The purpose of slang is to signal group identity. There is slang that says, “I’m a kid.” I guess there is a cultural aspect but to my ear, calling something “cringe” sounds like something kids say, because mostly in my everyday life, I only hear children saying it like it made up a fair chunk of their entire vocabulary.
When a GenXer or old Millennial use it, it can come across as either affected or immature. shrug
The purpose of slang is to signal group identity.
That’s a purpose of slang, not its only purpose.
Slang can also be more efficient (“cringe” is one syllable; “cringe-worthy” is three) and it contributes to the evolution of language, leading some terms - like “cringe” to become more mainstream and to see use outside of the group that popularized them.
Besides, Gen Z might have come up with “cringe,” but millennials were practicing nounification, verbification, and adjectification when Gen Z was still learning to talk, and that’s all “cringe” as an adjective is.
to my ear, calling something “cringe” sounds like something kids say, because mostly in my everyday life, I only hear children saying it like it made up a fair chunk of their entire vocabulary.
The oldest Gen Z-ers are 27 and the youngest are 12, so almost none of them are “kids” anymore - they’re teens and adults. But there’s also a difference between using slang on the internet and in in-person contexts, particularly more formal ones. Slang that’s common in one group might not be in another group in the same age range, even if they’re geographically similar. But even so, I’ve heard millennials use (and over-use) “cringe” in public and in private.
When a GenXer or old Millennial use it, it can come across as either affected or immature.
A 6 year old in 1994 would have been born in 1988, which is right in the middle of the millennial range (1981-1996), meaning they wouldn’t be an “old Millennial.” But even if they were born in ‘81, my opinion wouldn’t change. Focusing too much on who “should” use a term like “cringe,” especially online, isn’t at all productive, and isn’t very different from telling someone they’re not a big enough fan to wear a t-shirt or to cosplay as a character they think is cool. They’re both just gatekeeping, plain and simple.
