Gen Alpha's Reign of Internet Lingo Has Millennials and Gen Z Feeling So Confused, They Need Google Translate to Understand What's Happening at the Dinner Table

Millennials and Gen Z are under siege over the reign of internet lingo by Gen Alpha, the digital natives who have been swiping on iPads since they learned to walk.

Millennials and Gen Z might think they rule the internet with their lingo, but there's a new generation in town that's taking over the language faster than you can say "sus." Gen Alpha, the digital natives who have been swiping on iPads since they learned to walk, are building an entire linguistic empire that's leaving their millennial and Gen Z parents feeling so confused that they need Google Translate to understand what's happening at the dinner table.

An Morning Consult survey reveals that 29% of Gen Alpha parents—a mix of millennials and younger Gen Zers—have already experienced an existential crisis when their child drops a phrase so incomprehensible that it might as well be encrypted. By the point their offspring enter at ages 8-10, that figure rises to 43%, and suddenly, parents are sitting there like NPCs in their own homes, blinking at the linguistic wizardry of their child.

One of the standout phrases is "Gigachad." A "Gigachad" is the internet's vision of peak masculinity—an ultra-attractive, confident, dominant figure who looks like Photoshop sculpted him. He's not just handsome; he's an idea, a meme, a concept representing an exaggerated masculinity that teeters on the edge of parody.

A "Gigachad" is the internet's vision of peak masculinity. (Image via Pinterest/ yuki_ggs)

The term itself is Frankenstein's monster of words: "Giga" (meaning huge or superior) and "Chad" (internet slang for an attractive, socially successful man). It first appeared in 2017 on 4chan, after an anonymous user posted a highly edited black-and-white image of Russian model Ernest Khalimov. The post dubbed him "the perfect human specimen destined to lead us against the reptilians." That's a real quote, and we don't know what it means either.

The meme went viral on Reddit, YouTube, Twitter, and beyond, securing the Gigachad's status as an icon of peak alpha energy. In some corners of the internet, particularly incel communities, Gigachads are unattainable ideals. Meanwhile, in cryptocurrency, "Gigachad" has another meaning: fearless innovation and financial dominance. There is even a meme coin on Solana called Gigachad (GIGA), designed to embody self-improvement and financial wizardry.

But why is Gen Alpha's slang so confusing? A combination of the speed, absurdity, and their hyper-online existence. Words appear, morph, and disappear, leaving even the most techie parents trying to keep pace.

A proverbial survey carried out by Prodigy Education found while 72% of parents asserted that speaking of the child's slang brought them closer together, as much as 36% stated that it left them feeling like a sudden character from a foreign film without the help of any subtitles.

In simple terms, this is the generational change in communication. Millennials confused their Gen X parents with their LOLs and BRBs; now, Gen Alpha is doing the same thing but at 10x speed. The best strategy to deal with it is to keep up, take notes, and accept that one day, you too will be sitting there, wondering if your kid just complimented you or completely roasted your entire existence!