Why Gen Z Loves The Pointless Italian Brain Rot Trend
A new internet phenomenon known as “Italian Brain Rot” has taken over the screens of tweens and teens, baffling parents and delighting its young audience. The trend features a cast of bizarre, AI-generated characters, but experts say its nonsensical nature is precisely the point, serving as a form of rebellion against the constant pressure to be productive.
One of the trend's stars is Ballerina Cappuccina, an AI-generated ballerina with a cappuccino cup for a head. In the first half of 2025, she amassed over 55 million views on TikTok. Her videos feature a deep, computer-generated male voice singing a mix of Italian and gibberish. This is the essence of Italian Brain Rot: a series of memes with absurd, pseudo-Italian narration and surreal animal-object hybrid characters that have exploded in popularity this year.
A Nonsensical AI-Generated Realm
The universe of Italian Brain Rot is populated by a host of strange characters. The trend began with Tralalero Tralala, a shark sporting blue Nike sneakers, set to a crude, curse-filled Italian song. Soon after, characters like Bombardiro Crocodilo (a crocodile-headed military plane) and Lirilì Larilà (a cactus-bodied elephant in slippers) joined the fray.
Content creators have built entire storylines around these characters, launching catchphrases that have entered the slang of Generation Alpha. Fabian Mosele, a 26-year-old Italian animator, became an “Italian brain rot connoisseur” after their video of the characters at a rave gained 70 million views. “It feels so ephemeral,” Mosele said, “but it also feels so real.”
The trend has even jumped from social media to the gaming world. A popular game on the Roblox platform was titled “Steal a Brainrot,” where players tried to collect the most valuable characters. This digital phenomenon has become a significant part of modern pop culture.
It's Not Supposed to Make Sense
The appeal of Italian Brain Rot lies in its complete absurdity. According to creator Fabian Mosele, fans don't care about translating the nonsensical Italian or finding a logical connection between the images and the songs. “It’s funny because it’s nonsense,” Mosele explained. The bizarre and dark humor breaks from the polished content often seen on TV and social media, which makes it highly appealing to a younger audience.
The content is intentionally silly and pointless. While some clips have occasionally touched on real-world issues, the vast majority are simply absurd for the sake of being absurd.
The Rise of Brain Rot
Italian Brain Rot is part of a larger category of content that falls under the term “brain rot,” which was named the 2024 Oxford University Press word of the year. The term describes both the trivial, unchallenging content itself and the feeling of mental numbness from overconsuming it. Other examples include split-screen videos featuring games like “Subway Surfer” alongside TV shows, or the “Skibidi Toilet” animated series.
While the term may sound alarming, especially amid growing concerns about the harms of social media for teens, some experts suggest the panic is misplaced. Emilie Owens, a children’s media researcher, notes that it's common for older generations to “view the thing the newest generation is doing with fear and suspicion,” comparing it to past moral panics over comic books, television, and even novels.
Owens argues that the pointless and unproductive nature of brain rot content is central to its appeal. It represents a direct rejection of the intense societal pressure on young people to constantly self-optimize and be productive. “It’s very normal for everyone to need to switch their brains off now and again,” she said. In a world demanding constant engagement, Italian Brain Rot offers a meaningless, silly, and liberating escape.
