OK boomer

"OK boomer" is a catchphrase and meme often used by teenagers and young adults to dismiss or mock attitudes typically associated with people born in the two decades following World War II, known as baby boomers. However, it has increasingly been used to refer to older people in general, regardless of when they were actually born. The phrase first drew widespread attention due to a November 2019 TikTok video in response to an older man, though the phrase was actually coined years before that. Considered by some to be ageist, the phrase has also been used commercially to sell merchandise, and there have been multiple trademark applications submitted for the phrase.[1]

For the settlers, see Boomers (Oklahoma settlers).

Origin

"OK boomer" was popularized as a reaction to a video on TikTok of an unidentified older man, in which he declared that "millennials and Generation Z have the Peter Pan syndrome [...] they don't ever want to grow up [and] they think that the utopian ideals that they have in their youth are somehow going to translate into adulthood". The video inspired the phrase "OK boomer" as a dismissal of the ideals of past generations.[2] The first recorded instance of the phrase "OK boomer" appeared in a Reddit comment on 29 January 2009,[3] a decade before it became popular. The term's more recent usage can be traced back to 2015 on 4chan,[4] but it started to become popular in January 2019.[5] The term gained media popularity in early November 2019 when articles about the phrase were published.

Usage

The phrase has been used as a retort for perceived resistance to technological change, climate change denial, marginalization of members of minority groups, or opposition to younger generations' ideals.[6][7][8] Various media publications have noted the meme's usage on social media platforms beyond TikTok,[4][7][9] and The New York Times wrote that "teenagers use it to reply to cringey YouTube videos, Donald Trump tweets, and basically any person over 30 who says something condescending about young people – and the issues that matter to them".[7] As of December 2020, videos tagged with #OkBoomer on TikTok had been viewed nearly 3.6 billion times.[10]

Chlöe Swarbrick, who reacted to a heckle from Todd Muller with "OK boomer"

In early November 2019, while giving a speech supporting a climate change bill, New Zealand MP Chlöe Swarbrick claimed that the average age of parliamentarians was 49 years old, and Gen X MP Todd Muller interrupted her, to which she promptly responded with "OK boomer".[11][12] She wrote in an article in The Guardian that her comment "symbolised exhaustion of multiple generations".[13] Swarbrick was criticized on social media for promoting ageism, including by the MP Christopher Bishop,[14] though she received much support otherwise.[15]

"OK boomer" is a song written and produced by 20-year-old college student Johnathan Williams, which was shared on Twitter in July 2019. It features cutting lyrics and Williams shouting "OK boomer" repeatedly in response. 19-year-old Peter Kuli then published a remix of the song on SoundCloud that circulated on TikTok, fueling the meme even further and leading to serve as a kind of anthem.[4][16] During halftime of the Harvard-Yale football game on 23 November 2019, climate change protesters interrupted the game by rushing the field and remained even after they were asked to leave, instead chanting "OK boomer".[17]

On 9 January 2020, during the Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time tournament, "OK boomer" was the answer to a 400-point question in the "OK" category: "A 2019 New York Times article says this 2-word phrase 'marks the end of friendly generational relations'." Ken Jennings elicited laughter from the audience with the response, "I get to say it to Alex! What is 'OK, boomer'?"[18] The phrase was used by Chief Justice John Roberts of the Supreme Court of the United States on 15 January 2020, as part of questioning for an age discrimination case.[19]

On 2 March 2020, streamer Neekolul posted a video on TikTok which showed her lip-syncing and dancing to the Senzawa song "Oki Doki Boomer" while wearing a Bernie 2020 shirt.[20][21] The video received over 6 million views in four days before being removed due to a copyright claim,[20] although Senzawa stated that she was not responsible for the copyright strike.[22] On Twitter, the video received over 30 million views.[23][24] The video was met with mixed reactions, with users divided over whether the video was cute or cringeworthy.[25][26]

Commercialization

A hoodie designed by U.S. art student, Shannon O’Connor, bearing the phrase, followed by "have a terrible day", generated more than $25,000 in sales by 1 November 2019.[27] Multiple trademark applications have been filed for the phrase, including one from Fox Media with the intent to launch "an ongoing television series featuring reality competition, comedy, and game shows".[28]

Reception

Some commentators have considered the phrase to be ageist. The conservative radio host Bob Lonsberry went as far as labeling the word "boomer" as "the N-word of ageism" in a controversial tweet that was deleted soon after it was posted. Furthermore, Lonsberry stated that "being hip and flip does not make bigotry OK, nor is a derisive epithet acceptable because it is new".[29] The Late Show with Stephen Colbert mocked him: "Clearly this fella needs to play the hot new game: 'Is This The New N-Word?' No, it's not. Thank you for playing."[30] Francine Prose of The Guardian suggested that the phrase reflects general cultural acceptance of discrimination against older generations.[31] Also writing for The Guardian Bhaskar Sunkara criticized the meme and said that baby boomers instead "need solidarity" because many "older workers and retirees are struggling to survive" as "half of Americans approaching age 65 have less than $25,000 in savings".[32] In an interview, AARP executive Myrna Blyth told Axios, "OK, millennials. But we're the people that actually have the money."[33] Several French politicians have also accused the phrase of being ageist, with MP Audrey Dufeu Schubert (La République en Marche!) deeming it an ageist slur in a special report on "succeeding in bridging the generational gap and fighting ageism".[34]

Other reactions have been more mixed or even positive.[35] The phrase, according to India Ross of the Financial Times, has "come to symbolise a generational cultural fracture" with attacks on its use from baby boomers perhaps only serving to increase its power and use.[36] Clémence Michallon of The Independent applauded the phrase as "just the right amount of dismissive" while also warning against its overuse.[37] Miyo McGinn of Grist applauded the term, writing, "This joy undeniably stems from righteous indignation as much as simple amusement — the two words feel downright poetic after years of hearing my generation blamed for 'killing' everything from restaurant chains to department stores to relationships."[38] Some have commented that the term should be considered a shorthand term for "The Establishment" rather than targeting a specific age group.[39]

"OK boomer" was named the "Word of the Year 2019" by a blog in New Zealand[40] and in the Netherlands by the dictionary Van Dale.[41] It was nominated for a similar designation by a university in Switzerland, landing in second place.[42] The phrase was also featured on Lake Superior State University's annual Banished Words List.[43]

See also

References
  1. "Companies Try To Trademark 'Ok, Boomer' Expression". NPR.org. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  2. Bote, Joshua (4 November 2019). "Why are Gen Z and millennials calling out boomers on TikTok? 'OK, boomer,' explained". USA Today. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  3. Hoffa, Felipe. ""OK Boomer" escalated quickly — a reddit+BigQuery report". Towards Data Science. Medium. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  4. Romano, Aja (19 November 2019). ""OK boomer" isn't just about the past. It's about our apocalyptic future". Vox. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  5. Franks, Josephine (6 November 2019). "Chlöe Swarbrick explains what 'OK boomer' means". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  6. "What does OK boomer mean?". Dictionary.com. 4 November 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  7. Lorenz, Taylor (29 October 2019). "'OK Boomer' Marks the End of Friendly Generational Relations". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  8. Rosenblatt, Kalhan (29 October 2019). "Teens use 'OK boomer' to fire back at older generations' criticisms". NBC News. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  9. Graham, Joshua (14 November 2019). "The origins of the "OK Boomer" meme explained". Vogue Australia. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  10. "#okboomer". TikTok. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  11. "'OK boomer': 25-year-old New Zealand MP uses viral term in parliament". BBC News. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  12. Mezzofiore, Gianluca (6 November 2019). "A 25-year-old politician got heckled during a climate crisis speech. Her deadpan retort: 'OK, boomer'". CNN. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  13. Swarbrick, Chlöe (8 November 2019). "My 'OK boomer' comment in parliament symbolised exhaustion of multiple generations". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  14. "Why a NZ MP used 'OK boomer' in parliament". BBC. 7 November 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  15. "'OK Boomer': Chloe Swarbrick swats away heckler". Stuff.co.nz. 6 November 2019. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  16. Annear, Steve (7 November 2019). "How a Lexington teen's song remix turned into an 'OK, Boomer' anthem". Boston Globe. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  17. Bogage, Jacob; Knowles, Hannah (24 November 2019). "Students swarm field at Harvard-Yale football game, chant 'OK boomer' in climate change protest". Washington Post. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  18. "'OK Boomer' was a 'Jeopardy!' answer and fans were loving it". Yahoo. 10 January 2020. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  19. de Vogue, Ariane (15 January 2020). "'OK Boomer' makes it to the Supreme Court". CNN. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  20. Ritzen, Stacey (6 March 2020). "Gen Z'ers are attempting to trigger boomers with 'Oki Doki Boomer' TikTok memes". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  21. Jackson, Gita (10 April 2020). "Let the 'OK Boomer' Girl Live". Vice. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  22. Burke-Edwards, Eve (11 March 2020). "Who is Neekolul's boyfriend? TikTok's 'OK Boomer' girl gives away identity on Instagram". HITC. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  23. @neekolul (2 March 2020). "Okie BOOMER KEKW #Bernie2020 🇺🇸✨" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  24. Tenbarge, Kat (9 April 2020). "Bernie Sanders built a legion of meme-making, TikTok-loving online fans. Now they're pivoting to new socialist goals". Business Insider. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  25. Travis, Abi (March 2020). "Here's Why Everyone's Talking About the Okie Boomer Girl from TikTok". Distractify. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  26. Rennex, Michelle (10 March 2020). "The Baffling TikTok Of A Girl Dancing To An "Ok Boomer Song Has Split The Internet". Junkee. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
  27. Hooker, Lucy (1 November 2019). "'OK Boomer' has earned me $25,000, says student". BBC News. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  28. Picchi, Aimee (19 November 2019). "Fox Media wants to trademark "OK boomer"". CBS News. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  29. Brice-Saddler, Michael (5 November 2019). "A conservative radio host compared 'boomer' to the n-word. Even Dictionary.com was appalled". The Washington Post. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  30. Stephen Colbert (6 November 2019). Meanwhile... Is It OK To Say "OK, Boomer"?. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Event occurs at 2:24 – via YouTube.
  31. Prose, Francine (10 November 2019). "Cruel jokes about the old are everywhere. When will we face our ageism epidemic? | Francine Prose". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  32. Sunkara, Bhaskar (6 November 2019). "Why it's time to ditch the 'ok boomer' meme". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  33. Wise, Justin (13 November 2019). "AARP exec takes apparent swipe at 'OK, Boomer' line: 'We're the people that actually have the money'". The Hill. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  34. Samuel, Henry (12 December 2019). "'OK, boomer' is a slur on the elderly and must be stamped out, says French MP". Telegraph.co.uk. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  35. Bebernes, Mike (6 November 2019). "'OK Boomer': Behind the generational divide". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  36. Ross, India (14 November 2019). "OK boomer, who's up for a generational showdown?". Financial Times. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  37. Michallon, Clémence (7 November 2019). "Opinion: 'OK boomer' is a powerful tool. But you have to use it sparingly". The Independent. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  38. McGinn, Miyo (6 November 2019). "'OK, boomer': The perfect response to a generation that failed on climate". Grist. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  39. ""OK, boomer": How a viral catchphrase is reshaping generational relationships". CBS News. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  40. "'OK Boomer' is word of the year for 2019 – Public Address". RNZ. 19 December 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  41. Zimmer, Ben (21 December 2019). "'OK Boomer': A Defining Generation Becomes a Label for Irrelevance". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  42. "«Klimajugend» ist das Deutschschweizer Wort des Jahres 2019". nzz.ch (in German). 3 December 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  43. White, Ed (31 December 2019). "Time's Up for 'Totes:' A New Batch of Banned Words Is Out". Time. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
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