Beta
Declining🎒High School🔶Manosphere originDefinition
A casual insult meaning weak, passive, or lacking confidence. Originally from the (debunked) wolf pack dominance hierarchy that the manosphere adopted, but at this point it's just standard teen trash-talk. 'That's so beta' is used the same way as 'that's so weak' without any ideological weight behind it.
Translation for Parents
Relax, your kid is just calling someone (or being called) a wimp. 'Beta' has been floating around the internet so long it's basically lost its manosphere charge for most teens. It's on the same level as saying someone is a 'pushover.' The whole alpha/beta hierarchy comes from wolf research that the original scientist debunked himself, but that's a fun fact for dinner, not a cause for alarm. The only time to pay attention is if your kid seems genuinely invested in ranking people into alpha/beta/sigma tiers as a real worldview, not just roasting their friend for being indecisive about where to eat.
Dad Mode: Likely a Meme
I know this site is mostly jokes. But I'm still a dad. This one started in Debunked wolf hierarchy study (1947) → pickup artist forums (2000s) → mainstream insult. Your kid is probably just memeing. But if you're hearing a bunch of these together, maybe ask about it over pizza.
Examples
“Don't be such a beta bro just ask her”
“Stop being so timid, just go talk to her”
“That's beta behavior fr”
“That's a weak/passive thing to do”
Cringe Score
Your kid will cringe
This is just 'wimp' with internet branding at this point. Most teens using it couldn't tell you what the manosphere is. It's casual trash-talk, not ideology.
Category
insult
Peak
2022-06
Last Verified
2026-02-25
Sources
editorial