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“Brainrot” content — videos steeped in the absurd memes that have become a favorite of Gen Alpha — are starting to be retrofitted into study materials that can hopefully keep kids’ attention.
The Big Picture: Smartphones and internet culture have starved young people’s attention spans. While some fight back with proposed device bans in the classroom and other anti-tech measures, others are experimenting with leaning into them to win the hearts and, more importantly, minds of the youth.
Behind the Jokes: Skibidi Toilet, Baby Gronk, Pibby Glitch, Freddy Fazbear… these are just some of the memes that could pop up in your kid’s school syllabus.
- Context: Kids use PDF-to-brainrot tools to turn memes into vertical videos featuring ASMR montages, such as people cutting soap, scooping ice cream, or gameplay from Minecraft and Subway Surfers.
- Tools: Platforms like Coconote, StudyRot, Study Fetch, and Memenome are giving educators the ability to turn their lesson plans, study guides, and other materials into brainrot videos, even changing text into Gen Alpha slang.
- Teaching: The videos are popping up all over TikTok… although it’s a bit unclear if they come from genuine educators or paid influencers.
The Future: Techcrunch notes that the chaotic videos may oddly calm students because of how brains are becoming more and more wired for multitasking. It’s the same idea behind kids watching TV while on their phones and looking at something on their computers. The information overload becomes second nature. While brainrot may not be for every student (or even most students), some teachers may give it a shot if it can reach enough of them to make a statistical difference in test scores.
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