Wuthering Heights, Brain Rot, and Non-Guilty Pleasures

The Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten had an article this week about Wuthering Heights, shedding light on the recent controversy surrounding the question: Are Generation Z too dumb to read it?

On TikTok, there’s a flourishing trend of young readers sharing their frustration over the literary masterpiece, overwhelmed by its complexity and linguistic inaccessibility.

Norwegian publisher Pangolin’s new edition of Emily Brontës classic, based on the poster for the 2026 movie starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi

Culture journalist Liam Kelly from The Telegraph blames brain rot, while other writers, in defense of Gen Z’s intelligence, point to the simplification of modern media and the challenging language often found in classical literature. Not just the language—also the pacing, the timeline, and the complexity of the plot.

Inherently, they all pose a valid question:

How does social media, fast-paced movies, reality TV, and consumable content really affect our brains?

Oxford defines brain rot as ”low-quality, low-value content found on social media and the internet, as well as the subsequent negative impact that consuming this type of content is perceived to have on an individual or society.”

Unfortunately for the digital natives, newer research supports this idea. An extensive 2025 review found that brain rot leads to emotional desensitization, cognitive overload, and a negative self-concept, which again can be linked to psychological distress, anxiety, and depression. Fortunately, however, such effects are neither unavoidable nor irreversible. It only means that we, as a society and individuals, need to be more mindful of how we use technology in our everyday lives.

Although major culprits, social and digital media shouldn’t necessarily get all the blame. An increasingly demanding school and educational environment may also have an impact on motivation and focus.

Like many young adults today, I myself studied consecutively for six years. During this period, I more or less quit reading fiction altogether. After eight hours a day of sifting through lecture notes, curriculum, and academic papers, picking up yet another book wasn’t exactly the most appealing pastime.

My own 1300-page copy of Molecular Biology of the Cell has served me well as an efficient paper press, miniature side table, and potential self-defense weapon.

Now, you may think that classical literature is not at all comparable to an academic text about molecular cell biology, but I am here to tell you: sometimes, it’s not that far from it.

I have personally tried—and failed—to get through Crime and Punishment multiple times. I have a beautiful, hardcover Chiltern version of Moby Dick standing on my bookshelf, of which I’ve only had the patience to read the first twenty pages. Even as a hardcore science-fiction fan, I’ve had to plow through heaps of lengthy, confusing, and complicated passages of Frank Herbert’s Dune and Dan Simmons’ Hyperion, tempted to throw them right back in the shelf and pick up a comic book instead.

There’s no shame in admitting that.

At last, there’s a third point here not yet acknowledged, perhaps worth a mention:
What if these “dumb,” frustrated Gen Z TikTokers simply don’t like literary classics?

We have no widely used Norwegian expression for “guilty pleasure,” except for maybe “skamfulle gleder” (shameful pleasures). Maybe just as well. Personally, I’ve never been a fan of that expression—certainly not the way we use it in everyday speech.

Why should something we enjoy make us feel guilty? And who really decides what we should feel guilty or not guilty about enjoying?

Reading as an activity shouldn’t be prestigious, nor should it be gatekept. And let’s face it: you won’t become a social outcast or lose your dream job for not having the patience to sit through 400 pages of a book from 1847. Nor will you be frowned upon if you, like me and millions of others, find pleasure in reading YA, manga, graphic novels, or pulp fiction—classics included or not.

So, to all the Gen Z resolutely working their way through Wuthering Heights, ultimately rewarded with a heartfelt reader experience: great!
To those of you who threw in the towel and slammed it back in the shelf: there’s no shame in turning back. Reading should, first and foremost, be enjoyable. And I can guarantee you: there is something out there for you to enjoy, too.  

I’ll tell you what I used to tell my guests, standing behind the counter at the 60+ tap line craft beer pub Røør when they said, “I don’t like beer”:
“Then you’re gonna like this one.”

Never once have I failed to find something they enjoyed.

…So, to make a long and complex story short and simple:

Maybe literary classics aren’t for everyone. But reading can be.

There are no rules for what you “should” and “should not” read. Whether it’s Crime and Punishment, Fifty Shades of Grey, or Jujutsu Kaisen—joy of reading is joy of reading regardless, and it’s infinitely better than doomscrolling on TikTok.