“Bro chill, just be nonchalant about it,” rings from the mouths of the male Gen Z demographic routinely. A term largely considered part of the “brain rot” genre of teenage vocabulary — a kind of meme or digital content deemed of low quality or value — the word might seem friendly at surface level. However, as the concept evolves, concerns surrounding male emotional maturity shine through.
From a long-term standpoint, men have lived under the expectation of suppressing emotion, discouragement from evolving emotionally and becoming victims of double standards. All of these have inhibited them from addressing their needs when it comes to relationships, as well as effective communication. From modern machismo, to tough-guy attitudes, to “boys don’t cry” mantras, the concept of being “nonchalant” has only adopted the centuries-old legacy.
Largely perpetrated via social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, what started as simply a part of the popular “brain rot” genre of memes and Gen Z’s favorite inside joke has only worsened. At what point do harmless jokes become small jabs chipping away at emotional intelligence and confidence in speaking up?
With the term “brain rot” being coined the Oxford University Press Word of the Year in 2024, it might be hard to take the points mentioned above too seriously. However, in many heterosexual situations at the teenage level, when a girl attempts to approach a boy or discuss emotional topics with him, they might shut down or avoid being frank about their true emotional state of mind. This largely comes as an effort to avoid being seen as a “simp” or as a boy who wears his heart on his sleeve.
Furthermore, it is no mystery that women tend to be more emotionally vulnerable more quickly. It might take weeks or months to get close enough with a boy or a more masculine person to allow them to feel comfortable enough to open up. As a society, people have become quick to assume progress is imminent and occurring faster than ever before. However, continuing to infuse words like “nonchalant” and others into people’s vocabularies as jokes, which eventually become serious and impactful, only takes us one step forward to move three steps back.
