A direct translation would be "brain rot" or "mind rot". In English, the expression is often used by young people to describe the state of someone who has overconsumed light material on social media, writes New York Times.
The first registered use of "brain rot" is found, however, in author David Henry Thoreau's classic "Walden" from 1854. Thoreau wishes that England would put as much effort into curing "brain rot" as they do into combating "potato rot".
The Oxford English Dictionary selects the word of the year based on the use of approximately 26 billion words in English-speaking countries. The British dictionary explains "brain rot" as a "supposed deterioration of a person's mental or intellectual state".
