Leave the Kids Alone and Let Them Invent New Terms

I know very few people from Gen Z, and my primary source of information about their activities is from

After School by Casey Lewis

. I am also informed about their psychographics through cultural observations such as this one:

When stories of TikTok's viral moments reach my Millennial eyes, it feels as though I'm discovering a new species. I am not interested in criticizing an entire generation, as generational conflicts are generally pointless. However, “OK, Boomer,” the proper response to the meta-crisis, serves as a rare exception.¹

In

Rebecca Jennings

's recent article on Vox, she writes about “trendbait,” a term she made up to describe all the terms Gen Zers make up for attentional purposes. Here is a sample of TikTok terms I like: “microcheating,” “beige flag,” “quiet quitting,” “de-influencing,” and “loud budgeting.” Of course, Gen Zers themselves are noticing this phenomenon, providing them with more content for their attention hunting. Jennings criticizes the phenomenon, accurately pointing out that the reason for the onslaught of new terms is the desire to go viral.

“[New terms] are funneled into the collective consciousness not because they are relevant or necessary but because random people have made videos inventing these terms in the hope that the wording will go viral.” - Rebecca Jennings

I agree that this is the motive, and I would also argue that any motivation to be a meme virus is deeply foolish, especially since, as

Sibi Ramesh

argues, we are in a “post-viral age.” However, inventing new terms to describe certain aspects of reality is not solely happening on TikTok. Just visit Google Scholar and browse the graveyard of unread and unreadable academic papers littered with new terms on par with those spread by Gen Zers.

The trendbaiting phenomenon is also occurring in academia, albeit with different incentive structures, and the speed of memetic spread is much slower than on TikTok. Creating new terms to gain an advantage in the attention economy one is involved in, and thereby experiencing an attentional high, is a practice observed not only among Gen Z on TikTok and culturally irrelevant academics but also among hipster intellectuals who publish on platforms like Medium and Substack.

To illustrate, in 2018—when the allure of going viral still held sway—I coined the term “memetic tribes,” describing the many online constellations of people and bots on the internet who agree with one another about their niche political and philosophical positions. The term briefly captured the interest of like-minds, was written about by academics and military analysts, and was even tweeted by

Richard Dawkins

himself, the coiner of the term meme.

The term eventually faded, being replaced with “egregores” by intellectual hipsters, which, I guess, sounds cooler. Its brief spread gave me an attentional high and coinage confidence, and since then, I have likely created around 100 new terms on this Substack—a few examples from recent posts include: “relationship farts,” “purpose porn,” “coach industrial complex,” and “unpsyopable.”

These terms didn’t achieve much in terms of memetic traction, averaging about 30 likes per post, leading me to stoical acquiescence. This acquiescence signifies personal growth, deterring me from coining new terms with the foolish hope that they will go viral. Additionally, being coinage-crazy over the years has imbued a sense of freedom, allowing for an independence of thinking in writing and speech.

There are exaptive benefits amongst those who still have viral desires. Inventing new terms to describe a slice of reality, especially if the phrase has an aesthetic quality, is a good thing. Besides, it's low-hanging rim to dunk on attention economy narcissism. Thanks to Gen Z’s meta-hyperawareness, I am confident that their current ego-driven motivations for trendbaiting will be fully dispelled within three years, resulting in them acquiring non-egoic conceptual superpowers.

Coining enough new terms, regardless of the motive, will eventually result in what some Integral theorists call “construct-awareness,” a developmental state where one becomes intimate with concepts while having an embodied understanding of the phrase “the map is not the territory.” This awareness results in a playfulness with ideas and a wholesome foolishness that allows freedom of thought.

“Construct-Aware folks are the first who potentially realize the illusion of “knowing” and the futility of trying to make ever better maps of reality. Other names for the Construct-Aware stage are Magician, Alchemist, Fool, and Jester.” - Susanne Cook-Greuter

Becoming construct-aware is one of the first moves in overcoming intellectual servitude. An intellectual agency emerges from identifying a slice of reality and giving it a name that resonates with others, offering a certain degree of explanatory power. This ability to have confidence in coining new terms will be a phenomenal tool for navigating our current complexity and the infinite information we are bombarded with.

So, let’s leave the kids alone and let them invent new terms that will guide us into new ways of knowing.

For other perspectives related to this entry, here are some posts from fellow Substackers:

• “You Didn’t Read That, You Saw It on TikTok” by

  ★ luce ☆
  from
  ★culture vulture★

• “The Twitterification of TikTok” by

  kate lindsay
  from
  Embedded

• “All the Things People Want Me to Know about Gen Z” by

  kelsey weekman
  from
  okay zoomer

If you’d like to inquire with me, and invent some new terms to help us navigate reality, you can schedule a call here and read more about my practice here. To join Collective Journalling, become a Less Foolish member and RSVP behind the paywall. You can also show support for my work by subscribing, sharing, or leaving a comment.

What is Collective Journalling? This communal practice happens via Zoom and is 90 mins, with check-ins in the chat at the beginning and an opportunity to connect with fellow journalers in breakout rooms at the end. You do not have to stay the whole time. If you are in an antisocial mood, you do not have to interact with anyone, yet you can still enjoy the coffee shop-esque communal vibe. The session concludes with an optional sharing of a passage in the chat. Most of the time is spent in silence together, individually inquiring about what matters most. A lovely group of people has formed around this practice. The practice occurs on weekdays @ 8 AM ET. RSVP link is behind the paywall.