Gen Z Terms Related to Audiophile Reviews

[gene]

The hi-fi world has long been a predominantly older Gentlemen's club. But as audiophiles age, the question arises: who will carry the torch and keep our passionate hobby alive? Enter Gen Z. I believe they are the future audiophiles—waiting to be inspired and guided toward an appreciation of the shared passion we have for great hi-fi sound and the music we love. My hope is that by incorporating Gen Z lingo into our reviews, we can attract a younger audience while also helping us veterans better understand their perspective. This editorial and related Youtube video aims to bridge the generational gap through a shared language and love for high-fidelity sound.

The core audiophile audience is aging, and the future of hi-fi depends on engaging Gen Z. By using their lingo in reviews, we can spark interest and pass the torch.

Read: I Translated Gen Z Slang Into Audiophile Review Terms

Drop it in the comments—and let’s talk about how we can keep the spirit of great sound alive for years (and ears) to come. What Gen Z terms describe your gear?

 

[Trebdp83]

No, just no. Seriously, f#%k no!

 

[Trebdp83]

I’m reminded of other cringeworthy attempts at getting hip with the young folk.

 

[TLS Guy]

The hi-fi world has long been a predominantly older Gentlemen's club. But as audiophiles age, the question arises: who will carry the torch and keep our passionate hobby alive? Enter Gen Z. I believe they are the future audiophiles—waiting to be inspired and guided toward an appreciation of the shared passion we have for great hi-fi sound and the music we love. My hope is that by incorporating Gen Z lingo into our reviews, we can attract a younger audience while also helping us veterans better understand their perspective. This editorial and related Youtube video aims to bridge the generational gap through a shared language and love for high-fidelity sound.

The core audiophile audience is aging, and the future of hi-fi depends on engaging Gen Z. By using their lingo in reviews, we can spark interest and pass the torch.

View attachment 74028

Read: I Translated Gen Z Slang Into Audiophile Review Terms

Drop it in the comments—and let’s talk about how we can keep the spirit of great sound alive for years (and ears) to come. What Gen Z terms describe your gear?

If that's their excuse for the English language then it is pointless even trying to communicate with them.

 

[everettT]

You can't fix stupid with vocabulary. Too many of these kids aren't interested in the science, let alone just good tunes. It would be nice to see some interest other than cans. When I was a kid DIY was still a big part of the industry, I don't see that much anymore. After the 70s that just tapered off.

 

[lovinthehd]

LOL I cut out an article from a newspaper columnist's article about it's wack when the kids sling the slang.....it sounds dated to me now but at the time was quite funny, but things change in 40 years or so....can't find find an internet version so grabbed it and some examples:
phat meaning good
word meaning really
fly girl being hot
gear for clothing
wack for bad

These were used as parts of conversations between older and younger people of course....

 

[shadyJ]

The problem with trying to assess modern slang is that by the time you think you have quantified it, it has already changed. There is no way to know what it is unless you are at ground zero, and ground zero is the context where young people come up with this language. Older people, by definition, can never be on top of slang. There is no way to make a list of slang words that isn't at least slightly out of date. It's like quantum theory; you can know a particle's position or you can know its heading, but, fundamentally, you can never know both at the same time.

 

[Mikado463]

Tom Brokaw's 'Greatest Generation' is for sure rolling in their graves ........

 

[Elephen]

23 skidoo. When I was a teenager, people of an earlier generation sometimes used my generation’s slang expressions when speaking to me. I thought they sounded foolish and a bit condescending. Stick with standard English in your reviews.

 

[PaulBe]

Generational buzz words and the like are what real adults stop using when they really mature and make real money that supports expensive hobbies like audio and HT.

Another example - It’s old guys who drive Corvettes and Porsches.

If you want to keep this hobby alive, encourage responsible living. From my perspective, Generation Z is on their way to be bussin’ tables for the rest of their lives.

I can't wait for Gen Z lingo to be incorporated into AES Papers. /s

 

[zimtheinvader]

are what real adults stop using when they really mature

I read a book awhile back called "The Disappearance of Childhood". 40 years ago It talked about how the division between childhood and adult was being eroded as kids were exposed to adult movies, images, ideas and worries at earlier and earlier ages. Even then he noted we were losing the innocence of youth.

I know 1st grade teachers who have students that have seen all the saw movies. I saw a billboard aimed at kids asking them what their plan for a natural disaster was.

My theory is that we used to have age levels where kids gained more responsibilities and along with those more freedom. The kids looked forward to those milestones where they could stay up later, get a job and thus money, get a driver's license and thus freedom, watch movies that were edgier, move out, have a family... They aspired to be older and more mature because each step involved a freedom they didn't have before and the responsibilities that came along with that were worth it.

For many now, they don't have to wait or work for any of that. At very young ages they can already watch what they want, they get driven everywhere, they get money for whatever they want. There is nothing they are lacking that being more mature would get them, so they don't bother. Why take on responsibilities if they don't get you any new freedoms?

 

[0xbaaaadf8]

Gen Z person here; to put it mildly, this feels like a late April Fools joke or even a piece of satire. But since it's presented in a serious manner and I don't think there's a lot of younger people here, I'll put in my 0.02 USD:

There is no need to incorporate this sort of slang.

Besides the volatile manner of these slang terms (heck, just take a look at how once-popular memes eventually die out), it also "cheapens" the tone of the text: they're intended to be employed in casual conversation and build cohesion among friend groups, not so much for a review site that pledges to stomp out audiophilic snake oil with objective testing and analysis. If Audioholics decided to take a page out of Stanley Kubrick's book and adopt Nadsat words from A Clockwork Orange, I'd object for a similar reason: the book is meant to present a dystopia from the perspective of a teen where his use of Nadsat enhances the narrative, whereas a product review should be designed to inform readers about the qualities of a given product without intentionally confusing them with non-standard terms.

People that are genuinely interested in better audiovisual quality in the face of deceptive marketing tactics or outright lies will seek out honest reviews from sites like this, regardless of how old they are, and without the need for any particular set of slang terms. That's why I started visiting this website as part of my research on subwoofers, Dolby Atmos speakers, and so on while I was building my budget home theater.

Please don't try to attract a new audience by acting on some conceptions about them, but let them find you by continuing to do what you do best!

On a side note, this article in particular is what motivated me to register to comment after lurking this site for months.