even if you collapse, you can continue enjoy the party."

The fact that an album can bring about a new cultural phenomenon not only marks the success of the album, but also means that this concept accurately reflects part of the identity of today's younger generation.

Sources: Oxford University Press, Cambridge, the Guardian, BBC, The Economist, CNN, dictionary.com, Collins Dictionary