Does Windsor have a higher concentration of so-called "Karens," or do we simply talk more about them on social media?
According to a new survey by onlinecasino.ca, Windsorites used the hashtag #Karen 64.83 times out of 100,000 households, the highest number in North America.
A Karen, for the uninitiated, is considered someone who mistreats service workers, makes unreasonable demands, and complains constantly. Despite the misogynistic trope, Karens aren't always women.
"While Karen tendencies are usually associated with middle-aged, entitled white women, younger people and men aren't exempt," wrote the survey's author, Sean Miller. "Seventy-eight per cent of survey participants reported they had seen Karen behaviour from a male, and 46 per cent witnessed Karen tendencies in Gen-Z'ers."
The second highest number of Karen posts from a Canadian city was Victoria, B.C., with 15.86 per 100,000 households.
Across North America, Austin, Texas, came in second with 48.01 posts.
The survey found fewer social media posts overall with the hashtag in Canada than in the U.S.
"Alberta came in as the top province for Karen density and is the only province to score a 5.0 [out of 10]," according to the survey results. "New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec and Saskatchewan all scored 3.0, the lowest of any province in the country."
Ontario scored 4.0.
Alabama, Ohio, and Oregon had the most social media posts across the border, scoring 6.0. Alaska had the least, scoring just 2.0.
It led Miller to one conclusion. Karens may not like cold weather.
The most often gripe associated with the behaviour was excessive complaining. The survey said 82 per cent of respondents said they had witnessed it. Seventy-seven per cent said they bore witness to someone mistreating service staff, while 75 per cent noted unreasonable demands. Demanding to speak to a manager was next on the list at 73 per cent, and 71 per cent cited anti-masking beliefs.
Onlinecasino.ca surveyed 1,252 Americans and 557 Canadians on April 4 and 5.
