ReThinking: Demystifying Gen Alpha slang with Adam Aleksic

What It Covers

Linguist Adam Aleksic explains how TikTok's algorithm shapes modern language through Gen Alpha slang and brain rot vocabulary. He traces viral terms like riz, skibbity, and six seven to their origins in African American English and 4chan, revealing how algorithmic incentives drive language evolution and cultural transmission across online platforms.

Key Questions Answered

• •Algorithmic language origins: Approximately 90% of current Internet slang derives from two primary sources: African American English (particularly from 1980s-90s ballroom culture) and 4chan forums. Terms like slay, serve, tea, cooked, ate, and bussin originated in gay Black Latino spaces as tools to subvert mainstream English norms before spreading to Gen Z usage.
• •Brain rot as meta-commentary: Brain rot vocabulary functions as reflexive awareness of algorithmic manipulation rather than actual cognitive harm. Terms like Labooboo matcha Dubai chocolate satirize hyper-commodification, while six seven originated from NBA players intentionally saying phrases to trigger TikTok remixes, demonstrating how users recognize and parody clip farming culture through absurdist language.
• •Meme transmission mechanics: Successful memes spread through packages rather than isolation. The October 2023 Rizzler song combined multiple brain rot terms (skibbity, riz, Ohio) to harness cumulative mimetic power. Longevity depends on adaptability and frequent environmental triggers—six seven succeeds because people encounter these numbers daily in prices and counting, creating constant meme reinforcement.
• •Medium shapes message: Language virality requires understanding the medium as distinct from content. TikTok represents a paradigm shift where personalized AI-based algorithms using neural networks learn from user behavior and content simultaneously, creating feedback loops where creators use trending terms to game visibility, which further amplifies those terms algorithmically.
• •Surveillance culture in Skibbity Toilet: The YouTube shorts series functions as dialectic commentary on digital surveillance through camera-headed androids battling toilets. Gen Alpha viewers experience layered mediation—watching iPads while inhabiting camera perspectives observing other cameras—creating meta-narrative about the Panopticon versus base human instincts, reflecting hypermediated reality's impact on childhood development.