Meaning
What does Boomer mean?
Boomer is an insulting term for Baby Boomers, used especially by hardcore memers to portray their parent figures in a generalized manner within memes.
It is most often seen in the sentence “Ok, boomer” used to humorously and disrespectfully dismiss the opinion of the boomer, whose ideals and perceptions may be seen as overly rigid, out of date and close-minded.
via MEME
Origin
What's the origin of Boomer?
People had been using the expression “boomer” for a long while, in relation to older generations.
The first recorded case of the phrase “Ok, boomer” comes as early as 2009 from Reddit.
It was also applied by users on the site 4chan going back as far as 2015, however it didn’t truly start to spread until 2019, when a TikTok was uploaded, in which an older person is stating, how younger generations don’t seem to want to grow up, to which the reaction was just an “Ok, boomer”.
Spread & Usage
How did Boomer spread?
After the TikTok, “Ok, boomer” started to receive bigger exposure on meme sites, as well as media coverage, turning into the unofficial key phrase of dismissing a “boomer”.
Various content on the subject flooded the internet, from YouTube videos, to Facebook and Instagram memes to more traction on 4chan and Reddit.
Urban Dictionary defined “boomer” as early as 2003 and several other definitions have been uploaded since then.
External resources
- Urban Dictionary – Boomer
- The New York Times – ‘OK Boomer’ Marks the End of Friendly Generational Relations