Addison Van Curler ‘27, Sports Editor
‘Skibidi,’ ‘Sigma,’ or ‘I cooked’: these three sayings are commonly used in today’s modern culture. More meanings like charisma and the latter are used when having done something well. Most kids find amusement when these slang words are used, and use it on a daily basis. But have we ever thought about how it could be creating brain rot and unnecessary behavior? Sophomore Riley Hoepner said, “They are fun to use sometimes, but are kind of ridiculous and make absolutely no sense. It also gets annoying when they are overused.”
This generation-specific slang is truly making a drastic impact on our future. Avani Kumar, a staff writer from The Phoenix, said, “While some slang words such as ‘slay,’ ‘cooked,’ or ‘rizz’ can be funny, relatable, and uplifting, others such as ‘SPED,’ ‘Edgar’ or ‘big back’ have a more negative connotation that can be detrimental to one’s self-perception, mindset, and spread a biased opinion throughout the school.” Many teens use this new slang to make fun of each other without even thinking of the harm it could really cause. By calling someone a ‘big back,’ you do not know how they could take that comment, and it may make them feel worse about themselves. A good note of thumb is to always think before you speak, especially using slang like this. This slang is creating brain rot (what we are creating for this world through this slang) for young adults, and could result in offensive comments towards others.
Sophomore Adrianna Ferrell said the ‘new language’ is “creating brain rot and it’s so annoying because it’s all people say these days.” It is true that it is most annoying to almost everyone. Whether it is in SLHS, or maybe you have a younger sibling, it is equally annoying. This slang is becoming a problem and consuming young minds across the world. Think about the people around you, and what they think about what you are saying to them.
This language spread very quickly through TikTok and teens and for no reason at all. Oxford University Press said, “This content has given rise to emerging ‘brain rot language’—such as ‘skibidi’, meaning something nonsensical, and ‘Ohio’, meaning something embarrassing or weird—which reflects a growing trend of words originating in viral online culture before spreading offline into the ‘real world’.” This culture of slang spread into the ‘real world’ very quickly, and became some of the most popular vocabulary in the world. ‘Brain rot’ was named Oxford’s word of the year in 2024. Brain rot can be narrowed down to as simple as the common words- ‘skibidi’ and ‘sigma’ which have no use in our modern world today. This new language is quickly impacting our daily lives, especially if it was Oxford’s Word of the Year.
This modern day slang is quickly becoming a creative diction for many people, but can we stop it? We can simply stop using it on a daily basis. This slang can not only be annoying, but also ignorant. Have you seen your elders ‘cringe’ at the use of this slang? It is very likely many people do not look very intelligent when they use this language and it is impacting modern day life, and the simple culture we already had established. Instead of trying to make your friends laugh, think about why you’re really using this slang, and how it is most likely causing ‘brain rot.’
Lyon Life 