Though… did it ever really begin? Has anybody ever actually heard somebody say it, or did the media (and comic strips) just try to convince us it was a thing?
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I’ve never heard it myself, but I have seen it on social media.
It was a social media thing(apparently first used on Reddit a decade ago, then as part of a viral video from TikTok last year. It gained notice in the real world when a ‘millennial’ female member of New Zealand’s parliament used the line on a colleague who had heckled her.
As far as the phrase being ‘over’, from a comic strip standpoint, that probably happened late last year, when ‘Zits’ used it as a punchline in consecutive strips.
Since various companies are already battling over trademark rights to the phrase, any further instances may just be fifth column attempts to pad somebody’s wallet.
Brian has it. It was very popular online, but I don’t think I’ve heard anyone use it in person without irony.
I’m sure some people did, though; I don’t hang out with a lot of Gen-Zers.
Online, never in person. Because people aren’t nearly as rude in person as they are online.
My ten-year-old used it on my wife the other day.
She’s 41.
Yeah, 11-year-olds also say it, inappropriately, to their gen-x parents. (Speaking from the parent perspective.)
Your ten-year-old is 41?
“Okay, Boomer” is just a way of saying “you’re older, so you’re stupid, and I can dismiss you out of hand.” So it seems just as reasonable or unreasonable [*] for a 10-year old to say it to a gen-x parent, as for a gen-x-er to say it to an actual Boomer.
[*] In case you can’t read between the lines, my vote is for “unreasonable.”
I’ve mostly seen it in YouTube comments, although the first time I encountered it was The Hockey Guy using it in a video, referencing himself. He said something, then followed that with, “Yeah I know, ‘OK Boomer’.” I had to look it up, although it’s fairly obvious what it means.
I’ve been getting mileage out of it making Boomer Esiason jokes
I think “OK Boomer” is hilarious, and I’m a boomer. If someone said it to me I would reply “Whatever, Millenial.”
Is it just me, or are a lot of the things that this up-and-coming generation (attach whatever moniker you see fit) complain about are exactly the same things we complained about growing up? I’m Generation X, and low-paying jobs…”McJobs” I believe they were called, lack of the same opportunities our parents had, and environmental issues were high on our list of grievances back in the day.
The grumblings of the youngsters these days seem to be virtually identical, except now we’re the ones who had far more opportunities growing up, and we are the ones responsible for screwing everything up.
Plus ca change…
I’ve only seen it in memes.
@ Stan: As a fellow Gen X, I agree, we had lots to complain about re: The Boomers. They took all the good jobs, practically free education, cheap houses, and disease free sex. I would say that a goodly portion of Gen X never really got out from under that to get ahead. Only now are the Boomers finally retiring/dying off, they still squat on the best real estate and fight every attempt to great denser housing solutions in their neighbourhoods, etc. The one upside for the kids today is that The Boomers can’t beat The Reaper forever and they will find opportunities opening through attrition. I’d also argue that technology is giving the youngsters a lot more opportunities for work. Gen X (especially us older ones) had a more traditional economy (albeit with offshoring and downsizing).
So, yeah, they have some legitimate complaints. Also, like we were then, they’re pretty full of crap too.
@Stan – wasn’t the entire concept of Gen X (and, therefore, naming generations to encourage this sort of competition) because of the fact that you had this in-between generation (neither part of the then-called Baby Boomers, nor of their kids in the echo boom) and that your generation wasn’t doing as well, and didn’t have an economic or cultural base?
It was both ‘x’ as if from “solve for the unknown in the equation” , and and also a supposed alphabet enumeration from some distant starting point. Thus the use of ‘Generation Y’ for what later got designated “Milennials” and now “Gen Z” for the later one.
I’ve never heard it myself, but I have seen it on social media.
It was a social media thing(apparently first used on Reddit a decade ago, then as part of a viral video from TikTok last year. It gained notice in the real world when a ‘millennial’ female member of New Zealand’s parliament used the line on a colleague who had heckled her.
As far as the phrase being ‘over’, from a comic strip standpoint, that probably happened late last year, when ‘Zits’ used it as a punchline in consecutive strips.
Since various companies are already battling over trademark rights to the phrase, any further instances may just be fifth column attempts to pad somebody’s wallet.
Brian has it. It was very popular online, but I don’t think I’ve heard anyone use it in person without irony.
I’m sure some people did, though; I don’t hang out with a lot of Gen-Zers.
Online, never in person. Because people aren’t nearly as rude in person as they are online.
My ten-year-old used it on my wife the other day.
She’s 41.
Yeah, 11-year-olds also say it, inappropriately, to their gen-x parents. (Speaking from the parent perspective.)
Your ten-year-old is 41?
“Okay, Boomer” is just a way of saying “you’re older, so you’re stupid, and I can dismiss you out of hand.” So it seems just as reasonable or unreasonable [*] for a 10-year old to say it to a gen-x parent, as for a gen-x-er to say it to an actual Boomer.
[*] In case you can’t read between the lines, my vote is for “unreasonable.”
I’ve mostly seen it in YouTube comments, although the first time I encountered it was The Hockey Guy using it in a video, referencing himself. He said something, then followed that with, “Yeah I know, ‘OK Boomer’.” I had to look it up, although it’s fairly obvious what it means.
I’ve been getting mileage out of it making Boomer Esiason jokes
I think “OK Boomer” is hilarious, and I’m a boomer. If someone said it to me I would reply “Whatever, Millenial.”
Is it just me, or are a lot of the things that this up-and-coming generation (attach whatever moniker you see fit) complain about are exactly the same things we complained about growing up? I’m Generation X, and low-paying jobs…”McJobs” I believe they were called, lack of the same opportunities our parents had, and environmental issues were high on our list of grievances back in the day.
The grumblings of the youngsters these days seem to be virtually identical, except now we’re the ones who had far more opportunities growing up, and we are the ones responsible for screwing everything up.
Plus ca change…
I’ve only seen it in memes.
@ Stan: As a fellow Gen X, I agree, we had lots to complain about re: The Boomers. They took all the good jobs, practically free education, cheap houses, and disease free sex. I would say that a goodly portion of Gen X never really got out from under that to get ahead. Only now are the Boomers finally retiring/dying off, they still squat on the best real estate and fight every attempt to great denser housing solutions in their neighbourhoods, etc. The one upside for the kids today is that The Boomers can’t beat The Reaper forever and they will find opportunities opening through attrition. I’d also argue that technology is giving the youngsters a lot more opportunities for work. Gen X (especially us older ones) had a more traditional economy (albeit with offshoring and downsizing).
So, yeah, they have some legitimate complaints. Also, like we were then, they’re pretty full of crap too.
@Stan – wasn’t the entire concept of Gen X (and, therefore, naming generations to encourage this sort of competition) because of the fact that you had this in-between generation (neither part of the then-called Baby Boomers, nor of their kids in the echo boom) and that your generation wasn’t doing as well, and didn’t have an economic or cultural base?
It was both ‘x’ as if from “solve for the unknown in the equation” , and and also a supposed alphabet enumeration from some distant starting point. Thus the use of ‘Generation Y’ for what later got designated “Milennials” and now “Gen Z” for the later one.