Generation Alpha declares Gen Z slang terms “out”: “Do you still use that?”
Move over, Generation Z: there’s a new It Generation in town.
Generation Alpha, born after 2012, finally has access to the Internet and they are already criticizing the common slang that has been etched into the lexicon of Generation Z and Millennials for years.
Among the terminology that is “out of place” are the words “kill” and “bet,” two Generation Alpha girls shared on TikTok.
In a viral clipwhich garnered 4.5 million views, Nicole Pellegrino, a Hoboken native and TikTok’s director of content and strategy for Betches Media, quizzed the teens about emojis, acronyms and slang, and was stunned when the couple backed away from her use of the emoticon of laughter and its use. of the word “kill”.
“It’s not even funny how bad ‘kill’ is,” Pellegrino’s younger sister taught him.
When Pellegrino, 31, used it in a sentence: “That’s murder,” the duo yells: “No!”
In response to the term “bet,” the girls pursed their lips and made a disapproving noise, and when Pellegrino revealed that he was still using the laughing emoji, the girls were shocked.
“Do you still use that?” replied the other young Gen Alpha.
“When you laugh, if it’s something funny, you do it [the] crying [emoji]because no one laughs using laughter [emoji]“Pellegrino’s sister explained.
While educating elders (er, Millennials) on the do’s and don’ts of staying linguistically hip, the pair used the term “GYAT,” which they defined as an acronym for “girl, your ass.”
However, others would disagree, arguing in the video’s comments that it’s shorthand for “damn.”
When asked to define a “preppy” aesthetic, what many Zoomers and Millennials might identify as a Blair Waldorf style, the young people surprised Pellegrino when they said a “preppy” person would wear Lululemon clothing and use Summer Friday lip balm. .
Someone who could wear Ralph Lauren Polo would be considered a “vanilla girl”, someone who is more buttoned up than a “clean girl” and tends to wear timeless basics in neutral colors; think: millennial beige.
In a second installation In the Gen Alpha slang series, the two young men explained that they only use lowercase letters when texting to appear more informal, since proper grammar is more of a “school thing.”
They only send normal text messages (read: in complete sentences with proper punctuation) when they are angry and refuse to send voice notes to each other, unlike Pellegrino, who regularly uses this feature to communicate with his friends.
“You have to stop doing that,” her younger sister scolded. “It’s not that difficult to write.”
TikTokers couldn’t believe their ears and lamented feeling “old” even though some viewers were in their early 20s.
“This AGED me and I’m 25,” one stunned person wrote.
“I feel like little kids are tricking me. “I’m 22 and all these words are still in circulation,” another commented.
“I’m 22 and this just calls me old,” one person joked.
“My jaw dropped when they pointed to a RALPH LAUREN hat and said that’s not in very good taste… RL is the epitome of grooming,” argued one viewer.
“Please educate them on what “preppy” really means. “I want the reaction,” another begged.
“You’re all going to have to pry the laughing emoji out of my cold, dead millennial hands,” said one viewer.
“Seeing Generation Alpha come in place of Generation Z will be the highlight of my Millennial life,” someone else joked.
“Can you do a master class or something?” chimed in one confused user.
