The President of the United States of America, the size of a blue whale, and parental approval are all concepts that bring to mind the idea of power. The newest image called to mind when the adjective powerful is uttered might come as a shock — Gen Alpha. Gen Alpha will soon outnumber the amount of children born during the baby boom.
According to a recent L.A. Times article, Gen Alpha will become the largest group of children to ever exist in history. This outnumbering is causing concern in older generations.
“‘Everyone on the internet is really scared of Gen Alpha,” said Gen Z influencer Rivata Dutta, aka Riv, whose content is popular with alphas on TikTok. “They’re like, oh my God, Gen Alpha is so weird.’” Part of Gen Alpha’s strangeness is linked to their hyper media consumption, and one of the very publicized ways this oddity manifests is in Gen Alpha’s slang.
According to PRDaily, Gen Alpha has been raised by technology. For most of Gen Alpha, technology and devices were a core part of their childhood. Devices are a reward for good behavior, a primary way Gen Alpha socializes with one another, and, in some cases, even acts as a babysitter and a way for parents to get some rest and relaxation away from their children.
In an article by the Daily Beast, “75 percent of children had their own devices by age 4.” This ubiquitous use of tablets and devices has affected Gen Alpha culture, and this culture is as quick changing as a TikTok scroll. Slang, which has always changed for every new generation, is developing faster and recycling more quickly for the Gen Alphas.
The PRDaily found that this quick changing chit chat from children who socialize online is more likely to baffle parents. Indeed, “children who socialize online are also far more likely to use confounding phrases than those who don’t (47% vs 23%).” So why learn something that could change by next week?
For starters, online pranks pulled by Gen Alpha are a great reason to stay on top of vernacular changes. In a recent New York Times article, Philip Lindsay, a special-education teacher avoided embarrassment by knowing that “gyat,” a slang word for “butt,” did not mean “get your act together.”
However, jokes and pranks aside, the BBC reported a better reason for acquiring the Alpha slang, trends are no longer age specific, and it stands to reason that the demographic that has the most people will have the most control over what is in style, even if that style is spoken. So to keep you in the know, here is a vocabulary list of slang words to know.
Slay: to do something so well, a way to congratulate a person
Ate: admire someone who has done something well
Sigma: cool dude
Rizz: the ability to charm someone
Gyat: big butt
Girl math: a way girls justify their spending habits
Goat: greatest of all time
Pookie: what you call a friend
Cringe: weird, cheesy
Girl dinner: a meal that girls eat when they are alone; a very random meal
Why the youngest generation might control us with their words. Gen Alpha’s power and usually slang.
