Social media has been steadily growing over the last decade and especially whilst we have all been stuck at home during lockdown with nothing better to do, most platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Twitter have grown.
Unsurprisingly with the use of social media comes a new wave of slang that gets adapted into everyday life and sometimes it can be hard to keep up with what it all means.
What does /gen mean on TikTok?
The use of the word phrasing /gen is used when on social media as a tone indicator to make it easier to understand what is being said over social media platforms and texting. This can be helpful in a variety of different contexts so that intentions are clear when communicating with people over social media and there is a lot less confusion in what someone is trying to say. There are different abbreviations that have different meanings, however, in this scenario /gen would mean ‘genuine question’ and would be used in the context of showing that whatever is being asked is not rhetorical.
These types of phrases and indicators also make it easier for people who are neurodivergent to understand the tone of some text so they are very helpful to use when trying to be inclusive on your social media profiles
How to use /gen on social media
In most situations, /gen can be used after a question or statement to show that something is serious and requires attention
Alternatives to using /gen
If you want to incorporate new social media slang words into your vocabulary but don’t quite know where to start, here are some more examples and their meanings for when you want to make sure you don’t get misunderstood!