Marketing Strategy: Decoding Gen Z, Alpha and Zalpha Slanguage

Is skibidi a typo? Do you have rizz? Do you think sigma is just a letter of the Greek alphabet? Dive deep into how understanding Gen Z and Alpha slang will impact your marketing and slay on social media.

In 2025, Gen Z will comprise the bulk of the youth cohort (15-29 years old), but Zalphas (the crossover between Gen Z and Alphas, born between 2008 and 2014) will emerge to spark a generational change within youth culture.

Our Youth: Decoding Slanguage report is critical to understanding this cohort, and staying ahead of emerging slang terms, cultural memes and emojis – essential to boosting your brand’s cultural currency and social cache across media and marketing communications.

Here, we spill the tea on three lit ideas.

Understand Slanguage and its origins

The rise in social media platforms has accelerated trend cycles and impacted the adoption rates of Gen Z and Gen Alpha slang terms. Social platforms like Tiktok, Instagram, X and Snapchat have become key spaces for social interaction, connection and self-expression.

Many of the slang terms Gen Z-ers and Alphas popularised through social media have roots in African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and Hip Hop culture. With the internet’s accessibility, these terms have been widely adopted across diverse racial and cultural youth. However, the use of AAVE by non-Black individuals raises ethical concerns in linguistic borrowing, as it often lacks the context and cultural significance these terms hold. When using Slanguage, it’s vital to grasp the full meaning of the word before using it.

For example, the term "It’s giving" (refers to when something or someone is emitting a particular vibe) derives from AAVE, specifically from Black Twitter and Ball Culture, which refers to the 1990s New York ballroom scene where queer Black and Latino individuals freely expressed themselves. Across social media platforms, "it’s giving" is now shared in memes and captions. Cultural context is key when tapping into slang and brands need to pay homage to original creators.

Tap into everyday youth vernacular

Gen Z and Alpha consumers can quickly spot inauthentic communication, so listen carefully, engage and support original creators by crediting them in content or bringing them on board as ambassadors for your campaigns.

Allow marketing and social media teams to spend time in spaces where slang terms bubble up. Ensure that these teams are on TikTok, Twitch, Reddit and YouTube to engage with gaming communities.

Identify and apply the communication styles that work best for the different types of social media content you are creating.

Incorporate gaming slang

Gaming slang is a low-hanging fruit for targeting Gen Alpha and Zalpha male audiences, reaching wider audiences over time.

Many new terms such as "skibidi", "rizz" and "sigma" have widespread popularity among gaming communities and streamers. With the Alphanet now taking shape, slang has a wider impact on youth culture, which has impacted how brands engage.

Build campaigns using gaming phrases and slang terms to onboard Gen Alpha, who are big gamers. Pay attention to and partner with Alpha content creators across gaming and TikTok to create authentic content that reflects their Slanguage.

Leverage pop cultural references

Use key moments from iconic cultural and entertainment events and memes to showcase your brand’s deep understanding of youth and digital culture.

As we previously forecasted, by 2025, there will be a shift from IYKYK content (if you know, you know) to OIYK (only if you know) content, where extremely insider and niche cultural knowledge will become the new luxury. Pop cultural references will be the new code to gain loyal fans and keep them engaged.

P.S. Is your marketing strategy too basic, cringe or delulu? Want one that’s giving? Speak with our GOAT expert consultants at WGSN Mindset, who will help you decode internet vernacular and find the right tone of voice to build a brand that’s mad fire. Request a demo here.