In practice, that means wading into the confusing, fast-moving waters of youth slang by “saying Gen Z words that my kids cringe at”.
A presenter by trade, translating his vernacular vocabulary experiments to video was a natural next step.
Across the two videos, both filmed in the family car, Boyce deploys everything from gyatt (an appearance-based affirmation popularised on Twitch) and bussin (very good) to drip (cool or stylish).
Many of these words emerged from online platforms and African-American Vernacular English (AAVE), and have been popularised and adopted widely. Younger demographics and unique subcultures have a long history of creating their own language to differentiate themselves from other cohorts: far out, skux, crunk, etc.
“I had the idea to see how much Gen Z slang I could use while ordering food at the drive-through. Basically, to see how quickly I could embarrass them with words I am not cool or young enough to say like Skibidi and Rizz!”
Skibidi is a reference to the wildly popular YouTube series Skibidi Toilet; rizz is an abbreviation for the word charisma and emerged on TikTok.
“I headed to the drive-through with the family and then much to the shock of my daughters, I surprised them by busting out a whole bunch of Gen Z slang while Sienna and Indie couldn’t leave the back of the car.”
As he expected, the teenage cringe set in immediately, and his spiel “made them both squirm with embarrassment in the backseat”.
One surprise, he said, was the fluency of the employee, who not only listened patiently to Boyce’s self-professed “lameness”, but understood what he was saying.
Crossing the generational divide and embracing cultural cringe drew an audience on social media; everyone can relate to being an embarrassed teenager and, if you’re a certain demographic, an out-of-the-loop adult.
The Herald understands Boyce has been approached by international media outlets about the viral video. “I’m getting messages from websites and TV shows around the world wanting to play the video or talk to us. It’s all very surreal!”
When pressed for details, he’s said he’s keeping mum for now. “[I] can’t say exactly who has reached out to play the video at the moment, but it’s funny that an embarrassing dad with a mumbly New Zealand accent can appeal to people around the world.”
Boyce is candid about his dialogue dilettantism. “To be honest, I had to google most of the words that I said in the video and I’m not sure if I’m using any in the right context.”
The video got the desired reaction from his daughters, 12 and 14, and Boyce anticipates repercussions. “I expect some form of payback from my girls soon and it won’t be skibidi.”
Sienna has inherited her dad’s talent for the gab, and the pair are launching a new series, When I Grow Up, on The Hits Podcast Network.
It goes far beyond Gen Z slang, Boyce reveals. “This podcast is far more earnest than my silly social video, as it aims to showcase amazing females from around Aotearoa and hear their story and advice to hopefully inspire young people like Sienna to dream big and work out what they want to be when they grow up.”
Emma Gleason is the Herald’s lifestyle and entertainment deputy editor. Based in Auckland, she covers culture, media and more.
