Scroll through a tween’s TikTok or Instagram feed these days and you’re likely to stumble upon a surreal hodgepodge of AI-generated creatures: a ballerina with a cappuccino for a head, a crocodile fused to a bomber plane or a two-legged great white shark in Nike tennis shoes.
They speak in exaggerated Italian or Italian American accents, shout gibberish and vanish as quickly as they appear — only to be remixed and re-uploaded in endless variations by adolescent users or everyday content creators.
This type of viral social media content trend is known as Italian brainrot.
Where did it originate?
Fabian Mosele, an Italian animator and teacher based in Germany, told Good Morning America the trend began in early 2025, when a TikTok nursery rhyme called “Trallallero Trallallà” was paired with an AI-generated shark wearing sneakers. From there, more characters emerged, each more absurd than the last.
Italian brainrot is surreal, weird and deliberately nonsensical, just chaos with surprises along the way.
The “Italian” label came from early adopters, but the content is now highly international.
As for the “brainrot” part, it’s become internet shorthand for content so overstimulating, surreal or ridiculous that it intentionally melts your brain. The term was even named Oxford’s 2024 Word of the Year.
It also scratches a familiar adolescent itch: rebellion.
“It feels punk,” Mosele said. “It’s internet folklore—a grassroots, participatory universe that big studios have no control over.”
Licensed marriage and family therapist Cheryl Eskin agreed.
“Italian brainrot is digital cotton candy for the brain,” said Eskin, senior director of Didi Hirsch’s Teen Line, a mental health and support organization. “It’s chaotic, fast, funny, and completely unfiltered. It scratches a developmental itch for tweens and teens, whose brains are wired for novelty and risk-taking.”
In other words, it’s no surprise that kids are drawn to it. But Eskin noted that the speed and intensity of this content can be overstimulating.
“If this is all they’re consuming, we might start to see more trouble with attention, mood swings, or difficulty winding down,” she said.
Is there cause for concern?
Not necessarily, but it’s worth paying attention to how much time your child or grandchild spends immersed in the brainrot universe.
Because the meme universe is participatory, it’s not just passively consumed — it’s constantly reimagined. Kids may mimic the voices, invent new characters or weave phrases into everyday conversation, making it harder for parents to recognize where the boundaries lie.
The best advice is to limit the digital junk food, and stay connected to your family’s media diet.