Guiding Parents into the World of Kid Culture: Memes of Generation Alpha
This week's conversation revolves around generational conflicts, particularly between Gen Z and Millennials. They're arguing over Eminem (in a sense), a YouTuber became a member of the European Parliament, and the gaming industry keeps creating remakes for dad gamers. The only thing we all agree on is that Generation Alpha indulges in bizarre memes.
Skibidi Toilet: The Unintelligible Memes of Generation Alpha
Generation Alpha, made up of kids between one and ten years old, is still too young to fully develop a generational identity. However, the growing popularity of Gen A memes gives us a glimpse into their mindset - it's all nonsense. Instead of seeking art to express something, Gen A seems drawn to consuming, sharing, and creating meaninglessness.
The most famous example of Gen A nonsense is Skibidi Toilet, an animated YouTube series that has accumulated hundreds of millions of views. Trying to decipher the meaning behind Skibidi is an exercise in futility - it's already been obsolete for over a year. Newer memes are even more incomprehensible.
For instance, there's E-E-EI, a video featuring a piece of meat singing "Vacation" by Dirty Heads with lyrics translated to "E e ei, Imon vagayxon, Evrizingou dei, Cus ailov mawackupaxien." Although the original video was taken down from TikTok, countless responses and remixes continue to thrive in Gen-A spaces. Regardless of their emptiness, there are over 11,000 videos using the song on TikTok alone, including this avant-garde experimental video that has been viewed 1.7 million times.
Currently, Razi, a TikToker with nearly eight million followers, reigns as the king of meaningless content. Their Gegagedigedagedago video (a cover of "Cotton Eye Joe") has amassed over 30 million views, propelling the original song to three billion listens and spawning countless remixes, like this one featuring a chicken nugget from Roblox performing the track.
My initial reaction was, "What's the big deal? Everyone likes funny noises." But after spending hours watching Gen Alpha nonsense videos, I felt like I was witnessing the collective unconscious of humanity malfunctioning. The term "brain rot" feels inadequate; it's closer to witnessing the impending crash of a computer mainframe. I'm reluctant to join the "what about the children?" camp, but the idea of a five-year-old devoting numerous hours daily to this content left me feeling dispirited.
Is Gen Z "Cancelling" Eminem?
Rapper and NFT enthusiast Eminem recently released a video in which his future self travels through time and critiques the world in 2024. In the video, Eminem considers the current world lacking.
Whether intentionally or not, this latest release has sparked debates between Gen Z and Millennials about whether Gen Z is trying to cancel Em for his controversial opinions. I spoke with my teenage son, who assures me that Gen Z isn't trying to cancel Eminem, but they simply find him outdated and uncool.
I agree. Even though I'm a Gen Xer, I can see how Eminem is embarrassingly corny. The only thing more corny than Eminem is Millennials arguing that Gen Z is cancelling him.
What do "glizzy" and "fax, no printer" mean?
The language of Generation Z and beyond keeps evolving, introducing unique phrases like "glizzy" and "fax, no printer."
Glizzy: Glizzy is a term used to describe a hot dog. The word originated as a slang for guns like "Glock," but seems to have evolved to refer to hot dogs. Some suggest this is because the extended magazine for a Glock looks like a hot dog, so glizzy = hot dog (beating "wiener").
Fax, no printer: This phrase means "I am telling the truth." Given the similar pronunciation to "facts" and the slang term "fax," you might proclaim, "fax, no printer" instead of "facts, no cap."
A YouTuber Elected to European Parliament
Fidias Panayiotou has 2.6 million followers on his YouTube channel, where he posts videos of stunts like spending ten days buried alive. Despite his playful antics, the 24-year-old decided to run for the European Union's parliament as an independent candidate from Cyprus. Though he claims not to understand how parliament functions, Panayiotou secured approximately 20% of the votes, winning him a seat.
"This could mean the world has reached a point where a new chapter in the history of democracy begins," Panayiotou noted.
While it's uncertain if this is accurate, Panayiotou isn't the initial comic candidate to achieve a spot in the European parliament. That distinction belongs to Di Partie ("The Party"), a satirical political organization established by the editors of the German humor publication Titanic. Die Partie, which has mottos such as "Education begins with 'E'" and "A unicorn for every person," bagged its first parliamentary seat in 2014 and obtained an additional one this year.
What is a "hot rodent boyfriend?"
Male individuals puzzled by the form of men women are genuinely seeking may be shocked by the new breed of guys women say they crave. The craze is for so-called "hot rodent" men—fellows resembling mice, rats, voles, and/or chinchillas, both physically and spiritually. Two popular showbiz instances include Timothée Chalamet, Jeremy Allen White, Barry Keoghan, and Matty Healy. The original rodent men, though, are actors Mike Faist and Josh O'Connor, the leads in Challengers. Based on a post by X/Twitter user Francesca Fedele, they do have a resemblance to adorable little mice.
Viral video of the week: This Game is Eggcellent
This week, Microsoft carried out its yearly Xbox Games Showcase, where they disclosed the games they'll be promoting for Christmas. Trailers for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Doom: The Dark Ages, and more were all disclosed.
These are video games for fathers. The first Doom came out thirty years ago, and the Call of Duty franchise is old enough to enjoy Eminem music. In search of the games that youngsters are excited about, I went hunting for the kind of games that kids adore. It turns out, they like games about poultry.
YouTube channel SMii7Y shared a Let's Play video of a game dubbed Eggstraction, "the game where you play as a chicken and try to nab golden eggs from a farmer," and more than a million users viewed it within its initial half-day online. Sure, more people clicked on the COD trailer, but playing the chicken game appears to be approximately 1,000 times more appealing than the EXTREME weapons and gore bonanza of yet another Call of Duty game.
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In this discourse on generational memes, we discuss the incomprehensible nature of Generation Alpha memes, such as Skibidi Toilet and E-E-EI, which have become popular despite their lack of discernible meaning. These memes, like the viral E-E-EI video, are often shared and remixed across various social media platforms, demonstrating their appeal among Generation Alpha.
Furthermore, the entertainment landscape is transforming to cater to this generation, with creators like Razi creating content that resonates with them. This trend of Generation Alpha memes and content reflects the unique forms of entertainment that are shaping the way children consume media and engage with entertainment.
