Ben Boyce's viral Gen-Z slang video delights celebrity fans and is viewed over 50 million times

In practice, this means wading into the confusing, fast-moving waters of teen slang by saying “Generation Z words that make my kids cringe.”

For him as a moderator, transferring his experiments with vernacular vocabulary to video was a natural next step.

In the two videos, both filmed in the family car, Boyce uses everything from “gyatt” (a looks-based endorsement popularized on Twitch) to “bussin” (very good) to “drip” (cool or stylish).

Many of these words have emerged from online platforms and in African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) and have become widely popular and adopted. Younger populations and unique subcultures have long developed their own language to distinguish themselves from other cohorts: far out, skux, crunk, etc.

“I wanted to see how much Gen-Z slang I could use when ordering food at the drive-thru. Basically, I wanted to see how quickly I could embarrass them with words I'm not cool or young enough to say, like skibidi and rizz!”

Skibidi is a reference to the extremely popular YouTube series Skibidi toilet; Rizz is an abbreviation for the word charisma and originated on TikTok.

“I took the family to the drive-thru and then surprised my daughters, much to their shock, by throwing out a whole bunch of Gen Z slang while Sienna and Indie couldn't leave the back seat of the car.”

As expected, the youthful embarrassment immediately set in, and his speech “left them both fidgeting in the back seat with embarrassment.”

One surprise was the employee's fluency in expression; he not only listened patiently to Boyce, even though he claimed he was “lame,” but also understood what he was saying.

Bridging the generation gap and embracing cultural embarrassment attracted an audience on social media; everyone can identify with being an embarrassed teenager and, if you're in a certain demographic, an out-of-touch adult.

The Herald Boyce has been contacted by international media about the viral video. “I get messages from websites and TV shows all over the world wanting to play the video or talk to us. It's all very surreal!”

When asked for details, he said he would keep quiet for now.[I] “I can't say for sure who tried to play the video at the moment, but it's funny how an embarrassing dad with a mumbling New Zealand accent can appeal to people all over the world.”

Boyce speaks openly about his dialogue amateurism. “To be honest, I had to google most of the words I said in the video and I'm not sure if I'm using them in the right context.”

The video triggered the desired reaction from his daughters (12 and 14), and Boyce expects consequences. “I expect some kind of retaliation from my girls soon, and it won't be Skibidi.”

Sienna has inherited her father’s chatter and the couple are launching a new series, When I grow upon the Hits Podcast Network.

It goes way beyond Gen-Z slang, reveals Boyce. “This podcast is much more serious than my silly social video because it aims to showcase amazing women from across Aotearoa and hear their stories and advice to hopefully inspire young people like Sienna to dream big and figure out what they want to be when they grow up.”

Emma Gleason is that HeraldDeputy Lifestyle and Entertainment Editor. Based in Auckland, she covers culture, media and more.