The term slacker, in contemporary western culture, applies generally to young people who are intentionally underachieving at school, work or life in general. Slackers reject prevalent societal values, specifically the Protestant work ethic,"Doing Nothing". On Point. NPR. WBUR, Boston. 30 May 2006. 31 May 2006. and are frequently perceived as lazy, "good for nothing", and mooching off of others (typically parents, family members or girlfriends/wives). Apart from meaning lazy, slacker may also be used to insinuate habitual procrastination and a disorganized, slovenly lifestyle.

A typical stereotype is someone that spends their adult life barely employed in a series of dead end jobs more frequently held by teenagers such as fast food or the movie theater. These people are typcally depicted as living in their parent's basement, where they play video games, eat junk food, and interact with others primarily via the internet.

In general use there is no non-pejorative use of the term except in joking terms. A slacker is perceived to be a loser of no redeeming value.

Historical Use

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The term was commonly used in the United States in World War I and World War II to describe men who were avoiding the military draft. But in the 90's it specifically referred to a variety of tendencies in the young generation—a use popularized by Robert Zemeckis's movie Back to the Future in 1985 by Mr. Strickland, the School principal.

Later, in 1991, Richard Linklater's movie Slacker spawned the label "slacker generation." A typical slacker is characterized by a static, unenthusiastic air manifesting in an apparent lack of effort. This lack of motivation is usually represented as a status of unemployment or only minor employment in the service industry.

The slacker ideal is also resonant with the notion of slack in the Church of the SubGenius, but the overall concept is substantially different.

Computers

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The term Slacker is also used for a person who uses or advocates use of the Slackware distribution of Linux. Ironically, Slackware is widely considered the most technically oriented and UNIX-like distribution ("Slackware has been traditionally known to be about as user friendly as a coiled rattlesnake" write the owners of VectorLinux), although many also consider it the most stable distribution. This use of "Slack" comes from the Church of the SubGenius. Slackware does fit in with the concept of slacker in that it follows the KISS principle, relying heavily on simple, flexible text scripts rather than fancy yet brittle GUI elements. The Slackware logo is Tux the penguin with a corncob pipe.

See also

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• The Idler (1993)

References

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Demographics | Subcultures

Slacker | Slacker