Gen Z's beloved 'Italian Brain Rot' is unproductive and pointless-and that may be the point

"It's normal to "view the thing the newest generation is doing with fear and suspicion," she said, pointing to how past generations have had similar concerns about the detrimental effects of comic books, television and even novels at one time. Concerns about brain rot - that it is unproductive and pointless - actually reveal a great deal about their appeal, Owens said. Brain rot is an acute rejection of the intense pressures on young people to self-optimize."

"In the first half of 2025, she racked up over 55 million views on TikTok and 4 million likes, mostly from tweens glued to their cellphones. Not bad for an AI-generated cartoon ballerina with a cappuccino teacup for a head. Her name is Ballerina Cappuccina. Her smiling, girlish face is accompanied by a deep, computer-generated male voice singing in Italian - or, at least, some Italian. The rest is gibberish."

"She is one of the most prominent characters in the internet phenomenon known as "Italian Brain Rot," a series of memes that exploded in popularity this year, consisting of unrealistic AI-generated animal-object hybrids with absurdist, pseudo-Italian narration. The trend has baffled parents, to the delight of young people experiencing the thrill of a new, fleeting cultural signifier that is illegible to older generations."

Absurd, AI-generated memes labeled Italian Brain Rot surged in popularity in 2025, featuring animal-object hybrids with pseudo-Italian narration. Ballerina Cappuccina, an AI-generated ballerina with a cappuccino teacup head, accumulated over 55 million TikTok views and 4 million likes, largely from tweens. The trend uses nonsensical visuals and gibberish singing that baffles parents while thrilling young people with a fleeting cultural signifier. Concerns that brain rot is unproductive and pointless reveal the appeal of rejecting intense pressures on young people to self-optimize. The phenomenon functions as a collective way to switch off and resist constant productivity demands.

Read at Fortune