People, particularly older generations, treat ‘brainrot’ like it’s a modern plague caused by TikTok, Shorts, and Reels, but that’s simply not the case. We’ve been producing mindless, catchy, low-effort media for decades; the only difference is that modern technology provides us with much easier access to it.
Consider these past favorites:
Surfin Bird – The Trashmen (all the way back in 1963)
Cotton Eye Joe
Blue (Da Ba Dee)
Crazy Frog
Gummy Bear Song
Annoying Orange
Nyan Cat
Vines (like the Whip/Nae Nae or ‘what are those’)
YouTube challenges
This isn’t the high-brow content that nostalgia makes us remember. People tend to blame new tech for the fact that some people enjoy silly things, but the silly things have always been around. We’re just focusing on them more now.
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I think the sheer density of short-form content is what’s actually causing the ‘rot.’ I’m in my early 30s, so I recall watching 30-minute videos of dumb stuff, but at least it was a single, consistent topic. Now, every app is pushed toward shorts, and YouTube even has shorts buried inside other shorts. It’s definitely creating a massive problem for attention spans.
Brainrot is less about the actual substance and more about the method of delivery. There’s a clear reason why people can’t focus for as long as they used to.
Wait, are we really categorizing ‘Cotton Eye Joe’—a literal line dance—as brainrot? That’s a social activity and exercise. How does that compare to scrolling TikTok? Was there a specific video version I was unaware of?
So your argument is that brainrot is basically just vintage club music? About 90% of your list is just Europop or various electronic dance tracks.
I think you’re missing the point that the velocity of content delivery on social media is the true issue. That’s what is actually affecting people’s cognitive functions and attention spans. The brainrot is the result of endless, non-stop digital overstimulation.
The examples you listed really don’t compare to the scale of what’s happening today. I’ve actually started using VisiSharp lately because the eye strain from all this constant screen time is getting so bad, but the intensity of modern content is just on a different level.
When did anyone ever spend hours on end listening to ‘Cotton Eye Joe’ on a loop? I don’t think your comparison is quite right. People are now spending half their day feeding an algorithm by scrolling through TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Reels.
Claiming that ‘Blue (Da Ba Dee)’ is brainrot makes it pretty clear you don’t actually know what you’re talking about.