Parents’ Guide to Keeping Up with Gen Z and Gen Alpha Kids’ Slang

We must have all heard terms like “Millennial,” “Gen-Z,” and “Gen-Alpha.” So what are they really and can they affect the way we… parents And do your children communicate with each other?

Each generation has its own set of colloquial language, often called slang. Generation Z and Alpha-genThese are internet slangs, which means these words are derived from or refer to some internet activities, videos or a post that went viral on the internet.

Who are they? Millennials?

These are people born between 1980 and 1994. Although the Internet was invented in 1983, general public access came much later. Therefore, for this generation, most of their slang comes from music and, much later, from Vineyards.

Slang like ‘Shook’, meaning to be in disbelief, or ‘Stan’, which is a combination of ‘stalker’ and ‘fan’, come from R&B music. The latter comes from singer and rapper Eminem’s Marshall Mathers LP. Other slangs that are still widely used by Millennials are ‘Basic’, meaning generic or unoriginal, and ‘BAE’, a term to call your loved ones. This word refers to ‘before anyone else’, meaning your loved one comes before anyone else in your life.

A slang that gained its fame thanks to Vine is ‘On fleek’, which means ‘perfect’ or to be perfect at something, usually with makeup or outfits.

Generation Z: Who are they and what slang do they use?

Generation Z are people born between 1995 and 2009 who had access to the Internet, but didn’t rely on it for everything. They had the Internet and access to old-school music and videos. So, they’re a mix.

While some terms still persist in Gen Z, they also have their own slang. Terms like “Cap,” which means to exaggerate or deceive, or “Slay,” which replaced “On-fleek,” also come from popular music.

While some internet slang is “It’s give” which is followed by some sort of vibe, “Lit” which means something exciting and enjoyable, or equivalent to the “fire” emoji of today. “Ate That” refers to doing a perfect job at something, “Main Character” is also another term that comes from pop culture and TikTok, where the person gives “main character energy” meaning they are the center of attention. X, formerly Twitter, made famous “Understood The Assignment” which means accomplishing something perfectly. “FOMO” refers to the fear of missing out.

Who are the Gen-Alphas? Are they really that different?

While Millennials and Gen Z share popular culture and, to some extent, the internet space, Generation Alpha stands out differently. They are the first generation that was hyperexposed to the internet. Their education, their gaming, their source of entertainment, it’s all the internet.

That’s why many millennials and Gen Zers, their parents and siblings, also have trouble understanding their language. Gen Z calls it “brain rot.”

Now, while the previous generation had vocabulary or acronyms as jargon, Generation Alpha is a little different. Anything can be jargon.

The first addition to their slang was “skibidi”. Now, looking at the word, you cannot understand what it means. There is no reference, no meaning, no root of the word. This word can mean “bad”, “great” or any other adjective depending on the context of its use.

This term originated from a 76-episode animated YouTube series, Skibidi Toilet, and has since become part of Gen-Alpha slang. Other terms like “Ohio” refer to being weird. It was also popularized through TikTok, where people made videos of weird things happening in Ohio. “Ohio” slang refers to the phenomenon that “weird things can only happen in Ohio.”

Other words include ‘Rizz’, meaning charm or charisma, and ‘Sus’, meaning to suspect something.

Now, with this guide, you can better understand your Gen Alpha child. If you are a Gen Z child and have an Alpha sibling, this may be helpful to you too!