The Brief: The ubiquitous Millennial Gen Z dismissal "ok boomer" has become a popular meme that dunks on Baby Boomers for being close-minded or out of touch.

Bluesquiggle
DEEP DIVE

We’ve collected some of the most savage “Ok boomer” memes to showcase the deep dissatisfaction that young people have for the world they’ve inherited from older generations, specifically Baby Boomers.

Last week, we explained how Millennials and Gen Zers have reappropriated the term “boomer” to be a generic insult for anyone who is uncool or projecting a close-minded worldview. For months, young people have been meme-ing and spouting the phrase “ok boomer” as a dismissive remark towards anyone who is either a Baby Boomer, or acting in a way that resembles the worst qualities of the generation.

This week, in a New York Times piece titled “‘OK Boomer’ Marks the End of Friendly Generational Relations,” Taylor Lorenz exposed people of all generations, including many boomers themselves to the generation-based insult “Ok Boomer” and the memes related to it.

“Shut up boomer” is a meme in the same vein with a more brusque than sassy tone. While they can be tinted with ageism, the phrases “ok boomer,” “shut up boomer,” and “shut the f**k up boomer” are generally more about generational anger and political differences than anything else.

The publication of the Times article sparked a number of memes from older millennials, Gen Xers, and boomers finding out about the term for the first time, as well as Gen Zers amused that older people found out about the phrase.

Shut up boomer from memes

Ok boomer from teenagers

The two most popular Ok Boomer memes on TikTok are set to either a remix of a Gen Z-created song called “Ok Boomer” or a monologue of a boomer talking about how Millennials and Gen Z have the “Peter Pan syndrome” because “they don’t ever want to grow up.”