complicated things, dumbed down

so basically

Phubbing

internet culture

The act of snubbing a present companion in favor of attending to one's mobile telephone.

so basically: Ignoring the person in front of you for your phone. Phone plus snubbing.

the feed

Rage bait

internet culture

Content deliberately engineered to provoke anger, thereby maximizing engagement metrics through outrage-driven interaction.

so basically: Posts designed to make you mad so you'll comment.

Officially added to the dictionary this year.

Rizz

internet culture

Charisma, particularly as applied to romantic or flirtatious persuasion; derived from the middle syllable of 'charisma.'

so basically: Game. Charm. The ability to talk to your crush without crashing.

The ick

internet culture

A sudden, irreversible onset of aversion toward a romantic interest, triggered by a specific observed behavior.

so basically: One tiny thing they did just killed the whole crush. Forever.

Touch grass

internet culture

An imperative suggesting the addressee disengage from online discourse and re-establish contact with physical reality.

so basically: Log off. Go outside. You've been online too long.

6-7

internet culture

A semantically vacant meme expression of Gen Alpha origin, deployed as an in-group signal rather than for propositional content.

so basically: It means nothing. That's the joke. Schools banned it anyway.

So ubiquitous schools reportedly tried to ban it.

Aura farming

internet culture

The performative accumulation of social mystique through calculated displays of effortless composure.

so basically: Doing cool stuff just to look cool.

Bed rot

internet culture

Extended voluntary confinement to one's bed for passive leisure activities, framed as self-care.

so basically: Staying in bed all day on purpose and calling it wellness.

Brain rot

internet culture

Perceived cognitive decline attributed to overconsumption of low-value, algorithmically-served short-form content.

so basically: What scrolling junk content all day does to you.