I'm a parent who has had children in day care for the last four years. The parallels between daycare for our toddlers and what many startups and big tech companies have provided and allowed to transpire are very clear to me and many of my peers. As a sibling comment stated, we've been using the phrase within our circles for many years. Those circles? Private group chats and friend groups. Mostly due to the climate in tech of mob mentality, groupthink, and the reaction against thoughts that run afoul of the orthodoxy of the week.
Your choice of wording suggests that you find the phrase or concept offensive, which would be understandable. But attacking the phrase as a talking point is shallow.
On the Internet, a new or rare term can suddenly start spreading like wildfire if it (a) is applicable to the topic everyone is suddenly talking about, and (b) perfectly captures something that people already recognise. It’s just life. It doesn’t mean everyone is an idiot or wrong or whatever. It’s just a word that works in the situation.
Yep, I understand how virality works. But virality works through networks. So when a word starts you can understand stuff about it through which network it originates from.
This can be something as silly as fan groups of a certain tv show, or as dangerous as propaganda from a foreign nation.
Your choice of wording suggests that you find the phrase or concept offensive, which would be understandable. But attacking the phrase as a talking point is shallow.