Doing something to oppose racism, climate change and sexism is woke. By the way: the term “woke” was being used during the civil rights movement as early as the sixties by African Americans to bring attention to racism.

People in Germany who campaigned on behalf of refugees were being called “Gutmenschen” – do-gooders – back in 2015.

“Woke” people are also referred to as “snowflakes” by conservatives, in other words as hypersensitive or easily offended, as well as self-righteous people who only help others in order to feel better themselves. In the conservative bubble, “woke” is considered a pejorative term for people who are more politically left wing. People are labelled “woke” if they see these things and do something about them. These issues include racism, climate change and sexism. “Woke” people speak out on behalf of weaker ones, addressing their problems and in an ideal situation even helping them to overcome them. Alert in terms of social currents or trends – but also with regard to injustice or discrimination. “Woke” is when a person is awake or alert. Not all the words are English, although most of them are.

Generation Z, or “Gen Z” for short – in other words the age groups born from 1997 onwards – have their own terminology just like any other generation. If you see that on the internet somewhere, it means: watch out – this is important. And I bet you read stuff on the internet that you don’t understand from time to time, don’t you? Incidentally, “fyi” means for your information. It’s important because it will help you understand young people. Never been on TikTok, don’t feel remotely woke and have no idea which things in your life are cheugy? Then you need to read this – a quick explanation for everyone who needs bringing up to speed on teenage slang.

What is the opposite of woke