What the world needs now is less polarization, more ‘ubumwe’

Dictionaries have selected brain-rot, enshittification and polarization as their 2024 “words of the year.” Each are depressingly apt reflections of the past 12 months.

The publishers of the Oxford English Dictionary selected “brain-rot” as their word of the year. Oxford University Press defined the noun as the “supposed deterioration of a person’s mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as a result of overconsumption of material considered to be trivial or unchallenging. Also: something characterized as likely to lead to such deterioration.”

The selection committee noticed that brain-rot “gained new prominence this year as a term used to capture concerns about the impact of consuming excessive amounts of low-quality online content, especially on social media,” and said usage of the word had increased by 230% between 2023 and 2024.

Casper Grathwohl, president of Oxford Languages, said, “brain-rot speaks to one of the perceived dangers of virtual life, and how we are using our free time.” Grathwohl also noted that they “find it fascinating that the term brain-rot has been adopted by Gen Z and Gen Alpha, those communities largely responsible for the use and creation of the digital content the term refers to. These communities have amplified the expression through social media channels, the very place said to cause brain-rot. It demonstrates a somewhat cheeky self-awareness in the younger generations about the harmful impact of social media that they’ve inherited.”

Australian English Dictionary Macquarie selected “enshittification” as its word of the year. The dictionary defined the colloquial noun as “the gradual deterioration of a service or product brought about by a reduction in the quality of service provided, especially of an online platform, and as a consequence of profit-seeking.” The selection committee commented that the term was a “very basic Anglo-Saxon term wrapped in affixes which elevate it to being almost formal; almost respectable. This word captures what many of us feel is happening to the world and to so many aspects of our lives at the moment.”

The American Dialect Society also selected “enshittification” as their word of the year in 2023, and credited a blog post by Canadian author, activist and journalist Cory Doctorow. In his 2023 blog, “TikTok’s enshittification,” Doctorow wrote: “Here is how platforms die: first, they are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, they die.”

This year, Merriam-Webster editors chose “polarization” as their word of the year. They defined the word as “division into two sharply distinct opposites; especially, a state in which the opinions, beliefs, or interests of a group or society no longer range along a continuum but become concentrated at opposing extremes.” The U.S. dictionary company noted that political polarization was widespread and “cultural polarization” was becoming a pressing challenge in workplaces.

Enshittification, polarization and brain-rot all are apt words for 2024. And they are all depressing. Roméo Dallaire’s latest book, “The Peace,” gives examples of more uplifting words, including “ubumwe,” a Kinyarwanda-language word meaning unity; the Zulu-language word, “ubuntu,” meaning humanity; and the Cree-language word, “niw_hk_m_kanak,” which means “all my relations.” All three of these words convey more uplifting ways of being that were much needed in 2024.

“Ubumwe” (unity) is one of the words in the national motto of Rwanda. Dallaire’s very readable book has a lot to say about his time in Rwanda, a country once torn apart by extreme polarization.

“Ubuntu” (humanity) grew from the phrase, “umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu,” which Dallaire explains as “a person is a person because of other people.”

Dallaire also cites Metis professor Paul L.A.H. Chartrand in his book. Chartrand explains that the Cree word “niw_hk_m_kanak” means “all my relations,” and “encompasses all humans, including those who have passed on and those who are yet to be born, as well as all plants, animals and the Earth itself.”

Here’s hoping for a new year with less brain-rot, less polarization and less enshittification. May your 2025 have more “ubuntu,” more “ubumwe,” and more thought to every being on this planet alive today and in future.

Chris Houston, syndicated by PeaceVoice, a program of the Oregon Peace Institute, is the president of the Canadian Peace Museum.