8 FT.COM/MAGAZINE APRIL 4/ 52020
ElaineMooreistheFT’sdeputyLex
editor,currentlystuckinDorsetWho isKaren?
And whyisshe so
popular onTikTok?T
hereisashortvideoonline
thatshowsanAmerican
teenageboysittingina
carwithaT-shirtdraped
overhishead,complaining
loudlythathistakeawayorderis
incorrect.Anothervideoshows
ateenagerwithatowelonhis
headcriticisingacafé foropening
threeminuteslate.Bothboysare
pretendingtobemyfavourite
internetvillain–Karen.
Onthevideo-sharingapp
TikTokthereare720mviewsfor
videosdedicatedtoKarenjokes.
Millionsmoreifyouinclude
#karenchallenge,#calmdownkaren
and#respectthedripkaren(ajoke
aboutmiddle-agedwomennot
understandingfashion).Thereare
KarenmemesonInstagram
andYouTubeaswell.Wherever
Americanteenscongregateonline,
youwillfindjokesaboutKaren.
Theideaofusingthename
asagenerictermforobnoxious
grown-upsissupposedtohave
startedonReddit,afterauser
postedcomplaintsabouthis
ex-wife.Itcanbeusedasa
shorthandforbigotsand,because
thereisnomaleequivalent,it
canalsobeusedtomakesexist
jokes.Butmostofthetime,teens
useittodescribeanannoying,
interferingadult.Karensaremoms
–pushyones.Theysharecorny
inspirationalquotesonFacebook,
buymerchandiseinscribedwith
“LiveLaughLove”andlovetoruin
teenagefun.
WhatreallymarksoutaKaren,
however,istheircapacityto
complainandgettheirownway.
Ifyoueverworkedinashopor
restaurantwhenyouwereyounger,youwillrememberwhotheKarens
were–theyweretheoneswho
askedtospeaktoyourmanager.
TheideaofKarenshas
beenaroundforawhile.Afew
monthsago,awomancaught
onvideointheUSshoutingand
makingfacesatanotherdriver
wasdubbedtheultimateKaren.
Butthenumberofjokesseems
tohavekickedupagearsince
thecoronaviruspandemicforced
millionsofAmericanteenagers
toleaveschoolsandcollegesand
returnhome.
Allgoodpoetryisthe
spontaneousoverflowofpowerful
feelings,claimedWilliam
Wordsworth.Thesamecanbe
saidofmemes.Inthepastfew
weeks,TikTokhasbecomethe
mosteffectiveblackholeformany(andnotjustteenagers)
todisappearintowhenreality
feelsoverwhelming.
Thevarietyofcontentmakes
itbyfarthemostabsorbingapp
Ihaveonmyphone.Itisalsoa
socialnetworkfilledwithstrangers
–whichfeelsperfectforthis
dislocatedperiodoftime.Pristine
photographspostedonInstagram
areannoyinginacrisis,while
WhatsAppmessagescanbring
badnews.TikTok,though,isjust
silly.ThefactthatT-shirtsand
teatowelsaresupposedtodenote
Karen’slonghair,butlooknothing
likeit,isoneofthousandsofmicro
visualandaudiojokes.
TikTok’sChineseparent
ByteDanceisvaluedat
$75bn,makingitthemost
valuablestart-upintheworld.
Thealgorithmthatdictates
thevideosyouseeisruthlessly
efficient.Glancedownatthe
appandbythetimeyoulookup
anhourcaneasilyhaveslipped
past.Itschiefcurrencyisdance
moves,in-jokesandyouth.
CharliD’Amelio,its firstUS
celebrity,is15yearsold.Anyone
bornbeforetheyear2000seems
tofeelcompelledtomakeajoke
abouttheiragewhenpostinga
video.Brandsandmoreestablished
celebritieshavejoinedbutnone
cancompetewiththewitand
editingskillsofteenagers.
Theapp’sGenZdemographic
alsomeansthatitisstuffedto
thebrimwithjokesabouttheir
mainstream,out-of-touchparents
andalltheotheradultswhoannoy
them–likeKaren.
Teenagersforcedtospendmore
timeathomewiththeirfamilies
needanoutletfortheirfrustration.
It’snotsurprisingthatTikTokat
themomenthasmorejokesabout
howannoyingadultscanbe–
orthatthejokescanbeextremely
sharp.Ilovethemanyway.Karens
mayjustbeamemebutthelonger
thiscrisislasts,themoreIfindthe
ideacomforting.
Thereissomethingsoothing
abouttheideaofagroupofpeople
willingtospeakupandcomplain
whentherestofusaresitting
instunnedsilence.Whentimes
areuncertain,itisalsodeeply
reassuringtoseethatteenagers
stillbelieveadultshaveeverything
undercontrol.‘Pristine photographs
posted on Instagram are
annoying inacrisis, while
WhatsApp messagescan
bring bad news.TikTok,
though, is just silly’T E C H
W O R L D
BYELAINE MOORE INDORSETILLUSTRATIONBYPÂTÉ