You might have heard of brain rot. That’s the term now used for low-quality or downright useless content online. Even if you haven’t, you definitely encounter it every day, whether you want to or not. Think AI-generated postcards on WhatsApp, random Facebook posts, Instagram reels, autogenerated ad posters and even beer labels (yes, really). There’s even a specific term for these kinds of images now — AI slop. Worth a read if you’re curious.
According to Google Trends, interest in the term brain rot has been skyrocketing in the U.S. since last year: from a score of 4 in January 2024, we’ve now hit 59. Search volume in the U.S. is estimated at 68,000, with global volume around 175,000. These were the top trending queries related to brain rot in the U.S. last week:
Br br patapimBallerina cappuccinaSigmaCappuccino assassinoSkibidi toilet
Interest in brain rot clicker alone jumped by 2,100% last month.
Looking at this data, it’s easy to draw all kinds of emotional conclusions, but personally, I don’t think anything dramatic is happening. Brain rot games, for instance, are just your classic time killers. It’s just that a new generation is searching for them in a new way.
As for the rise of garbage AI content — well, that’s been steady too. Honestly, how is low-effort SEO content (seo fluff or garbage content) any different from half-baked AI-generated stuff? I don’t think it is. If anything, truly good content is going to stand out even more in the age of brain rot.