‘Italian Brainrot’: AI-generated cartoons are rewiring your child's brain

Has your child of late been obsessively engaging with AI-generated cartoon content on TikTok, or YouTube — whether it’s strange songs, surreal animations, or nonsensical characters?

A ballerina with a cappuccino for a head, a crocodile-pilot that drops bombs over desert land, a violent four-legged fish that has the ability to walk on land or something called chimpanzini bananini doing unspeakable things with fruit and furniture.

Well, according to language experts at the International Centre for Language Studies, these aren’t just fever dreams from AI meme pages. They’re part of a bizarre and totally addictive trend called ‘Italian Brainrot’ that targets generation alpha (born between 2010-2024). 

The experts explain that "Italian Brainrot" is a Gen Z meme trend born from Tik Tok and internet forums. 

It features absurd, AI-generated characters with names that sound Italian but are mostly just pure phonetic joy. “These characters are more than just viral jokes — they’ve become mini mythologies complete with families, rivalries, and weird lore. They're chaotic. They're oddly poetic. And, they're everywhere,” they highlight, adding: “It’s language acquisition by stealth. You’re laughing, scrolling, repeating the names — and your brain is picking up patterns in the background,” the language experts say.

Subliminal messaging

But while you may think the AI generated cartoons are only teaching your child Italian language and culture, child psychologists reveal that the brainrot, which has taken most social media platforms, especially TikTok, by storm, is silently reprogramming children to have a skewed view of the world on marriage and dating, values, sexuality, religion as well as the way they feel towards wildlife and environmental conservation.

The subliminal messaging, they say, is harmful at such a tender developing age. 

“Working closely with families, I have noticed the nature of some of the content trending among children on platforms like TikTok and YouTube such as the viral and AI-generated song and video trend known broadly as "Italian brainrot" content. While on the surface it appears harmless, even humorous—filled with cartoonish animation and catchy, nonsensical tunes—a closer clinical examination reveals some deeply worrying psychological implications, especially for young minds still in the formative stages of emotional, cognitive, and social development,” Joy Maele, a counselling psychologist at The Retreat Limited, told Nation.

She highlighted that it is first important to understand why children are so drawn to musical content. 

From a developmental perspective, music is more than just entertainment. 

It is a key tool in early learning and brain development. Songs stimulate multiple areas of a child’s brain simultaneously, including those responsible for emotion, memory, language and motor coordination. 

“This explains why nursery rhymes and lullabies have been used for centuries to teach, soothe and connect with children. Music has rhythm, repetition, and melody; elements that not only capture attention but also reinforce learning through emotional and neural pathways,” she told Nation.

Children and musical content

Because of this neurological stickiness, children are especially susceptible to content delivered in musical form.

“They absorb not just the words, but the tone, rhythm and emotion. They chant along, mimic behaviour and internalise messages long before they are capable of critically analysing what they mean,” she noted while explaining that the Italian brainrot mimics the structure of a children's rhyme but fills it with nonsensical, chaotic and at times violent undertones that are far from age-appropriate. 

“While the imagery is intentionally ridiculous, it still carries emotionally and symbolically heavy themes; war, destruction, and aggression, all bundled in cheerful music and bright colours,” she said. 

The Italian brainrot, the psychologist explained, hooks children with rhythmic language, quirky animations, and shock value, while lacking meaningful or developmentally appropriate narratives.

“Children exposed to this type of content may laugh or mimic what they see, but they are also being subjected to an emotional and cognitive overload that undermines healthy development. It overstimulates the brain’s reward systems, promotes poor attention habits, and confuses emotional associations (such as pairing violence with laughter or using cute characters to express rage and jealousy.” 

“What we are witnessing is a shift from traditional children’s media, which was largely curated, intentional and developmentally aligned, to a new era where AI-generated and algorithmically optimised content is made not with children’s psychological health in mind, but with one goal: to capture and hold attention. These videos are visually overstimulating, often emotionally incoherent and designed to be watched repeatedly,” she highlighted. 

According to Ms Maele, from a clinical standpoint, this combination poses several risks.

Cognitive overstimulation

She observed that although AI-generated memes and songs can have educational or social value, one of the primary concerns is cognitive overstimulation. 

“Children exposed to fast-paced, high-intensity content frequently may experience reduced attention spans and increased frustration with the slower pace of real-life interactions or learning.  Their brains become conditioned to expect rapid rewards, flashing colours and exaggerated stimuli; and this can contribute to difficulty concentrating, emotional dysregulation and behavioural issues, especially in children already predisposed to attention deficit hypersensitive disorder (ADHD) or other attention-related/neurological challenges, ”she told Nation.

She added that another issue is emotional confusion as the videos often pair cheerful melodies with language or imagery that is aggressive, absurd or even subtly violent.

“Children process tone before meaning and when the two are mismatched, it creates emotional dissonance. They might sing about revenge or destruction with glee, not because they understand these concepts, but because the melody is fun and everyone else is doing it,” the psychologist explained while noting that over time, this can desensitise them to violence or normalise inappropriate emotional responses.

What is even more concerning, she says, is the distorted understanding of relationships as many of these AI-generated stories include dysfunctional portrayals of love, jealousy, and betrayal. “While absurd to adults, children can internalise these distorted dynamics, influencing how they interpret relationships and social interactions.

Dysfunctional relationships 

“Increasingly, I have observed AI-generated or meme-based songs and skits that portray anthropomorphic characters engaging in romantic rivalries, possessive behaviours or dysfunctional relationship dynamics; all delivered in a tone that is comedic or light-hearted,” she warned while pointing out that children, especially those under 10, are not developmentally equipped to process these themes.

“They learn through modelling, not abstraction. If a video shows a character threatening another over a romantic rejection, a child might not see the absurdity, they might see a model for emotional response.This kind of subliminal messaging is not always obvious, but it is powerful as children don’t just consume content; they internalise it,” Ms Maele said. 

She added that when children see repeated patterns, whether about power in relationships, gender stereotypes or emotional instability as a form of humour, they begin to build beliefs about how the world works and may learn, for instance, that affection is earned through competition, that jealousy is normal in love or that rejection must be met with a dramatic or destructive response.

She said what makes this even more deceptive is that the content is often consumed without adult supervision or context. 

“Parents may hear the catchy song in the background and assume it’s just another silly trend. But the truth is, repetition is a powerful teacher. If a child sings or hears a phrase dozens of times a day, especially when emotionally charged or paired with strong visuals, it begins to shape their internal narrative.  And unlike traditional media, these videos are often short, unfiltered and served endlessly through algorithmic loops,” Ms Maele added. 

This content may contribute to emotional dysregulation, aggressive behaviour, compulsive screen-seeking and even a lowered threshold for addictive tendencies later in life matter.

So, what is the way forward?

“It is not enough to restrict screen time; we must also guide it. This means co-watching when possible, asking children what they think about what they’re seeing and helping them label the emotions they feel during or after watching a video,” she said while adding that children can be taught media literacy, even at a young age. 

Simple questions like, "Do you think that was kind?" or "How would you feel if that happened to you?" can open up emotional dialogue and create buffers against passive absorption.

Secondly, she urges parents to limit exposure to overstimulating content, especially before bedtime or during emotionally vulnerable moments. 

“Children’s brains need time to reset, reflect and rest. If they are constantly bombarded by hyperactive digital input, their nervous systems remain in a state of low-level arousal, making it harder to sleep, focus, or connect emotionally.

“Third, replace passive consumption with active engagement. Offer songs, stories and digital experiences that promote empathy, imagination, and relational skills,” she said while reminding that there is excellent available content that supports emotional growth.  

“Lastly, watch for behaviour changes. If a child becomes more aggressive, mimics harmful language or shows increased difficulty transitioning away from screens, it may be time to reassess the media diet. These are signs that emotional regulation is being outsourced to entertainment, a red flag that should not be ignored,” she said.

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