Brat, Demure, Brain Rot. Are ‘words of the year’ enough to understand Gen Z?

Brat, Demure, Brain Rot, Enshittification, Manifest. In the last year we have witnessed the appearance of various words, new or rediscovered, which have risen to the media spotlight first thanks to social media and then to the main dictionaries (and universities) of the world.

For a millennial to immerse himself in such an innovative context that embraces strange expressions, open meanings that are not easily summarized, continuous demonstrations of self-determination by Gen Z… it is not very simple. But it is certainly a good exercise to try to understand a different way of living and approaching society. A society that the new generations are picking and shaping. All thanks also to platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, drivers of virality and, therefore, also of neologisms and very short autobiographies.

But let’s start right here. What do they mean?

• Brat (Collins Dictionary Word of the Year) it is a complex concept that can be applied to behaviors, objects, ways of being. The basic idea is that something is brat when it conveys a sort of freedom, unruly and unconventional, unbridled and brazen, but with a bold and proud personality, stylish in its recognition of being rebellious and, sometimes, why not, even superficial and cheesy.

• Demure (Dictionary.com Word of the Year): Here we also talk about style, about how we approach the world and society. But everything changes. The watchwords are ‘discretion’, ‘modesty’, ‘sobriety’ and ‘simplicity’. The aesthetics, of the look and the words, are neutral but elegant. You don’t shout, you don’t want the spotlight on you and you avoid ostentation.

• Manifest (Cambridge Dictionary Word of the Year): It is not a noun, nor an adjective but a verb, an action to be pursued to make things really happen. That is, all those methods, such as mental visualization, “to imagine achieving something you want, in the belief that by doing so it will be more likely to happen”.

• Enshittification (Macquarie Dictionary Word of the Year) exemplifies the concept of ‘continuous deterioration and worsening of a service due to the reduction in the quality offered’. It is linked to the evolution of online platforms and services and the cause is often identified in the desire to obtain ever greater profits at the expense of ethics and loyalty towards those who use it.

• Brain Rot (Oxford English Dictionary Word of the Year): Literally ‘rotten brain’, ‘rotten brain’. It concerns an “alleged deterioration of the mental state of a person who excessively consumes material online or on social media considered trivial, superficial or unstimulating”. Continuously scrolling through memes or videos that undoubtedly make us waste an infinite amount of time, slowing down the functioning of our brain.

Pieces of the same puzzle?

If we put all these meanings in order, it seems that a great basic trend emerges: the continuous and spasmodic search for self-determination, or rather the attempt to gain greater clarity on what members of Gen Z want to be or not to be. What appears then is a big question, perhaps still unanswered, which leads them to look in the mirror, to study fears and desires, and to put down on paper the certainties identified so far. Always with a rebellious soul but with his feet firmly planted on the ground. A soul that develops internally, capable of taking to the streets, lying down on the asphalt of a street but, at the same time, certain of not wanting to waste breath and energy. But this is just the sideways glance of a millennial who tried to label himself at one time and was labeled instead. The hope is that Gen Z will escape from this, and use it to self-determine something more durable than a yellow post-itunable to stick to it for a long period of time.

In this new ‘existential vocabulary’ two words that seem opposite, like Brat and Demure, coexist. One can be wild and sober; bold and discreet, stylish without seeking at all costs the approval of a ‘like’, a heart, a comment. This could be it a cohabiting oxymoron societyin which there is no loss of coherence or credibility. A society in which ‘brain rot’ is caused but at the same time denounced in the same place where it is practiced. And without this representing a short circuit. It is the essence of living always connected but with an eye on your mental health. Here, this is a generation that does not want to lose contact with reality, perhaps the first for which, finally, the concept of “virtual equals real” is clear.

But Gen Z is also a generation that has no intention of stopping chasing its goals. And it does so with a specific action, the ‘to manifest’, that is, seeing in your head, in advance, what you want to be one day. And we must not limit ourselves here to thinking that these are empty dreams or utopias. Here you imagine the person you want to become within society: what battles to fight for, what values ​​to transmit. And you imagine the world you want to live in and that you want to leave to those who come.

Finally, it is a generation that it no longer trusts appearance but embraces being part of somethingof a community. And it is ready to punish scams, deceptions, broken promises, the deterioration of values ​​and actions. Enshittification is a strange word, difficult to pronounce, but it contains an important concept. Every verbal contract must be maintained, every ‘betrayal’ leads to the end of a human relationship or the cessation of the use of a service.

So let’s go back to the initial question. Are these words enough to understand the thousand facets of a generation that is constantly changing? No, but maybe it is a useful training to try to begin to understand and share its values ​​and pillars. And if there is something profoundly wrong with this article, they will be the ones to point it out. With a proud but also polite and patient spirit. That patience it takes to put up with boomers and millennials who try to connect with them.