If you’ve heard your kid say "only in Ohio" for the 400th time today, or they’re talking about "Skibidi Rizz," you’ve encountered "Brainrot." It’s a term kids (mostly Gen Alpha and younger Gen Z) use to describe the hyper-fast, nonsensical, and often over-stimulating content found on TikTok and YouTube Shorts.

To us, it looks like a digital fever dream. To them, it’s a dialect. Most of it is harmless, if incredibly loud. Skibidi Toilet, for instance, is just a series of videos about heads popping out of toilets. It’s the modern equivalent of Ren & Stimpy—weird, gross, and confusing to parents, but fundamentally just slapstick for the digital age.

However, "Brainrot" becomes "Bad News" when the algorithm stops feeding them singing toilets and starts feeding them "Sigma" edits that subtly—or not so subtly—degrade women, promote "alpha" dominance, or mock marginalized groups.

The line between "funny weird" and "harmful weird" is often blurred by irony. Kids will say, "It’s just a joke, Mom," and they often believe it. But memes are the primary way kids absorb worldviews today. Here are the three main areas where meme culture starts to rot more than just their attention spans.

Originally, a "Sigma male" was a meme about being a "lone wolf" who is successful but doesn't need social validation. It was often paired with clips of Patrick Bateman from American Psycho. Kids used it to describe someone doing something cool or independent.

But the "Sigma" tag has been hijacked. If you see your kid watching "Sigma" edits on YouTube or Instagram that feature creators like Andrew Tate or focus on "putting women in their place," that’s the red flag. It moves from "I’m a cool lone wolf" to "I am superior to others, especially women and 'weak' people."

Learn more about how to spot radicalization in "Sigma" edits

You might see your kid putting their finger to their lips (the "shush" sign) and pointing to their jawline. This is "mewing," a technique supposed to define the jaw. While mostly silly, it’s part of a broader trend called "Lookmaxxing."

At its best, it’s just kids being self-conscious about their looks (nothing new there). At its worst, it’s a gateway to "blackpill" communities that tell young boys they are "genetically doomed" if they don't have a certain facial structure. It’s the boy version of the toxic "thinspo" culture that has plagued girls for decades.

Memes like "Ohio" (used to mean something is weird or trashy) are generally fine. But when memes start targeting specific classmates or using "edgy" humor to mask racism or homophobia, the "it’s just a meme" excuse wears thin. If the humor relies on someone else’s suffering or dehumanization, it’s crossed the line.

Kids use these memes for the same reason we used slang: Community. Using the right word at the right time proves you’re "in." In a world that feels increasingly chaotic, having a secret language with your peers provides a sense of belonging.

The algorithms on TikTok and YouTube are also designed to give them a hit of dopamine every few seconds. These memes are engineered to be "catchy" to the brain, even if they don't make sense.

If you want to steer your kids toward content that satisfies that "weird" itch without the toxic baggage, try these:

This movie is the gold standard for "meme-literate" media. It uses the same visual language as YouTube and TikTok (random cutaways, hand-drawn doodles on screen), but it’s actually about a family trying to reconnect. It’s frantic, funny, and has a great heart. Ages 7+

If your kid likes the "lore" of things like Skibidi Toilet or Roblox horror games, Gravity Falls is a masterpiece. It’s weird, full of secrets, and has a massive internet following, but it’s grounded in a beautiful story about siblings. Ages 8+

For the kid who loves surrealism. It starts as a silly show about a boy and a dog, but it evolves into a complex epic about growing up. It’s "weird" in the best way possible. Ages 9+

A short, beautiful miniseries that captures that "spooky/weird" vibe perfectly. It’s aesthetic, slightly unsettling, and incredibly well-written. Ages 10+

If your son is leaning into "Sigma" culture because he wants to feel "cool" and "tough," give him Hades. It’s a challenging, stylish game where the protagonist is undeniably "cool," but the story is about empathy, persistence, and fixing broken relationships. Ages 12+

At this age, it’s mostly Skibidi Toilet and MrBeast.

This is when Discord and "Sigma" edits start to creep in.

Check out our guide on how TikTok's algorithm works

You don't need to be an expert in "Rizz" to have this conversation. In fact, being a little bit of a "clueless parent" can help.

Ask our chatbot for a script on talking to your son about Andrew Tate

Most meme culture is just the digital version of passing notes in class—it’s silly, fleeting, and mostly harmless. But because these notes are being written by powerful algorithms, they can sometimes lead kids into dark corners of the internet.

Your job isn't to police every "Skibidi" that comes out of their mouth. It's to be the person they can talk to when the "joke" starts feeling a little too much like hate.

Take the Screenwise Survey to see how your family's meme literacy compares to your community