The phrase “OK boomer” refers mainly to which generation?

The phrase “OK boomer” mainly refers to baby boomers.

It is an internet catchphrase used to dismiss or mock attitudes associated with the baby-boomer generation, especially claims that younger people are overly sensitive, technologically dependent, or responsible for social problems. The phrase is usually aimed at a generational attitude rather than every individual born in the boomer era.

Baby boomers are commonly defined in the United States as people born from 1946 through 1964, during the post–World War II rise in birth rates. The exact boundaries vary internationally, but this range is the standard one used by organizations such as Pew Research Center and the U.S. Census Bureau.

“OK boomer” existed online before it became famous, with early recorded uses dating to 2009 and appearances on 4chan by 2015. It gained mass attention in late 2019, particularly on TikTok, and became shorthand for intergenerational conflict. A common mistake is treating it as a reference to Generation X or Millennials; those groups may use the phrase, but they are not its target generation.