'OK Boomer': how a TikTok meme traces the rise of Gen Z political consciousness

By Crystal Abidin, Associate Professor & ARC DECRA Fellow, Internet Studies, Curtin University
Meg Jing Zeng, Senior research associate, University of Zurich

The phrase “OK Boomer” has become popular over the past two years as an all-purpose retort with which young people dismiss their elders for being “old-fashioned”.

“OK Boomer” 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.

What does ‘OK Boomer’ mean?

The viral growth of the “OK Boomer” meme on social…

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