A family sits down for dinner and begins the usual after work and school conversation. “How was school,” parents ask, “What did you learn?”  “Fine, nothing,” their Gen-Zers respond mundanely.

This widespread evening scenario is experienced by not only students all over the school, but around the world too. But recently, there’s been a disturbance in worldly order with the emergence of a new Tik Tok trend. “Mom, do you want to make a video?” kids ask to the surprise of their parents.  “Sure” parents respond. Later that evening, their kids are spewing water while rolling on the floor with laughter as their parents try to pronounce typical GenZ slang.

Right now, this scenario is becoming a trend with older generations attempting typical GenZ slang like ‘rizzler,’  ‘nonchalant dread head,’ and’ mama a girl behind you’ along with other words or phrases that the parents don’t usually know. While most trends don’t involve older generations, this one does, making it high-key more interesting than usual. As a viewer it slaps to see a family react like this, spewing water all over and bringing you into the moment.

For trends to go viral on social media, they have to hit different. For the majority GenZ audience on TikTok, it either has to be comical or have an emotional trigger to be a W. This trend in particular is going viral because it is amusing to see how certain people pronounce slang when GenZ normally says or hears it on an everyday basis. It also appeals to the audience by merging different age groups into one trend, catering to not only GenZ but also the millennials and GenX.

Specifically, this viral sensation is special because it has helped connect kids with their parents. Because kids are asking their parents or loved ones to be involved in a trend on social media it makes the parents feel included in their kids lives and in something that their kids find interesting. But parents aren’t the only ones participating. So far, this trend hasn’t appeared at the school, but other schools have asked Spanish or French teachers to take part. The trend has helped create a friendly relationship between parents and teachers with students that are  low-key a vibe, bringing them together for fun.

Though this trend is fun, it won’t be here for long. New slang surfaces at a rapid pace, which makes it difficult for the parents to keep up with. This sometimes makes it harder to communicate between generations. Similar to a different language, slang words can keep us entertained but also prevent us from sharing ideas easily.

So far, the GenZ slang trend has crossed the generational divide, bringing together parents and kids alike, but as usual, the trend will remain brief, so before the next viral sensation, make sure to get in on this drippy new trend to bring together the fam. For those who aren’t NPCs and keep up with current Tik Tok and other social media, look out for the next goated new trend that’s probably gonna go hard.