November 07th, 2019

By Aqsa Rehman, 15


If you’re a student in Ontario then it will be no surprise to hear about the cell phone ban in schools introduced by the Ford government just days ago. Of course, this is nothing new and a proposed cell phone ban has been in talks for years, however, as I found myself browsing through Ford’s Instagram and Twitter I saw an overload of ‘ok boomer’ comments.


As a frequent Twitter user myself, I’m quite familiar with the phrase, but I know there are so many out there that are not. Ok boomer is a quite recent phrase Generation Z has been using against Baby Boomers whenever they disagree with what the older generation has to say. Baby Boomers have the reputation of not getting along with the younger generations, and Gen Z haven’t been taking it.


What I understand is that most Gen Z youths including myself tend to use it when we don’t believe in the very traditional old-school beliefs of Boomers however, instead of arguing, we simply reply with “ok boomer”, an acknowledgement that they frankly do not care what boomers think and will prove them wrong.

Most commonly the phrase has been used against the older generation who simply doesn’t believe in issues that Gen Z kids advocate for, like climate change and social equality. Similarly, when Doug Ford announced his cell phone ban in schools, his comments were flooded by students replying ‘ok boomer.’ The law put in place simply doesn’t affect them, and why would it when cell phones have always been “banned”?


Ford’s ban has been ridiculed by students about its ineffectiveness and many argue that it’s unnecessary. When Ford was elected as premier he promised many changes to come within Ontario and quite a lot of his changes have affected the education system. His cell phone ban is supported by his argument of cell phones becoming a distraction in class.


Personally, I don’t believe it will make much of a difference as most teachers don’t allow cell phones during class. But I find it quite amusing to see this breakthrough of Gen Z kids replying to the snarky and quite accusing comments of boomers simply by stating ‘ok boomer’.