Gen Z Slang Now Dominates As Gifs Leave Millennials Behind [Video]

For decades, millennials have ruled the world of online slang. Words like “vibes,” “lol,” and “adulting” captured the essence of a generation growing up with a fast-changing internet.

Millennial slang was born out of early blogging platforms, text message shorthand and an of-its-time sense of humor, millennial slang has dominated conversations.

But according to GIPHY’s 2025 Trend Forecast, the reign of millennial slang is officially coming to an end. In its place? Gen Z’s unique, chaotic, and decidedly less linear approach to online language.

GIPHY, an online platform that provides a vast library of animated GIFs (Graphics Interchange Format), has analyzed millions of users’ search data and found a clear trend in the way users are chatting online across social media and personal chats.

Words like “ijbol” (short for “I just burst out laughing”), “aura” (used to describe someone’s vibe, but with more existential weight), and even onomatopoeic phrases like …