This article was written by our students.
We are proud to take part once again this year, as we do annually, with our 6th grade classes, guided by teachers Elena Berveglieri, Sarah Khaneboubi, and Guglielmo Trevisani.
All the time and effort dedicated to this project paid off—Grades 6A and 6B were honored with a well-deserved prize for “Miglior reportage sul mondo giovanile” (Best Report on Youth Culture).
Congratulations to our talented 6th graders!
Here is the article:
Have you ever heard of the BRAINROT language?
If you haven’t, today, in this article, we’ll talk about it and explain it to you in all its forms.
The word Brainrot is made up of the words brain and rot. Brain in English means brain, while rot means mold or decay. The full term, therefore, refers to a “moldy brain.”
Oxford gave this name in 2024 to describe how one feels after spending many consecutive hours looking at their phone or scrolling through social media for too long.
First of all, it’s a language widely used among members of Generation Alpha and Generation Z, used for joking and having fun—although its usage carries a deeper meaning.
Generation Alpha consists of people born between 2013 and 2024, while Generation Z includes those born between 1995 and 2012. This is a wide range of years, but not all of it is directly involved, since the Brainrot language only emerged in 2019 on social media. For this reason, if you don’t use social media or have a phone or iPad, you likely wouldn’t know it.
But is it really something new?
Young people have always felt the need to distinguish themselves, to be recognized, and to feel part of a group. That’s why, if you ask anyone to recall a few slang words from their teenage years, they’ll probably list at least a couple—with a fond smile. The Brainrot language serves the same purpose. The goal of these kinds of language is to entertain, make people laugh, and create a sense of belonging.
Usually, Brainrot language is used in moments of venting or joking around among friends; it’s never used in serious situations. Even less is it used between young people and adults, because adults generally don’t understand this language and might think that this way of speaking is pointless or, worse, offensive.
This language is rooted in social media, especially TikTok and Instagram, through memes. Memes are jokes or funny images meant to entertain. In this way, Brainrot spread very quickly, allowing young people to establish a connection with their group and their friends. As a result, belonging to a generation is no longer about being born in a certain year but rather about recognizing and using a shared linguistic code—like a secret language. You can only join the conversation if you know the code; that’s how this new sense of belonging is formed.
Some of us went to public squares to interview people of all ages. Most of the elderly people we questioned said they had heard some of these words from their grandchildren but didn’t understand what they meant. Not knowing can sometimes be frightening, to the point where a few of those interviewed said they had tried to inform themselves and memorize a few terms of this language, just so they wouldn’t be left out of conversations with their children. The truth is, there’s nothing to be afraid of or mystified by—take it from those of us who know and use Brainrot!
Brainrot Interviews
Most youngsters today use Brainrot words but many people do not even know them. To find out how many people know them, we interviewed some students and teachers from different generations at our International School of Ferrara. Let’s see what our findings will reveal.
After interviewing 6th and 8th grade students, most of 6th graders understood Brainrot language better than 8th graders who didn’t understand much of it, which just proves that every generation speaks differently.
For example, 8 members of 6thB do not use Brainrot words but 9 of them said they do. In 6thA 4 said they do not and 13 said they do.
We also interviewed some of our teachers – our Geohistory teacher and our English teacher. The Geohistory teacher stated that if you are using it to describe it and speak, using it can be helpful but if you are using it to joke around, then it’s rather useless.
The English teacher said that every generations’ language is getting poorer, and if her son uses these words she will be disappointed but nothing can be done against it. However she thinks it is good to speak it as a way to make your identity special.
In our interviews with our teachers, we also found that they also do not use Brainrot words. It was not surprising since they belong to a different generation, but sometimes they hear their students using them and they can recognize some words.
How do these kids even learn this language? Most kids nowadays get a phone at an early age which means that they have access to social media where they learn this type of slang or some kids learn it from classmates.
In short, most people told us it was worthless and that is true according to us, but it is sad that the younger generation today can only use Brainrot. What we mean is that these words are useless and don’t have a real meaning and so children shouldn’t use them to talk to elders as it’s impolite.
Surely the elders will never fully understand this language since only kids use it. Will it one day become a language in its own right?
(Jacopo J., Andrea Z., Marie E., Sara M. e Margherita T.)
Slang expressions of our generation and what they mean
Our generation alpha language is spreading all across the planet. So far, this generation makes up words, posts them and if they go viral it goes into our vocabulary.
The slang words of our generation come from kids who were born between 2013 and 2024. Kids these days are getting more used to staying indoors in front of a screen all day long and as a consequence they become less social.
This so-called “brain rot” language is spreading all around the world. Older generations can’t understand our confusing language. This is why we added a vocabulary of Gen Alpha words for you to understand us better:
Skibidi- someone that is not good or has done something bad
Rizz- charisma
Sigma- when someone is cool or the best
POV: stands for ‘Point of view’ and people on social media use this word when making stories.
To cook / cooked:
If you’re cooked it mean that you’re “screwed” and to cook and let him cook means let them do their thing
The pros and cons of generation alpha
The Cons:
- Their attention span and concentration is impaired
As they are used to using several screens at once and quickly scanning information
- Less time for socialising
- Adults can’t understand you
The Pros:
- People are getting better at working on computers
- By creating these words people are getting more and more creative
This language was actually invented in 2007, but it became mostly popular in 2020 because of Discord, a communication app, during Covid-19.
Over the years the term ‘Brainrot’ gained popularity on social media platforms. Will it one day become a language in itself ? Who knows. But for sure, it is worth knowing a few brain rot slang expressions so you can understand the new generation!
(Lavinia B., Giacomo M., Ezra B., Zoey C., Anastasia W. and Cai Ruben L.)
