Brainrot for Beginners: Hopkins Students Weigh in on Slang

Abby Rakotomavo ’26, Features Editor

With Gen Z and Gen Alpha as the primary users of social media apps like TikTok and Instagram, slang is not what it used to be. It has even taken on a new name: brainrot.

A word invented by Henry Thoreau referring to the decline of intellect, brainrot has grown in popularity by 230% in 2024 alone, becoming the Oxford Dictionary’s Word of the Year. From viral memes to terms describing universal experiences, brainrot has become one of this generation’s main means of communication.

As might be expected, Hopkins students have formed strong opinions on certain brainrot terms. With Gen Z and Gen Alpha as the primary users of social media apps like TikTok and Instagram, slang is not what it used to be. It has even taken on a new name: brainrot. A word invented by Henry Thoreau referring to the decline of intellect, brainrot has grown in popularity by 230% in 2024 alone, becoming the Oxford Dictionary’s Word of the Year. From viral memes to terms describing universal experiences, brainrot has become one of this generation’s main means of communication. After spending time on social media, Hopkins students have formed strong opinions on certain brainrot terms.

With such a wide selection of brainrot expressions to choose from, students prefer using some terms over others. Juliette Watson ’30 is partial to using “crashing out and tweaking,” meaning losing your mind or not working or processing.” For example, “I just took a math test and am crashing out because it was hard” or “My Wifi is tweaking.” For Ashley Omega ’27, “alpha,” meaning someone dominant, is a personal favorite: “it’s the opposite of my last name Omega. I use it ironically to make my friends laugh or cringe.” Other students appreciate meme-oriented terms like Liam Teel ’26, who discovered “chopped chin” in a clip of a long-chinned individual dancing courtside at a basketball game. Sometimes, brainrot seems to come out of nowhere. For example, variations of “who is this diva?” followed by a purple heart that originated from designer Donatella Versace’s comment under model Bella Hadid’s post “doesn’t really have a meaning, [but is] generally positive or [used] as a compliment,” Angel Lu '28 explains. Whether or not these references make sense or hold meaning, these terms tend to spread quickly across social media platforms.

As for brainrot that Hopkins students believe should be more popular, Henry Weinstein ’26 “want[s] to spread the propaganda of the phrase ‘big shrimpin’ as a description verb,” inspired by the “Red Lobster... slogan.” He included an example: “Wow, Logan Matthews ran that 400 so well, he’s big shrimpin it right now.” Makana Wallenta ’29 believes the opening line of NBA player LiAngelo Ball’s song Tweaker —“I might swerve bend that corner, woah, woah, woah”— is worth quoting more often. Another meme that has become particularly popular on TikTok, “Mama, a girl behind you,” stemming from a video of a child mistaking a Snapchat bitmoji for a real girl, is one that Mikoto Araki-Siegenfeld ’26 thinks people should use more.

Certain terms are more controversial, however. While Owen Gisby ’28 is an advocate for the “Low Taper Fade” meme — a joke about streamer/YouTuber Ninja getting a low taper fade haircut — Teel be- lieves it’s “so dragged out.” Arguably the most controversial of all brainrot terms, though, is “rizz,” which is an abbreviated way of referring to someone’s charisma. According to Miriam Atlee ’30, rizz has merit as a brainrot term, as it “makes sense as a word of its own.” On the other hand, Edie McDonald ’30 thinks rizz has “been overused to the point of insanity.” Like McDonald, Nathan Dai ’27 believes people should stop using “W rizz,” a phrase to describe someone with good charisma, because “no one here has W rizz.” Other variations, like “skibidi toilet rizz,” should also be discredited according to Aoife Flanagan ’25 because “it’s not funny.” Skibidi toilet rizz, a meaningless fusion of rizz and the skibidi toilet meme (which arose from a YouTube animation of a man’s head sticking out of a toilet), is a prime example of the absurdity of many brainrot memes.

Though brainrot has become widespread throughout this generation, there is still some discourse on its value. Some individuals regard it with derision. For example, Amelia Andersson ’28 says brainrot “is destroying human intelligence and uniqueness.” Other students, however, express the opposite sentiment: Ryan Alexopoulos ’30 thinks “brainrot is a highly complex form of slang that more individuals should appreciate.” Despite varying opinions on the value of brainrot, it has managed to bridge the gap between different communities on social media and become a global trend.

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Brainrot for Beginners: Hopkins Students Weigh in on Slang