The phrase comes from Gen Alpha internet slang that spread widely on TikTok and YouTube Shorts during 2024, where sigma was used as playful praise for a confident, independent character before becoming a catch-all joke word. Creators began pairing what the sigma with confused reactions to strange videos, gaming fails and absurd comments, turning it into shorthand for baffled disbelief rather than a serious compliment. Like other short reaction sounds such as bruh and oh my god, it survives because it is instantly recognisable, easy to drop into a one-second cut, and funny even without context.