How AI-Generated, Vaguely Italian Memes Are Taking Over Your Teen's Social Media Feed
If you're the parent of a t(w)een, the memes that fill your social media feeds are probably a whole lot different than your teenager's. You might be used to seeing a distracted boyfriend, a dog sitting in an office that's on fire, or Drake in 'Hotline Bling' on Facebook or Instagram.
But if you were to scroll through your child's TikTok feed — or overhear them talking about new memes — you might think they were looking at sneak peeks of an off-the-rails new Pixar film or that they were taking up a new language.
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Because what in the Grumpy Cat is 'Italian Brainrot?!'
It's a new internet craze featuring a whole host of outlandish, AI-generated characters that have Italian-sounding names said in an exaggerated male text-to-speech voice alongside nonsensical phrases. Some names are inspired by actual Italian words, while others just have a similar cadence.
According to Forbes, some of the top characters are Ballerina Cappuccina, a dancer with a coffee cup head, Tralalero Tralala, a three-legged shark wearing blue Nike kicks, and Lirili Laria, a sandal-wearing elephant-cactus hybrid walking through the desert.
If you're trying to wrap your head around what sounds like a Mad Lib, we understand (and we're in the same boat). But these wild mashups have gained a cult-like following of young people who love to view and create the AI-generated memes.
Why? Well … why do teens latch onto anything? Experts think the surreal and absurd characters have become something for teens and their peers to enjoy and laugh about when so many other parts of their lives might be difficult. This brainrot is a means of distraction.
And no, if you've been biting your nails waiting to find out what 'brainrot' or 'brain rot' is, it's not a medical condition. Your child is not sick. 'Brain rot' — which was chosen as Oxford University Press' 2024 Word of the Year — just means spending excessive amounts of time on screens watching 'trivial' or 'unchallenging' content. And sure, that could supposedly impact someone's cognitive function in the same way excessive screen time could have a negative impact on anyone's health.
So there is no need to necessarily be any more concerned than usual if your teen is constantly talking about Tralalero Tralala. Or, perhaps they are now fans of Mexican, German, or French Brainrot characters. They might even be enthralled with Tung Tung Tung Sahur, a stick of wood from Indonesia who sings with Ballerina Cappuccina in a video that has more than 5.4 million likes. In many ways, this is a modern way for teens to be creative and unwind.
But (… we all knew there was a 'but' coming, right?), there are problems with the trend. Parents reports that some teachers are finding that students can easily derail a lesson by mentioning one of the characters or their catchphrase. And speaking of those catchphrases, some are being called offensive. Remember that Nike-loving shark? His voiceover says both 'Allah,' the Arabic word for 'god,' and 'porco,' an Italian word for pig. According to Forbes, members of the Muslim community are upset about this combination.
'No one will claim responsibility for the perceived Islamophobia — some say it's just an inadvertent coincidence stemming from absurdity,' Freddy Tran Nager, a clinical associate professor of communications at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, told the outlet.
'But it's not unusual for memes to be appropriated by extremist groups, such as Pepe the Frog being adopted by white nationalists.'
And so Italian Brainrot does have the ability to be incredibly offensive. Especially when not all social media users speak the language most closely associated with the trend. Even some of the backstories of these beloved characters can lean into NSFW territory, and then, of course, there is the negative environmental impact of creating these AI-generated photos and videos in the first place.
So, what should parents be doing about Italian Brainrot? Well, like with any technological craze, going over some boundaries is a good idea. Are there certain hours when kids have to stop scrolling (no matter how much they want to learn more about Chimpanzini Bananini)? Let them know that chatting with their friends about Bombardiro Crocodilo is probably OK … as long as it's not in the middle of biology class. And it's always a good idea to remind kids that they should research what they are saying before mindlessly repeating. Capisce?Best of SheKnows
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