# OK Boomer > OK Boomer is a 2019 dismissive catchphrase that exploded via TikTok remixes and parliamentary use (Chloe Swarbrick), becoming Gen Z's retort to out-of-touch boomers. "OK Boomer" is a dismissive catchphrase used by millennials and Gen Z to shut down opinions from baby boomers perceived as out of touch. The phrase first appeared on 4chan in 2015 and exploded into mainstream culture in late 2019 after a viral TikTok song remix by Peter Kuli, a New York Times feature article, and New Zealand MP Chloe Swarbrick dropping the phrase in parliament during a climate change debate[5]. It became one of the defining memes of 2019, sparking widespread debate about generational conflict, ageism, and the economic anxieties driving younger generations' frustration. ## Origin The earliest known uses of "OK Boomer" trace back to anonymous online forums. On September 3, 2015, an anonymous user on 4chan's /r9k/ board used the phrase as an insult directed at another poster who seemed out of touch[4]. On Reddit, the phrase appeared as a retort on October 26, 2017[4]. Twitter saw its first use on April 12, 2018, where it began to be directed at politicians and tweets criticizing Gen Z and millennials[4]. The phrase simmered at low levels through 2018 and into early 2019. On January 14, 2019, a Memecreator user made an Ironic Doge meme captioned with the phrase, riffing on the popular "Ok Retard" Doge format[4]. This image spread across Twitter and Instagram through mid-January 2019. The real turning point came from music. On June 23, 2019, Twitter user @jedwill1999 (Jonathan Williams), a 20-year-old college student, posted a video of himself rapping "ok boomer" repeatedly[6]. The original tweet was later deleted, but the audio lived on. In early October 2019, SoundCloud users pooldad and umru posted remixes, and on October 5, Peter Kuli uploaded his own remix that would define the meme's sound[4]. Kuli's version racked up 294,000 SoundCloud listens and over 797,000 Spotify streams in its first month alone[4]. - **Platform:** 4chan (first use), TikTok (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown (anonymous 4chan user, first use), Jonathan Williams aka @jedwill1999 (original song), Peter Kuli (viral remix) - **Date:** 2015 (first use), 2019 (viral spread) ## Overview "OK Boomer" is a two-word dismissal aimed at baby boomers (people born roughly 1946-1964) or anyone expressing views considered outdated or condescending toward younger people. The phrase works as a conversation-ender, a refusal to engage with what the speaker considers a tired or bad-faith argument. It's typically deployed as a reply on social media, often accompanied by an eye-roll emoji or dismissive gesture[6]. The retort gained its power from brevity. Rather than arguing point-by-point with older people about avocado toast, participation trophies, or phone addiction, younger users simply typed "OK Boomer" and moved on[3]. ## How It Spread The TikTok explosion started on October 15, 2019, when user @rankel.stank uploaded a video using Peter Kuli's remix[4]. Within a month, over 30,600 TikTok posts used the track. An October 23 post by @mattsau pulled in over 313,700 likes, and a November 5 post by @lovey.lump hit 808,700 likes[4]. Teens on TikTok used the song as a rebuttal to clips of older people complaining about younger generations, their gender expression, financial choices, or leisure habits[3]. One viral TikTok clip that fueled the fire featured an unidentified older man in a baseball cap declaring that "millennials and Generation Z have the Peter Pan syndrome, they don't ever want to grow up"[5]. Thousands of teens responded with remixed reaction videos and art projects built around the two-word reply[8]. On October 29, 2019, Taylor Lorenz at The New York Times published an article titled "'OK Boomer' Marks the End of Friendly Generational Relations," which pushed the phrase into mainstream awareness[8]. The piece focused on teenagers who had turned the hashtag into merchandise, with 18-year-old Nina Kasman telling the paper: "Everybody in Gen Z is affected by the choices of the boomers, that they made and are still making. Those choices are hurting us and our future"[3]. The phrase jumped from screens to real-world politics on November 4, 2019, when 25-year-old New Zealand Green Party MP Chloe Swarbrick was giving a speech supporting a climate change bill. When an older colleague heckled her mid-speech, she shot back with "OK boomer" without missing a beat[5]. The moment went viral globally. Swarbrick later wrote in The Guardian that her comment "was off-the-cuff, albeit symbolic of the collective exhaustion of multiple generations set to inherit ever-amplifying problems in an ever-diminishing window of time"[7]. ## How to Use The format is simple: someone (typically older or expressing a boomer-esque opinion) says something condescending, dismissive, or out of touch about younger generations, and the response is just "OK Boomer." On TikTok, the most common format involves: 1. Show or quote an older person making a complaint about young people (screen addiction, work ethic, participation trophies, etc.) 2. Cut to yourself looking unimpressed 3. Say, lip-sync, or caption "OK Boomer" ## Cultural Impact "OK Boomer" crossed from internet slang into mainstream political discourse faster than almost any meme before it. Chloe Swarbrick's use in the New Zealand parliament made international news and prompted her own Guardian essay about generational exhaustion[7]. The phrase reached the US Supreme Court when Chief Justice Roberts referenced it during oral arguments[5]. The New York Times' coverage framed it as a watershed moment in generational relations, while Vox noted it expressed "increasing economic, environmental, and social anxiety, and the feeling that baby boomers are leaving younger generations to clean up their mess"[3]. Academic researchers studied it as a form of "intergenerational politics," comparing Gen Z's use of memes for political expression to boomers' own counterculture movements in the 1960s[2]. The meme also sparked a cottage industry of merchandise, with teens selling "OK Boomer" hoodies, stickers, and phone cases[8]. India Ross of the Financial Times observed that attacks on the phrase from baby boomers "perhaps only serving to increase its power and use"[5]. The Wisecrack analysis placed the phrase in a centuries-long tradition of intergenerational conflict, noting that dissing baby boomers was "a time-honored tradition first perfected by their very own parents and grandparents," from the Greatest Generation's resentment of boomer affluence to Reagan launching his political career by railing against Berkeley protesters[1]. ## Fun Facts - The earliest known use of "OK Boomer" on Reddit dates to September 2009, predating the 4chan usage by six years[5]. - Parliament TV initially miscaptioned Swarbrick's "OK boomer" comment during the live broadcast of New Zealand's parliament[4]. - Videos tagged #OkBoomer on TikTok had been viewed approximately 4 billion times as of November 2022[5]. - The Medium/Wisecrack analysis traced "boomer bashing" all the way back to Ancient Roman poet Juvenal, who called the old "all alike" and "a disgusting sight"[1]. - Jonathan Williams, who wrote the original "OK Boomer" rap, was just 20 years old at the time[6]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is OK Boomer? "OK Boomer" is a dismissive catchphrase used primarily by millennials and Gen Z to shut down opinions from baby boomers or anyone perceived as out of touch with modern realities[3]. ### Where did OK Boomer come from? The phrase first appeared on 4chan's /r9k/ board on September 3, 2015, used by an anonymous poster as an insult. It spread to Reddit in 2017 and Twitter in 2018 before going viral on TikTok in October 2019[4]. ### What does OK Boomer mean? It's a shorthand rejection of the entire generational debate. Rather than arguing with older people about specific issues, the phrase says "your worldview is so outdated that engaging with it is pointless"[3]. ### How do you use OK Boomer? Reply with "OK Boomer" (text, video, or spoken) when someone, typically older, makes a condescending or out-of-touch comment about younger generations. On TikTok, it's often paired with Peter Kuli's remix as a soundtrack[4]. ### Is OK Boomer still popular? The phrase peaked in late 2019 and early 2020. As of November 2022, TikTok videos tagged #OkBoomer had approximately 4 billion views, though its everyday usage declined from its 2019 peak[5]. ### Who made the OK Boomer song? Jonathan Williams (@jedwill1999) wrote the original rap in June 2019. Peter Kuli created the remix in October 2019 that became the viral TikTok soundtrack, earning nearly 800,000 Spotify streams in one month[4]. ### What happened when Chloe Swarbrick said OK Boomer in parliament? On November 4, 2019, the 25-year-old New Zealand MP used the phrase to dismiss a heckler during her speech supporting a climate change bill. The moment went viral and she later wrote about it in The Guardian, calling it "symbolic of the collective exhaustion of multiple generations"[7]. ### Is OK Boomer ageist? Some commentators, including Guardian writer Francine Prose, argued it was discriminatory against older people. Radio host Bob Lonsberry infamously called "boomer" the "n-word of ageism," a comparison widely ridiculed, including by Stephen Colbert[5]. Defenders argue it targets a mindset, not an age group[3]. ### Why did OK Boomer go viral in 2019? A combination of Peter Kuli's TikTok-ready remix, a viral clip of an older man calling millennials "Peter Pan syndrome" kids, and the New York Times' October 2019 article about OK Boomer merchandise all converged within weeks[8]. ### Did OK Boomer reach the US Supreme Court? Yes. On January 15, 2020, Chief Justice John Roberts used the phrase during oral arguments in the Babb v. Wilkie age discrimination case[5]. ### What was the Jeopardy OK Boomer moment? On January 9, 2020, during the Greatest of All Time tournament, the phrase was a $400 clue. Ken Jennings earned audience laughter by directing his answer at host Alex Trebek: "I get to say it to Alex! What is 'OK, boomer'?"[5]. ### How did Stray Kids connect to OK Boomer? The K-pop group released "Gone Days" on December 26, 2019, about telling older generations to go away. Fans noted the title might reference the Korean word "kkondae" (roughly "boomer"), and the music video hit 1.2 million views in 24 hours[4]. ## References 1. [A Brief History of Boomer Hating. “Ok Boomer” through the ages | by Amanda Scherker | Wisecrack | Medium]() 2. [‘OK Boomer’: how a TikTok meme traces the rise of Gen Z political consciousness]() 3. [What does “OK boomer” mean? The meme, explained | Vox]() 4. [OK Boomer - Know Your Meme]() 5. [OK boomer - Wikipedia]() 6. [What "OK Boomer" Means, Popular Meme Explained]() 7. [SoundCloud - Hear the world’s sounds]() 8. [Google Search]() 9. [/r9k/ - ROBOT9001 » Thread #21979284]() 10. [Stream ok boomer w/ jedwill by peter kuli | Listen online for free on SoundCloud]() 11. [Stream 𝒪𝒦𝕭𝕺𝕺𝕸𝕰𝕽𝒪𝒦𝕭𝕺𝕺𝕸𝕰𝕽𝒪𝒦𝕭𝕺𝕺𝕸𝕰𝕽𝒪𝒦𝕭𝕺𝕺𝕸𝕰𝕽𝒪𝒦𝕭𝕺𝕺𝕸𝕰𝕽𝒪𝒦𝕭𝕺𝕺𝕸𝕰𝕽 by umru | Listen online for free on SoundCloud]() 12. [My 'OK boomer' comment in parliament symbolised exhaustion of multiple generations | Chlöe Swarbrick | The Guardian]() 13. [‘OK Boomer’ Marks the End of Friendly Generational Relations - The New York Times]() 14. [Stream @jedwill1999 - OK BOOMER (Nukumachi Remix) by Nukumachi | Listen online for free on SoundCloud]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/ok-boomer Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library