Each new generation has its quirks, and for the ones that came before, they’re often baffling.
Millennials and Gen Z have already been scratching their heads at Gen Alpha for everything from mewing to Skibidi edits to their obsession with “rizz.”
Now, there’s another revelation: apparently, public farting no longer makes a Gen Alpha classroom erupt into laughter.
"Is the world healing?"
Two separate TikTok videos are making the rounds, and both feature adults interviewing Gen Alpha kids about their reaction to farting in class.
In one video, @breadsticks92 asks a younger person, “So, so you’re saying that nobody laughs if you fart in class?”
“Yeah, nobody,” they reply.
@breadsticks92 Saw a tiktok about how gen alpha doesn’t care about farting in public and I had to ask my 8 year old if it was true…. Times they are a changin!
♬ original sound - Breadsticks
“You don’t get picked on for farting in class?” they ask again.
“No, nobody cares. Nobody cares,” the kid explains.
For millennials, that’s hard to imagine.
“If we farted in class, we got made fun of so hard,” the TikToker tells them. “Is the world healing? Is this the start of it?”
In another video, @tiltonicatiktok gets the same answer. “So if you fart nobody cares?” they ask.
@tiltonicatiktok Saw this on a teachers tiktok and didn’t believe it until I asked my own kids. They’re more mature than me cause I still giggle ? ?? #genalpha #genalphaparent #fartjoke #classroom #classroomhumor
♬ original sound - Tiltonica
“Nobody cares,” the kid repeats, adding, “They continue doing their work or whatever they’re doing normally.”
When asked why farts aren’t funny anymore, they say: “Because it’s like… laughing at hiccups. You can’t control them.”
Who is Gen Alpha, anyway?
Gen Alpha refers to kids born between 2010 and 2024, making them the first generation to grow up fully immersed in smartphones, tablets, and streaming platforms from birth.
Researchers like McCrindle, who coined the term, note that Gen Alpha is the most tech-savvy and globally connected generation yet.
Additionally, early signs point to them being more socially aware and less interested in old-school social hierarchies than previous generations.
That tracks with what teachers are seeing.
One commenter on one of the TikTok videos, who identified themselves as an educator, said: “Kids just don’t want to make others feel bad about natural bodily functions. They also have a much healthier respect for people’s bodies.”
Comments had plenty to say
TikTok users were divided between awe and disbelief.
“It’s not normalized,” one teacher commented on @breadsticks92’s video. “Kids just don’t want to make others feel bad about natural bodily functions… they have a much healthier respect for people’s bodies.”
Another wasn’t so sure: “No way. I was called fart girl for a year and now it’s normalized. This is truly evil.”
Under @tiltonicatiktok’s post, one commenter wrote, “Normalizing farting is Gen Alpha’s greatest achievement.” Another added, “WHAT THE HELL. THIS IS BIG NEWS.”
A millennial teacher chimed in too: “You don’t even have to rat a kid out. They just announce it for themselves and everyone covers their nose and moves on. It’s a cultural shock.”
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