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Bangkok Post
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Bangkok Post
Italian Brainrot: the weirdly addictive AI trend
If you're a parent with a school-aged child, chances are you've heard some bizarre sounds coming from your kid's room -- things like "Tung Tung Tung Sahur" or "Tralalero Tralala." These odd noises stem from a phenomenon called Italian Brainrot, which has captured the imagination of children and teens around the world. Inside the world of Italian Brainrot The moment Italian Brainrot began to spread like wildfire was when kids and teens started sharing these images and characters in various formats – story videos, songs, memes. Thanks to their repetitive sounds and ridiculous names, they're incredibly easy to remember and mimic. Today, Italian Brainrot has grown so much that it could almost be considered a meme series of its own. Some of the most popular characters include: Tung Tung Tung Sahur – A wooden statue with arms and legs, holding a log. Its name imitates the sound of a drum, with a backstory that it wakes you with three beats – and if you don't get up, it hits you on the head. Tralalero Tralala – A three-legged shark wearing blue Nike shoes, made 'cool' by walking or running instead of swimming. Bombardiro Crocodilo – A mash-up between a crocodile's head and the body of a B-17 bomber aircraft. Bellerina Cappucina – A ballerina whose head is a cappuccino cup, always dancing with energy and joy. The effect on Thai kids Italian Brainrot hasn't just gone viral online – it's also made its way into real-life behaviour among school children. One person who has observed the trend up close is a Bangkok Post staff member and mum to a third-grader. She shared: "It began when my child returned from school with these odd names -- essentially meaningless words used as nicknames from AI-generated cartoons." "Primary pupils giggle uncontrollably upon hearing these "Brainrot" terms. Some schools have banned them from classrooms as they cause such disruption." "The content is watchable but lacks substance to me. But then again, when we were children, we hardly extracted profound meaning from our cartoons either. Perhaps we grew up with Aesop's fables and moral tales, feeling compelled to find some deeper message in everything we consumed. This generation may not feel that necessity quite so keenly." "I think this is rather a personal matter -- those capable of reflection will manage it, whilst those who cannot... well, it's simply rather a pity." "The more intriguing question is why children have the time to scroll endlessly through these brief AI clips in the first place. If parents wish to prevent addiction, they must exercise proper supervision. It's as straightforward as that, really." This is a clear reflection that while Italian Brainrot may seem like harmless nonsense, it can have negative impacts if not handled or understood properly. From digital to local: when memes leave the internet Italian Brainrot is no longer just an internet trend – it's starting to show up in the real world too. In Thailand, for instance, local vendors have begun selling dolls and keychains modelled after the characters. One vendor, who gets her stock from Sampheng Market – a well-known hub for accessories, clothing, toys and gifts - admitted she didn't know much about the characters. She was simply advised to try selling newer figures. Characters like Tung Tung Tung Sahur and Tralalero Tralala have proven popular among customers, sold in various sizes – from small keychains priced at 30 Thai Baht to larger ones for 100 Baht. It's a sign that the trend appeals across different price ranges. Adapting to AI-driven content At first glance, Italian Brainrot might seem like just another fleeting internet craze. But in reality, it reflects how children today consume media in the digital age – where content evolves rapidly in both positive and negative directions. It's now more important than ever for parents and educators to understand the kinds of content kids are engaging with. The key lies in encouraging diverse and meaningful media consumption to help children grow up in a digital world in a way that's both creative and safe. In the end, Tung Tung Tung Sahur might just be the starting point for meaningful conversations between generations – about how the world is changing, and how we can all coexist happily in a time when technology is an everyday part of life.
New Paper
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New Paper
S'pore content creators tap popular 'Italian brainrot' memes, unaware of darker undertones
In the last couple of months, adults and children alike may have come across a series of social media sensations: a wooden oblong creature holding a baseball bat, a ballerina with a cappuccino for a head and a walking shark wearing blue Nike shoes. These surrealist internet memes first garnered views and "likes" in early 2025. Nonsensical and mildly grotesque, the artificial intelligence (AI)-generated characters instantly earned themselves a spot among social media's beloved "brainrot" genre. Brainrot refers to content deemed to be of low quality or value, non-intellectual, trivial and addictive, and also refers to the supposed negative psychological and cognitive effects caused by it. Tung Tung Tung Sahur (the wooden oblong object), Ballerina Cappuccina (the ballerina), Tralalero Tralala (the walking shark) and Bombardino Crocodilo (a crocodile head with a bomber plane body) are part of the cast. They all have pseudo-Italian names and their clips are voiced over in Italian. One video of Tung Tung Tung Sahur doing a famous TikTok dance that was posted on April 27 received 26 million likes. But these memes are sometimes embedded with offensive and problematic messaging, which viewers may be unaware of. The original AI-generated Italian-language video featuring Bombardino Crocodilo mocked the deaths of children in Gaza and glorified terrorism as a whole. As for some Tralalero Tralala clips, the narration mocks Islam and includes blasphemous statements. Several Singaporean influencers and content creators have leveraged Italian brainrot's virality, creating fashion videos featuring outfits inspired by the characters or a Zumba video starring the dancing aunties of local community group Everdance. On May 19, content creator Jovanna Yam, 22, posted a TikTok video of her mother reading out Italian brainrot names, while she played the instrumental audio on the piano. The video has since amassed 15,600 likes and 284,000 views, up from her usual 13,000. Ms Yam, who goes by migraineyy on TikTok, told The Straits Times: "I mostly post videos of myself playing classical piano pieces and pop covers, so I did not expect this one to go this viral. I was trying to create more funny content to hook my audience. "When you watch an Italian brainrot video for too long, the algorithm deems that you like this kind of content and pushes out more of it on your 'For You' page. All my social media accounts were filled with these videos." But she added she was not aware of the darker undertones of Italian brainrot. "It is definitely a cause for concern as nobody would expect them to be controversial. Most of us watch these types of videos for entertainment because of how nonsensical they are." Since finding out about some offensive versions, she intends to check her comments thoroughly to ensure she has not offended any followers. In April, local Gen Z social media couple Dyce and Ce posted a video of themselves on Instagram and TikTok trying the Guess The Italian Brainrot Character filter challenge, which garnered 358,000 likes and nearly four million views. In the comments section, most netizens praised their humour and asked where they could find the filter. But a few demonstrated more awareness of the implications of the series. One netizen wrote: "I'm Italian. The first name (Tralalero Tralala) means something bad." Another added: "It was funny until someone told me the meaning of Tralalero Tralala and Bombardino Crocodilo."
Straits Times
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
S'pore content creators tap popular ‘Italian brainrot' memes, unaware of darker undertones
SINGAPORE – In the last couple of months, adults and children alike may have come across a series of social media sensations: a wooden oblong creature holding a baseball bat, a ballerina with a cappuccino for a head and a walking shark wearing blue Nike shoes. These surrealist internet memes first garnered views and 'likes' in early 2025. Nonsensical and mildly grotesque, the artificial intelligence (AI)-generated characters instantly earned themselves a spot among social media's beloved 'brainrot' genre. Brainrot refers to content deemed to be of low quality or value, non-intellectual, trivial and addictive, and also refers to the supposed negative psychological and cognitive effects caused by it. Tung Tung Tung Sahur (the wooden oblong object), Ballerina Cappuccina (the ballerina), Tralalero Tralala (the walking shark) and Bombardino Crocodilo (a crocodile head with a bomber plane body) are part of the cast. They all have pseudo-Italian names and their clips are voiced over in Italian. One video of Tung Tung Tung Sahur doing a famous TikTok dance that was posted on April 27 received 26 million likes. But these memes are sometimes embedded with offensive and problematic messaging, which viewers may be unaware of. The original AI-generated Italian-language video featuring Bombardino Crocodilo mocked the deaths of children in Gaza and glorified terrorism as a whole. As for some Tralalero Tralala clips, the narration mocks Islam and includes blasphemous statements. Several Singaporean influencers and content creators have leveraged Italian brainrot's virality, creating fashion videos featuring outfits inspired by the characters or a Zumba video starring the dancing aunties of local community group Everdance . On May 19, content creator Jovanna Yam, 22, posted a TikTok video of her mother reading out Italian brainrot names, while she played the instrumental audio on the piano. The video has since amassed 15,600 likes and 284,000 views, up from her usual 13,000. Ms Yam, who goes by migraineyy on TikTok, told The Straits Times: 'I mostly post videos of myself playing classical piano pieces and pop covers, so I did not expect this one to go this viral. I was trying to create more funny content to hook my audience. 'When you watch an Italian brainrot video for too long, the algorithm deems that you like this kind of content and pushes out more of it on your 'For You' page. All my social media accounts were filled with these videos.' But she added she was not aware of the darker undertones of Italian brainrot. 'It is definitely a cause for concern as nobody would expect them to be controversial. Most of us watch these types of videos for entertainment because of how nonsensical they are.' Since finding out about some offensive versions, she intends to check her comments thoroughly to ensure she has not offended any followers. In April, local Gen Z social media couple Dyce and Ce posted a video of themselves on Instagram and TikTok trying the Guess The Italian Brainrot Character filter challenge, which garnered 358,000 likes and nearly four million views. In the comments section, most netizens praised their humour and asked where they could find the filter . But a few demonstrated more awareness of the implications of the series. One netizen wrote: 'I'm Italian. The first name (Tralalero Tralala) means something bad.' Another added: 'It was funny until someone told me the meaning of Tralalero Tralala and Bombardino Crocodilo.' Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How AI-Generated, Vaguely Italian Memes Are Taking Over Your Teen's Social Media Feed
If you're the parent of a t(w)een, the memes that fill your social media feeds are probably a whole lot different than your teenager's. You might be used to seeing a distracted boyfriend, a dog sitting in an office that's on fire, or Drake in 'Hotline Bling' on Facebook or Instagram. But if you were to scroll through your child's TikTok feed — or overhear them talking about new memes — you might think they were looking at sneak peeks of an off-the-rails new Pixar film or that they were taking up a new language. More from SheKnows Your Teen Is Probably 'Aura Farming' - Here's What It Means (& Why It's Basically a Joke) Because what in the Grumpy Cat is 'Italian Brainrot?!' It's a new internet craze featuring a whole host of outlandish, AI-generated characters that have Italian-sounding names said in an exaggerated male text-to-speech voice alongside nonsensical phrases. Some names are inspired by actual Italian words, while others just have a similar cadence. According to Forbes, some of the top characters are Ballerina Cappuccina, a dancer with a coffee cup head, Tralalero Tralala, a three-legged shark wearing blue Nike kicks, and Lirili Laria, a sandal-wearing elephant-cactus hybrid walking through the desert. If you're trying to wrap your head around what sounds like a Mad Lib, we understand (and we're in the same boat). But these wild mashups have gained a cult-like following of young people who love to view and create the AI-generated memes. Why? Well … why do teens latch onto anything? Experts think the surreal and absurd characters have become something for teens and their peers to enjoy and laugh about when so many other parts of their lives might be difficult. This brainrot is a means of distraction. And no, if you've been biting your nails waiting to find out what 'brainrot' or 'brain rot' is, it's not a medical condition. Your child is not sick. 'Brain rot' — which was chosen as Oxford University Press' 2024 Word of the Year — just means spending excessive amounts of time on screens watching 'trivial' or 'unchallenging' content. And sure, that could supposedly impact someone's cognitive function in the same way excessive screen time could have a negative impact on anyone's health. So there is no need to necessarily be any more concerned than usual if your teen is constantly talking about Tralalero Tralala. Or, perhaps they are now fans of Mexican, German, or French Brainrot characters. They might even be enthralled with Tung Tung Tung Sahur, a stick of wood from Indonesia who sings with Ballerina Cappuccina in a video that has more than 5.4 million likes. In many ways, this is a modern way for teens to be creative and unwind. But (… we all knew there was a 'but' coming, right?), there are problems with the trend. Parents reports that some teachers are finding that students can easily derail a lesson by mentioning one of the characters or their catchphrase. And speaking of those catchphrases, some are being called offensive. Remember that Nike-loving shark? His voiceover says both 'Allah,' the Arabic word for 'god,' and 'porco,' an Italian word for pig. According to Forbes, members of the Muslim community are upset about this combination. 'No one will claim responsibility for the perceived Islamophobia — some say it's just an inadvertent coincidence stemming from absurdity,' Freddy Tran Nager, a clinical associate professor of communications at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, told the outlet. 'But it's not unusual for memes to be appropriated by extremist groups, such as Pepe the Frog being adopted by white nationalists.' And so Italian Brainrot does have the ability to be incredibly offensive. Especially when not all social media users speak the language most closely associated with the trend. Even some of the backstories of these beloved characters can lean into NSFW territory, and then, of course, there is the negative environmental impact of creating these AI-generated photos and videos in the first place. So, what should parents be doing about Italian Brainrot? Well, like with any technological craze, going over some boundaries is a good idea. Are there certain hours when kids have to stop scrolling (no matter how much they want to learn more about Chimpanzini Bananini)? Let them know that chatting with their friends about Bombardiro Crocodilo is probably OK … as long as it's not in the middle of biology class. And it's always a good idea to remind kids that they should research what they are saying before mindlessly repeating. Capisce?Best of SheKnows 'Post-Mother's Day Letdown' Is a Real & Valid Thing Every Single Celebrity Parent Who Welcomed Twins Beyoncé, Chris Hemsworth, & More Celebs Share the Most Important Life Lessons They've Learned From Their Moms
South China Morning Post
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Top 10: If you could own any piece of artwork in the world, what would it be, and why?
This week's question: What is one emoji you want to eliminate, and why? To take part, drop us a line via this form by 12pm on Wednesday, May 7. Zoey Leung Wat-tung, 15, CPC Yao Dao Secondary School: House by the Railroad by Edward Hopper depicts a solitary house with a railway in the background, symbolising change and isolation. The quiet atmosphere effectively reflects the loneliness and struggles of people in modern life. Breanne Kwok Tsz-ching, 12, Maryknoll Convent School: The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh depicts a calm night filled with bright stars and a glowing moon. This serene scene contrasts sharply with my surroundings, which are characterised by a fast-paced district filled with tall public housing and heavy traffic. Zaman Sana Wai Wong-sum, 14, PLK Mrs Ma Kam Ming Cheung Fook Sien College: Edouard Manet's renowned artwork, The Execution of Emperor Maximilian, depicts the execution of Maximilian I of Mexico. It highlights the violence and political chaos of that era. Manet's work conveys the harsh realities of war, reflecting deep sadness and loss. Owen To Man-kwan, 15, Tsuen Wan Public Ho Chuen Yiu Memorial College: The Tralalero Tralala phenomenon on the internet has become a true masterpiece. The viral shark photo sparked a significant revolution in AI creativity, ushering in a new era in the digital world. Abstract images have brought joy and amusement to many. Tim Tse Kam-Tim, 14, TWGHs Li Ka Shing College: Weeping Woman by Pablo Picasso conveys profound sadness through its fragmented face and intense colours. This cubist portrait is not just a work of art; it serves as a powerful expression of sorrow, inspired by the Spanish Civil War. It demonstrates how pain can be transformed into something exceptionally beautiful.
