Recently, I walked into a clothing store at the mall, where I saw a toddler, likely not older than five, screaming at the top of their lungs, possibly throwing a tantrum. This loud screech did not stop until their mother shoved her phone into the toddler’s hands. Then, as the crying quieted, I heard the Cocomelon introduction. I observed as the toddler glanced at some animated oranges dancing. This prompted a conversation between my friend and me, who told me that her nine-year-old cousin has not stopped saying “skibidi” every time he greets her. “Skibidi” is another symptom of brain rot - it originates from a web series named “Skibidi Toilet” where the toilets attempt to overtake the human race. The term Skibidi has been flung around - it is a nonsensical word, literally meaning nothing. The degree of the presence of the term Skibidi in your vocabulary, and on your social media feed, most definitely determines how severely brain-rotted you are.

‘Brainrot’ was just recently named Oxford’sword of the year after 37,000 people from the public voted on the term. Brainrot refers to the mental deterioration that is birthed from incessant consumption of both low-quality and unchallenging content available online across several social media platforms. The term increased in usage frequency by 230% between 2023 and 2024, “I find it fascinating that the term ‘brainrot’ has been adopted by Gen Z and Gen Alpha, those communities largely responsible for the use and creation of the digital content the term refers to” Casper Grathwohel, President of Oxford, expressed. “It demonstrates a somewhat cheeky self-awareness in the younger generations about the harmful impact of social media that they’ve inherited.”

And he is right about the self-awareness that the younger generations, particularly Gen Z have. After hours of studying, my mood instantly brightens when my friends tell me it is “brainrot Instagram reels time!” and we all huddle up and scroll on one person’s phone, commenting on how strange and, frankly, stupid their “for you” page is. My personal favorite was a video of an Artificial Intelligence-generated cat that became a buff firefighter to avenge his owner, who perished in a fire (that he had mistakenly caused as a kitten). That statement makes zero sense at all, I am aware, but to those of us who are (unfortunately) chronically online, what I have just discussed makes more than sense. So why are so many people, including Gen Z, terrified of these so-called “iPad kids.” “iPad kids,” a term ironically used by Gen Z to criticize Gen Alpha, who were born in or after 2010, the same year iPads were first released to the public. Many critics of “iPad kids” believe that the children are not the ones to blame here; rather, it is the parents who are comfortable with handing their children an iPad anytime they want a break. This is not a criticism, simply a genuine question. Are people aware of the effects on children’s development when they spend so many hours of their days behind a screen, consuming increasingly useless content?

What parents may not realize about kids having unlimited access to their iPads is the potential danger that their kids may be in for not co-watching over their children’s screens. Often, on YouTube, autoplay allows for inappropriate content to be played to children. Even if "YouTube Kids" does exist, channels can often get away with using bright colors and unlicensed Disney images to bypass the system, exposing children to content they should not be engaging with. Although under severe pressure, YouTube has banned and deleted more than 150,000 videos, there is no doubt that some inappropriate posts will always be able to sneak past the cracks.

Another issue that “iPad kids” face is the effects of increased screen time on a child's mental development. According to Children and Screens: Institute of Digital Media and Child Development, children 0-18 months should only be exposed to video chatting. Children 18-24 months should have very limited screen time and be co-watching with an adult, specifically educational content. From 2-5, children should be limited to a screen time of an hour a day, with co-viewing still encouraged. Yet some parents have one-year-olds who have up to 4 hours of screen time per day. A study of more than 7,000 children, conducted by Ippei Takahashi et al., found that exposure to a screen can lead to higher risks of developmental delays in communication and problem-solving by the age of 2. Another study found that each 30-minute increase in handheld screen time

for children who have not begun to talk yet increases their risk of expressive speech delta by 49%.

Lastly, and arguably most importantly to Gen Z, is a child's behavior due to being an “iPad kid”. Many videos roam on TikTok of people between the ages of 17 and 19 expressing their disapproval of the frequency with which children are addicted to screens. Surely we were not that bad when we were their age? Evidence is pointing towards Gen Z’s favor. One study showed that TV exposure between six and 18 months of age led to higher emotional reactivity, aggression, and externalizing behaviors. That is probably why people are complaining about the shared experience of a child throwing a tantrum at a restaurant and immediately stopping their crying once they are given their oversized sticky iPad.

The issue deepens as children transition from being “iPad kids” to “phone kids,” immersed in technology at younger ages and exposed to content far beyond their years. This accelerated maturity doesn’t always manifest positively. It’s unsettling to see six-year-olds with their own phones or preteens obsessing over anti-aging skincare trends they pick up on TikTok. It raises a troubling question: will these children outgrow the hyper-curated, overstimulating digital world they’ve been raised in, or will this early exposure shape a generation struggling with impatience, aggression, and detachment? As technology evolves at breakneck speed, it’s hard to predict the long-term impact. But one thing is clear—our approach to raising children in this digital age will define not just their future, but the social fabric of the world they inherit.