It all started when my niece and nephew, 9-year-old twins, began whispering to each other during a family gathering and bursting into laughter. Amid their giggles, we heard strange phrases like "Skibidi," "Grandfather Skibidi," and "Skibidi Toilet." When we paused our conversation to understand what was going on, the two looked at us sheepishly and mumbled as if sharing a secret: "Never mind, you wouldn’t understand."
They then disappeared from the living room. At this point, the two "older" teenagers in the group, a 14-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl, lifted their heads from their smartphones and looked at us mockingly. Trying to understand what we, the adults, were missing, we asked them for the meaning of these words.
They exchanged a half-smirk, half-laugh, shrugged, and replied, "It’s just some silly kids’ thing, nothing much." With the same indifference, they returned to their screens. My curiosity was piqued, and I decided to investigate what this was all about.
So, meet the new slang of Generation Alpha, those born after 2010, and more precisely, children born after 2012. The source of all this is a web series called "Skibidi Toilet," which premiered on YouTube in February 2023 and features short videos. The series’ plot, if you can call it that, depicts a war between toilets with human-like heads and human figures with electronic devices attached to their heads.
Since the first short video was published in February 2023, the series has gone viral with over 65 billion views on YouTube, and is particularly popular among Generation Alpha kids. This nonsense has gained so much traction that it was even written up in an article in the Washington Post, where experts tried to understand how a series about toilets became the hottest thing around.
For the kids themselves, it’s an entire language that only they understand, while we, the adults, view it with suspicion. Anyone who has bothered to watch a few videos feels this series is nonsensical, unclear on what the fuss is about, and feels the toilet connection isn’t particularly appealing. The kids, however, find it really amusing.
To them, "Skibidi" is a cool word that can be added to any sentence and given any meaning. It's a word that represents anything, depending on the context. "Skibidi Toilet" is essentially the name of the video series.
Some claim that the term describes a lame person. "Skibidi Rizz" refers to someone who's proficient at picking up girls, and "Skibidi Sigma" is someone who’s exceptionally good at attracting girls, someone daring and an alpha male in every way. "Skibidi Ohio" signifies someone perceived by everyone as weird, eccentric and bizarre.
What’s amusing is that when you talk about this slang with Generation Z, those currently in high school, you can see that some of them view it critically, much like adults do.
Both online and in conversations with them, you hear responses like: "It’s complete nonsense that came from TikTok" or "OMG, you’re such a Skibidi, you probably have loads of Rizz Sigma (stupid language from a stupid generation)" or "My 5-year-old brother talks about Skibidi Toilet, there’s just no limit to stupidity."
To us, they’re all kids with minimal age gaps (both a 9-year-old and a 14-year-old are considered young), but for them, there appears to be a generation gap. Generation Z has its own language, and the new language that became a hot trend makes them feel left out and gives them a sense that they’re part of the adults, the boomers, those who don’t know anything going on.
I remember that we also had our own languages when we were kids. We also had an entire language where we talked using only our fingers. Each letter had its own hand sign. Just like the kids today, we were really pleased that we created a way to communicate with each other without the adults understanding us.
And when we spoke, we didn’t care if other kids we didn’t know could understand what we were talking about, because the idea wasn’t that no one should hear, but that the adults around wouldn’t be able to understand.
Language or slang is significant, especially at young ages. Language symbolizes culture but, more than anything, it symbolizes belonging. It unites the group in which it was created, giving it power and validation.
During adolescence, which today starts at age 9 and continues until about age 30, there’s no doubt that one of the most important things for teenagers is the feeling of separation and independence.
Psychologist Erik Erikson spoke about teenagers’ need to form a personal identity and even described this need as a main characteristic of adolescence. Naturally, almost every teenager desires to differentiate from their parents and belong to their peer group. The truth is that this generation, which experienced COVID-19 and is now seeing a war, gets less of a sense of differentiation from their parents – something happening there is somewhat delayed.
Additionally, if we specifically address Generation Alpha, according to Australian researcher Mark McCrindle, part of their uniqueness is the fact they were born with touchscreens in their hands. McCrindle defines Generation Alpha as the most technological generation, one that never knew a world without social media.
Therefore, it’s only natural that their language is entirely influenced by the internet and comes from social media, the ones they watch over and over (YouTube, Instagram, TikTok). A language that includes memes that only they find funny and is entirely based on short videos that caught their eye.
All that’s left for us is to let them enjoy the small independence they demonstrate, watch them with a smile, and maybe even try to surprise them with a few short sentences, just to see the astonishment on their faces.
- Nirit Zuk is a lecturer and researcher on children's culture.