Here's a strange new trend amongst Gen-Z Americans. Many are adopting phony British accents as a way to cope with anxiety and awkward situations, influenced by popular UK reality shows, TikTok "fake British accent" videos, and a desire to appear easygoing during moments of frustration or discomfort.
For example, Asher Lieberman, a 21-year-old college student, adopted a British accent as a defense mechanism during a date when he mispronounced an order, and also playfully used it as a conflict-management tactic when asking his roommate to take out the rubbish.
"I asked my roommate, 'Can you please take out the rubbish,'" Lieberman explained, sounding like an EastEnders guest star. "It's me being playful. It's the British part of me asking for something that needs to be done, not the real me."
A couple of other examples cited in the article include a 30-year-old tech marketing professional in the Bay Area adopting a Cockney accent to lighten a vulnerable conversation with her boss ("'I said, 'It's affecting me mental health, innit?'"), and a 29-year-old Brooklyn hairstylist switching to a British accent to recover from oversharing with a client ("Maybe my brain thinks it makes whatever weird shit I just said more palatable.").
Read: Why are so many young Americans adopting fake British accents?
