There’s nothing that makes a parent want to walk out into the sun and turn into dust more than when they try to use slang from their youth, and their child tells them it’s lame. There is also nothing that scares a parent more than having to learn their child’s slang to understand what they’re talking about.
When it comes to preteens, tweens, and young teens, sigma is a word you’ve heard thrown around. While it could refer to a college fraternity or sorority, this is the sigma meaning, slang term, the way teens are using it.
What the sigma?
Mewing, Ohio, gyat, and sigma are just a few words that teachers have banned in classrooms across the country. We want to focus on sigma, what it means, why your teen is using it, and how to talk to your teen about using slang.
Sigma in real terms
Before we jump into the slang version, please know sigma has real meaning in the real world. Sigma is the 18th letter of the Greek alphabet and refers to the “s” sound. In mathematical terms, the uppercase sigma refers to a summation of quantities or numbers, and the lowercase sigma stands for the standard deviation.
First, there was alpha
In the beginning, there was the alpha male. Think of the alpha males from all those teen movies we used to watch. Picture the most popular guy in school who is always the star of the movie. Envision the class president, who is also captain of the football team and valedictorian. Those guys are always depicted as the alpha. They need the cheer from the crown and often make decisions to keep their fans happy.
Then comes sigma
In modern times, kids have taken the alpha and made him just a little bit cooler. In simple terms for adults to understand, someone who is sigma doesn’t need to have a lot of friends because they are independent and self-sufficient. A person is sigma if they don’t have to have that entourage behind them all of the time. They can be the strong, lone wolf.
The difference between alpha and sigma
Alpha and sigma are both high energy, big aura characters. They are both popular, high-ranking individuals. The main difference between the two is an alpha is more boisterous.
Characteristics
Sigmas and alphas share a lot of common traits, but sigmas have a few additional traits.
- Self-sufficient
- Humble
- Cool
- More introverted
- A leader
- Quiet confidence
So, alpha or sigma
When it comes to which is cooler, sigma takes the top honors with the youth right now. While it isn’t bad to be an alpha, sigma is fire. Being sigma is like being an alpha, but better. You are just as cool, but you don’t need validation from others.
Alphas and sigmas are in the same category, but sigmas consider themselves outside the parameters of the hierarchy. A sigma could take or leave the fame because they don’t do something to try to fit in the way an alpha would. Sigmas tend to be more positive since they don’t carry that pressure to do what everyone else expects them to do to stay cool.
How to use sigma the right way
You could simply call someone sigma. You could call yourself sigma. It can be used as a sign of respect for someone. You can use sigma to say a thing is cool.
- That’s so sigma!
- You are so sigma.
- Are you sigma?
- I am sigma.
It’s that simple to use the term correctly and gain the respect of the youth.
Talk to your kids about slang
As a parent, or if you are an adult who spends time around kids in a school or mentorship setting, you should care about the slang they use. Even good slang can be turned on its head and mean something negative. Ignoring new slang words flowing through your house or not learning them because you “are old” isn’t going to cut it. Your kids are going to learn it, so you should, too.
When you hear a new slang word, look it up and then talk to your child about it. Go over boundaries, bullying, name-calling, and how to properly address being called a slang term in a negative way and to not use any language that puts others down. You could even turn it into a game, troll your kids to let them know you know what they are talking about, or use it as a bonding experience when you teach each other and you talk about the slang words from your time. It can be so fetch.
We hope you had a skibidi rizz of a time learning about the slang word sigma and its meaning. We know using more technology as you get older can be almost impossible, but learning a few words to stay connected to your kids or the children in your life doesn’t have to be so stressful. Beta, alpha, omega, or sigma, know the slang teens are using and stay connected to the next generation.
