Gen Zers have been called everything from “snowflakes” to “psychos.”
Now, thanks to a new viral music video, they’re proudly calling themselves “haters.”
New York-based rock outfit Infinity Sound — comprised of siblings Abraham, 30, Angel, 27, Israel, 25, and Momo, 24 — is burning up TikTok with a teaser of their upcoming single, “Haters Anthem,” boasting 3.1 million views and counting.
“I love the way it feels to be a hater. Something so sweet about thinking that I’m better,” the lyrics state boldly.
Younger TikTokers have quickly adopted the song, which will be available on all streaming services Aug. 25, as a kind of mantra, using the track on scores of TikTok videos where the users proudly refer to themselves as “haters.”
The catchy tune even struck a chord with actress Keke Palmer and rapper Doja Cat, who shared videos of the song on their social media feeds this month.
Some say the song has inspired them to own up to their love of gossip, or other so-called petty behaviors.
In one video, a young woman admitted that she and her bestie “sit in the car for hours talking about every person [they’ve] ever met” while sipping on their Starbucks.
Another shared that she unfollowed “literally everyone who has unfollowed” her “one by one” after recently noticing that she lost a follower on social media.
Others used the song as an opportunity to voice their opinions without shame.
“Me because I don’t think the new Victoria’s Secret show needs to be inclusive with their models,” the caption of one video posted by TikTok user @Tala read. “The fantasy of being perfect is the best part.”
That video has since ignited a spirited argument over the hotly debated fashion show.
Glenda Vanderkam, 24, who also used the audio track to proclaim herself a “professional hater,” told NBC News that being a “hater” is about “having something to say.”
“I literally live in people’s comments on TikTok,” she said. “Sometimes we just want to give constructive criticism.”
But some “haters” are getting a taste of their own medicine.
When user @isadora called herself a “proud fat shamer,” telling her followers: “You’re not thick you’re fat get in the gym before your heart stops babe. It’s okay I was once there too maybe just care for yourself,” a torrent of criticism resulted in her post disappearing from the app.
Melanie Joy, a psychologist specializing in oppression, told The Post she believes the trend is “a backlash to the current culture of inclusivity” and being woke.
“I can imagine, for young people in particular, throwing all caution to the wind and just saying, ‘Whatever, I’m a hater. I hate and I’m gonna be okay with that and I’m gonna put it out there for the world to see,'” said Joy, the author of “How to End Injustice Everywhere: Understanding the Common Denominator Driving All Injustices.”
“[This is] almost…a way of dealing with the pressure of feeling that they have to be perfect in their communication,” she noted.
Joy related she’s constantly hearing from people who fear that no matter what they say, “it’s never the right thing” or that “it’s never safe to communicate.”
Others worry, she said, that they’ll get “attacked” for voicing something “in a way that isn’t as sensitive or ideal as some people think it should be.”
“When we’re morally outraged, we perceive ourselves as somehow morally superior to others and we, therefore, feel like we have a right to treat them in ways that are harmful or disrespectful,” Joy said.
However, Momo, the songwriter behind “Haters Anthem” told The Post her lyrics shouldn’t be taken too literally, that the song was actually written ironically as a reflection of the envy and jealousy that often result from “comparing yourself to others in real life or on the internet” and the reality of “how destructive that behavior can be.”
“The song really touches on the juxtaposition of simultaneously having a superiority complex and inferiority complex and having such strong emotions on both sides of the spectrum,” she said.