What 'bop' means and why all parents should be aware of this nasty term (2025)

An expert wants all parents to understand the meaning behind this nasty word that is floating across social media and school playgrounds.

Bullying and cyberbullying can take on many forms and can repeatedly go unnoticed by parents if they aren't aware of the meaning behind some seemingly innocent words or phrases. One new nasty term that is currently making the rounds, that parents should be aware of, is affecting teenage girls.

When you first hear this word, many Gen X-ers and millennials will associate it with fun and friendly connotations from their past, but today's meaning is a complete divergence from how the word used to be used.

For many of us the word 'bop' would be associated with songs we really enjoy or it brings back memories of school discos and some very questionable and embarrassing dance moves. However, this "innocent" term, along with the phrases "school bop" and "lala bop", now have a much more alarming meaning.

These words are now being used to shame young girls by labelling them as promiscuous, reports the Mirror. 'Bops', which is being used both on- and offline, is being used by teenagers as a derogatory slang term for a woman who essentially 'bops' between lots of men.

This is a new development in 'sl**-shaming', where other people shame another person - more commonly a female rather than a male - for their 'supposed' sexual activity. This nasty phrase has become so popular that it is now trending on social media sites.

According to website Parents, this form of shaming takes things further than ever before as by commenting this phrase on someone's social media you can leave a "digital proof" that will follow that person around for years to come, even if they aren't a target of bullying anymore.

This vile phrase, which is based on someones 'supposed' body count, started becoming popular a few years ago in late 2022 after a person posted a song called 'Lala Bop' to draw attention to another person's dating history. Three years on, and there are now over 321,000 posts on Tiktok with "#bop" included.

In her own Tiktok video, chief parent officer at Bark Technologies and co-author of Parenting in a Tech World, Titania Jordan warned other parents their daughters may either become the users of, or be a target of, this nasty phrase.

Titania explained in her video what a 'Lala Bop' is. She said: "What's 'Lala bop'? I'm so glad you asked. It's not kind and it's a trend that started in late 2022 when a TikTok user posted a song by that same name.

"The song has since started being used in call out videos that shame people for allegedly dating around or being promiscuous. Lala bop has also evolved to become a general video call out for any sort of ill-favoured behaviour.

"Someone may be targeted really for anything deemed negative. Not surprisingly, lala bops are used extensively in cyber bullying situations.

"Unfortunately, lala bops are most commonly directed at females as it implies that they have a high 'body count', which is slang for how many people someone has hooked up with. Lala bops may not even be true and could just be vicious rumours circulating.'"

Whether heard in real life or on social media, being coined as a 'bop' can be extremely harmful to young women, and Titania is hoping more parents will become aware of social media slurs and their negative impact.

Now that parents are becoming aware of these phrases, she wants them to see this kind of content as an opportunity to "discuss the lasting implications of hurtful words, gossip or memes posted on social media."

She added: "For the lala bop trend specifically, it's an opportunity to talk about three things with your kids: consent, digital literacy and judgement."