Letters | Relax, ‘brain rot’ is just a novel expression of youthful rebellion

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I refer to your recent article, “Asia debates Australia’s ban on ‘brain rot’ social media for children: safety or control?” (December 7). As an English teacher for young people studying at international schools in Hong Kong, I have served for several years now on the front lines of a linguistic fight: the fight to understand “brain rot”.

I recently gave my students a writing assignment: “Explain ‘brain rot’ to a boomer.” Here’s one answer from sixth-grader Angelina Chan: “OK, I luuuv this. Hi boomer. I am sure that you have seen and are disappointed in our generation. But really, it is not that bad. We all make ‘mistakes’. If you ask, ‘Which mistakes?’ Well, WWI, WWII, our slang …”

“Brain rot” proves triggering to contemporary adults who suffered and sacrificed – who shed blood, sweat and tears – so their children would have better opportunities in life. The common refrain among Hong Kong parents these days is that the world has become agonisingly juan, short for neijuan, or overcompetitive. These parents look at plummeting admissions rates in top US colleges, skyrocketing tuition costs and, above all, the existential threat posed by artificial intelligence as signs that their children face a far more hostile world than before. Such well-founded concerns result in well-meaning demands for higher academic performance.

Young people retort with a resounding: “skibidi”. “Brain rot” culture echoes the “lie flat” movement in mainland China, a kind of teenage rebellion that consists in doing the exact opposite of what one’s elders request.