OK boomer

Spend 5 minutes online and you’re likely to see the mantra of Generation Z used to silence the baby boomer generation.

The phrase has augmented itself greater than the initial meaning, with merchandising and music spreading the “movement” into common vernacular.

Initially meant as an all-encompassing response to anyone deemed out of touch with current social values, the phrase gained momentum when 25-year-old lawmaker Chloe Swarbrick from New Zealand spoke about imposing a Zero-Carbon bill and was interrupted 40 seconds into her speech. 

Just as Generation X (1976-1995) rejected the values of the Silent Generation (1945 or before) and sought to counter many controversial topics such as Social Welfare and the fall of the Berlin Wall, the discussion has turned to current topics like Climate Change and the advancement of LGBTQ+ and minority rights. 

Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram have allowed the phrase to spread among the predominantly younger audience like wildfire, distinguishing the current generational divide from those previous. 

Nowhere is the divide between the younger and older generations greater than when it comes to politics.

According to the PEW research center, Millenial and Gen-Z voting patterns are more progressive than their Baby boomer and Silent generation counterparts. 

Younger Generations tend to lean more towards democratic candidates and more liberal policies while Older generations favor republican candidates and more conservative policies. 

In presidential elections, candidates entice potential voters with policy solutions to current issues and mobilize voters to cast ballots in their direction. 

Yet while voter turnout in America has risen among young people with the “rock the vote” movement, more than 71% of eligible voters over 50 cast their votes in presidential elections compared to just 46% of the 18 to 29-year-old crowd. 

Since the elderly historically comprise a larger percentage of the American voting population, when young voters and freshman congressional members bring new ideas into the federal landscape, the task of making a legislative change seems daunting. 

Even with a larger percentage of female representation (24%) in both chambers and younger, more ethnically diverse members, the age of the 535 members in the house and the senate has risen from 49 and 53 years in 1981 up to 57 and 61 Today.

A recent study from the PEW research center distinguished a link between age and conservatism and found that generally as Americans become older, their voting falls more in line with conservative ideologies than liberal ones. 

This divide between liberal young voters and the conservative older voters combined with the increased amount of older congressional members means that millennial and Gen-Z voters feel their political views are not being represented in government. 

Recent upsets by congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, & Ayanna Pressley have highlighted the shifting demographics in congressional membership and the change in American politics.  

This pendulum swing of Millenial and Gen-Z members filling vacancies and gaining a larger voice in politics represents something innately generational. 

The internet and the mass prevalence of social media have aged Generation Z into becoming politically socialized and opinionated earlier than many of their parents or grandparents. 

Despite statistically higher interest in politics than in previous years, many young people are discouraged from engaging in the political process or having deeper conversations with family members because of their age. 

While notable political activists like 2019 TIME person of the year and climate leader Greta Thunberg and Gun Control speaker David Hogg have made waves for young people in the political process, many feel frustrated that their views aren’t being acknowledged or represented. 

The phrase serves more as a rebuke for being dismissed from the global conversation than an attack on previous generations, and ironically, “Ok boomer” reflects more upon the younger generations than the name would initially suggest.