ZOOMERS ZOOMING

In recent years, the word zoomer has emerged as slang for someone born in Generation Z. This is a relatively recent phenomenon dating back to at least 2016 (we can't pinpoint the exact origin, but it might trace to 4chan message boards), but before that the word has also referred to especially active Baby Boomers and also, on rare occasions, "one who zooms". The term really started escalating in usage in November 2019, when the OK Boomer memes started getting popular and zoomer was proffered as a modern-day counterpart. It hasn't made it to dictionaries yet, but it's been added to Merriam-Webster's "Words We're Watching" list. It's probably here to stay, especially since it's become oddly appropriate now that our entire social and academic lives are taking place on Zoom.