{"id":7428,"date":"2021-08-28T10:00:39","date_gmt":"2021-08-28T10:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/TheNextWeb=1365382"},"modified":"2021-08-28T10:00:39","modified_gmt":"2021-08-28T10:00:39","slug":"ok-boomer-how-a-tiktok-meme-traces-the-rise-of-gen-z-political-consciousness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.londonchiropracter.com\/?p=7428","title":{"rendered":"\u2018OK Boomer:\u2019 how a TikTok meme traces the rise of Gen Z political consciousness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The phrase \u201cOK Boomer\u201d has become popular over the past two years as an all-purpose retort with which young people dismiss their elders for being \u201cold-fashioned\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cOK Boomer\u201d began as a meme in TikTok videos, but our research shows the catchphrase has become much more. The simple two-word phrase is used to express personal politics and at the same time consolidate an awareness of intergenerational politics, in which Gen Z are coming to see themselves as a cohort with shared interests.<\/p>\n

What does \u2018OK Boomer\u2019 mean?<\/h2>\n

The viral growth of the \u201cOK Boomer\u201d meme on social media can be traced to Gen Z musician @peterkuli\u2019s<\/a> remix OK Boomer, which he uploaded to TikTok in October 2019. The song was widely adopted in meme creations by his Gen Z peers, who call themselves \u201cZoomers<\/a>\u201d (the Gen Z cohort born in 1997-2012).<\/p>\n

In the two-minute sound clip @peterkuli distilled an already-popular sentiment into a two-word phrase, accusing \u201cBoomers\u201d (those born during the 1946\u201364 postwar baby boom) of being condescending, being racist and supporting Donald Trump, who was then US president.<\/p>\n

In essence, the \u201cOK Boomer\u201d meme emerged as a shorthand for Gen Z to push back against accusations of being a \u201cfragile\u201d generation unable to deal with hardship. But it has evolved into an all-purpose retort to older generations \u2013 but especially Boomers \u2013 when they dispense viewpoints perceived as presumptive, condescending or politically incorrect.<\/p>\n

The meme arose in a wider context of \u201cBoomer blaming<\/a>\u201d. In this view, the older generation has bequeathed Gen Z a host of societal issues, from Brexit and Trump to intergenerational economic inequality<\/a> and climate change<\/a>.<\/p>\n

From \u2018big P\u2019 politics to \u2018everyday politics\u2019 and \u2018intergenerational politics\u2019<\/h2>\n

In our recent study<\/a> on forms of online activism and advocacy on TikTok, we looked at 1,755 \u201cOK Boomer\u201d posts from 2019 and 2020 and found young people used the meme to engage in \u201ceveryday politics\u201d.<\/p>\n

Unlike \u201cbig P\u201d politics \u2013 the work of governments, parliaments and politicians \u2013 \u201ceveryday politics<\/a>\u201d are political interests, pursuits and discussions framed through personal experiences.<\/p>\n

On TikTok, young people construct and communicate their \u201ceveryday politics\u201d by displaying their personal identities in highly personable ways, to demonstrate solidarity with or challenge beliefs and principles in society.<\/p>\n

The \u201cOK Boomer\u201d meme and others like it allow young people to partake in a form of \u201cintergenerational politics<\/a>\u201d. This is the tendency for people from a particular age cohort to form a shared political consciousness and behaviors, usually in opposition to the political attitudes of other groups. This is also reminiscent of when Boomers themselves encountered their own intergenerational politics in the countercultures of the 1960s and 1970s.<\/p>\n

Doing \u2018politics\u2019 on TikTok<\/h2>\n

On TikTok, political expression can take the form of viral dances and audio memes<\/a>. Young people use youthful parlance and lingo, pop cultural references and emojis to shape their collective political culture. In our study, we found three meme forms were especially popular:<\/p>\n