*Cue Ok Boomer Tik Tok Song*
January 13, 2020
A meme that has been turning up everywhere, especially amongst Gen Z, is “Ok Boomer”. This phrase has sparked glorious memes on social media platforms. The phrase first showed up on a social media platform, Tik Tok. Tik Tok is an app where people can share ideas or entertain each other through short 15 second clips, similar to Vine, which shut down in early 2017.
The phrase, “Ok Boomer”, showed up on Tik Tok through the song “Ok Boomer” by Jedwill and Peter Kuli. Throughout the song, one can sense the anger of the authors focused on the older generation. The song repeats “Ok Boomer” approximately 57 times. Yes… 57 times.
While it may seem harmless and just a way for young people to rant about their problems through music, this phrase has not been taken lightly by the Baby Boomer Generation. Some reports have publicized that “Ok Boomer,” in the eyes of the older generation, is ageist and discriminatory. According to the New Jersey Law Journal, a law passed in 1967, made age discrimination against workers 40 and over a federal offense. While this may seem like a plus to boomers, they shouldn’t be taking this joke too seriously. On one hand, it may seem like discrimination against their age, but couldn’t the same argument be made for Millenials, Gen Z, and Generation Y?
Baby Boomers are notorious for calling out Millenials for being lazy and sensitive, so couldn’t Millennials just file the same lawsuit, but in their favor? They probably could and also claim it was age discrimination, but we rarely hear about that, so why all the fuss now? In all honesty, this meme will probably die out soon just like its predecessors. Comedy will always appeal to some but displease others; if everyone laughed at the same things the world would be boring. Baby Boomers need to realize this is all just a big joke, and if it makes them feel better just say “Ok Zoomer” to a Gen Z. Besides, we all have to admit, the memes are really funny.
