A derisive term used mostly by Millennials and Gen-Z (or "
cool" members of Gen-X) to describe the concept of television. It is derived from the term "Baby Boomer", meaning someone born between 1945 and 1965, with "Box" referring to the television set itself. As such, the term can loosely be translated as "Old Person Device/Entertainment".
Because most young people eschew TV, preferring instead to consume media on the
internet, the idea of "watching TV" has become uncool and obsolete, like listening to vinyl records or reading newspapers. The youngest of Gen-Z may even be the first generation to not actually grow up watching live television since the medium was invented, as modern streaming services and tablet computers now cater to young children as well as adults.
The word "Boomerbox" is usually said with mocking connotations, emphasising the speaker's dismissiveness towards such an outdated technology. However, it can sometimes be said with mild affection or nostalgia by those who grew up watching TV before the rise of
internet streaming, but who have since made the
switch to only watching media online.
Most of the
time, though, the word is used in its negative context. There is literally nothing that TV can do that the
internet can't do better, with the exception that a family watching TV together is distinctly less awkward than a family crowding around a laptop screen to watch a
YouTube video, or read definitions on Urban
Dictionary.
Person A: "Did you
catch that show on TV last night?"
Person B: "Hell no! I can't remember the last
time I even thought about the boomerbox. I spent last night on
Netflix, dude."
