Meet the Karen family tree: Jessica and David are the millennial and male versions you can’t escape
Karen has given birth to a whole new menace: Jessica, her millennial daughter born in the late ’80s or ’90s, causing havoc online
By Aaron Sugg
You’ve met Karen, the middle-class, white diva down at your local Waitrose, but have you met her millennial daughter Jessica and her male counterpart David? Trust me, you don’t want to.
Karen has become the universal term for someone who demands to “speak to the manager” – a hospitality and retail worker’s worst nightmare.
The term went viral around 2018 after clips circulated on social media of women with a certain… demeanour, making complaints to workers dealing with the general public.
Meet Karen’s daughter, Jessica
Since then, however, Gen Zs have declared Karen has given birth to a whole new menace: Jessica, her millennial daughter born in the late ’80s or ’90s, causing havoc online.
Much like her mother, Jessica also has a catchphrase, often softening the blow with: “I’m not trying to be rude, but…” followed by a cut-throat comment.
When making complaints via social media, she will write to platforms such as Facebook (very millennial), tagging the institution in her sights before delivering her killer opinion.
If Karen is the controversial auntie drunk on middle-shelf Sauvignon blanc you don’t want to sit next to at Christmas dinner, then Jessica has inherited every bit of her mother – but with her French-tipped finger permanently hovering over the post button ready for internet warfare.
Meet Karen’s male-counter part, David
Though Karen originally referred only to women, the term has now expanded to include middle-class men in your local DIY shop kicking up a fuss over spilt paint.
According to data reported by Pedestrian, using complaints obtained from Trustpilot, “David” has left 20,020 one-star reviews since the site launched in 2007.
Carolyn Jameson, a spokesperson for Trustpilot, dubbed him “Difficult David.” You can often find David with his wife, “Satisfied Susan,” at your local tapas bar – who, unlike her complaint-loving partner, will sit there smiling.
Who is Susan?
Meet Susan: Attitude describes her as your quintessential Facebook mum with exactly 10 followers – three of whom are definitely her siblings and the rest: parents she’s met on the school run.
Her camera roll is 90 per cent toes-out holiday snaps and 10 per cent cocktail pictures with no aesthetic whatsoever, most definitely accompanied by a “Live, Laugh, Love” quote.
You can usually spot Susan in the comments of every local Facebook group post, sharing Minion memes from 2012 like they never went out of fashion.
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