This year has ushered in a box office boom, with hits such as Inside Out 2, Deadpool & Wolverine and Despicable Me 4 grossing over a billion dollars each in global cinemas.

But all of these films have been trumped by something new. Hundreds of millions may be flocking to the big screen, but billions are staying home, captivated by a renegade low-budget franchise about talking toilets.

Skibidi Toilet, a YouTube series that originated with an 11-second viral clip, is always just a click away. And it has found unprecedented popularity among Gen Alpha, the children born after the year 2010, with over 65 billion combined views last year.¹

The series, which narrates a conflict between evil toilets and humanoids with televisions, speakers and CCTV cameras for heads, is some of the most-watched content on the platform. Its viewership blows traditional media out of the water.

No wonder Hollywood has wasted no time staking its claim. Alexey Gerasimov, the Russian-born Skibidi mastermind, is working with an independent Hollywood entertainment studio to expand the series into a multi-movie franchise and a series of profitable merchandise lines.

But what gives this surreal, outlandishLooking or sounding bizarre or unfamiliar. invention its appeal? The Russian authorities are investigating Skibidi Toilet for alleged psychological harm to children. It has been labelled "brainrot humour", a form of internet comedy repeated so much that it loses all meaning.

Some say that Gen Alpha is building an identity through this absurdistThe theory that the universe is irrational and meaningless. and, as some have called it, meta-ironicA way of joking considered neither sincere or ironic. humour. It is like a secret language, something that belongs to them alone.

It is not the only example of the "brainrot" lexicon taking hold of young minds. Unorthodox terms like "gyatt", "rizzler", "fanum tax", "aura", "sigma" and more have crashed from obscurity to everyday speech through internet viralityThe tendency for something to be circulated very quickly on the internet..

Perhaps the reason Skibidi Toilet seems so strange to many is that we have yet to adjust to a generation raised by the internet, where 90% of children aged 10 to 15 years go online every day. More than one in five of these children spends more than seven hours a day online.² We are entering unchartered territory.

Is Skibidi Toilet an apocalyptic event in humanity's development, ushering in a new age of vapidityThe quality of being vapid, or uninteresting. and absurdismThe philosophical theory that the universe is irrational and meaningless.? Some might say yes. But for others, it is an archetypal example of generational warfare. Perhaps Gen Alpha is simply trying to create its own brave new world.

But is it just brain-rot?

Yes: We should be scared of this meaningless, asinineExtremely foolish or stupid. humour. It is part of a sinister internet culture which breeds dependence, obsession and apathy, and it is preying on young minds for clicks because they are the most vulnerable. 

No: Every generation has its own "cringe" surreal humour. It is natural for young adolescents to be obsessed with puerile images like toilets. Leave the kids alone!

Or... We should not be worried about Skibidi Toilet because it is "brainrotting", but because it is scary and nightmarish, desensitising young children to violence. YouTube should have blocked anyone under the age of 16 from watching it.