On one hand, I know it's just a silly video and it's not that deep, but on the other, you're right! It's mostly internet slang, and specifically twitter slang.

I'm pretty sure Simone was being genuine while preparing the video, but given that she really is too young to remember/know how the internet was 15 years ago, maybe they should have someone fact checking/giving notes on this type of content.

And let's be real: we all thought we were quirky and funny and innovative as teens lol so it's not weird that young people nowadays are convinced they invented everything that's cool and relevant, and I am glad that we are now uplifting and cheering on the new generation (as opposed to what our parents' generation did with us), but also, things can be cool and relevant even if they are "old" lmao, and that is a very hard concept for present day online population to accept. I mean, apparently memes get tossed in the trash after a month and they're no longer funny.

In my opinion, though, the internet's treatment of Gen Z as a monolith is part of a much bigger trend of generalising and talking in absolutes: things are either bad, toxic, and irredeemable or they are perfect, pure, and good™: in this case, boomers are the first and gen z the latter. Of course in real life things don't work like that, but isn't is pretty how everything can be labeled and put in neat little boxes?

And let's not forget that all of this (the slang, the memes, the emoji?) can only ring true for a very small part of the aforementioned generation, and that is: american gen z-ers. So, once again, the oversemplification and generalization is actually american-centrism.

I'm sorry anon for going on a mini-rant, you were probably not looking for this kind of answer, but once again the middle-aged urge to 'back in my day'-pontificate was stronger. I'm gonna go watch some construction sites while holding my hands behind my back to unwind 🌸