Not all that long ago, comedian George Carlin used to build his routines around observations of our society and its tendency to transform our language in odd twists and turns. He would talk about how some very plain-spoken approaches to things in our world became unusable in polite discussions and how people demanded they be replaced with something softer and less offensive. So “false teeth” became “dental appliances,” “the dump” became a “landfill” and “constipation” became “occasional irregularity.”
Of course, our sensitivities didn’t end in the 1990s with Mr. Carlin’s comedic elbows to the rib cage. If anything, we’ve cranked up our touchiness dial to 10 thanks to the massive public square called social media. On sites such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube people gather together daily to chew over all the many things that bother them and all the many ways that communication must be changed.
Our online communiques have gotten shorter and unpunctuated, for instance. In fact, whole sentences are now boiled down to short acronyms. (LOL!) Not only that, but we’ve seen the definitions of many words shift. For example, when was the last time you heard the words “catfish,” “troll” or “cloud” in the context of their original Webster definitions?
For that matter, because of the fast pace of the internet, everything evolves and gets foisted upon users (whether we like it or not) at the speed of an “on-fleek” TikTok dancer. (I’ll let you look that one up yourself.)
Here’s an example: In August of this year, a Chicago-based content creator went viral with videos about being “very demure, very mindful” in our daily activities. Suddenly, everyone was talking about the “demure” trend. Then recently, a schoolteacher posted about using the word “demure” in class and instantly being rebuffed by her young students. Yep, demure was in … a heartbeat later it’s out! (Even more out than “skibidi” or “skippity,” it would appear.)
Oh, and there are plenty of non-skibidi words that you may be regularly using that have already been labeled “verboten” while you weren’t looking. The word “verboten” for instance. (You know, because of those Nazi connotations.) Oh, and the term “brainstorm” is so far out it’s only a drizzle. You may think it means “a sudden bright idea” or “a group discussion for the purpose of solving a problem or coming up with new ideas.” But lately, folks online have been offended by its original, albeit dated definition. When it first showed up circa 1861, it meant “a violent transient fit of insanity,” and some people are unhappy with that usage.
Anyway, my point is that our language is shifting so fast that even if George Carlin were still around, he’d likely have a hard time making much of a routine about the changes. (Even his foul-mouthed stuff is almost passé these days.) By the time he’d get around to dreaming up a quip about “demure” trends and new word usage, people would have moved on and forgotten or they’d be incredibly offended.
So, what does all that mean for you if you’re the parent of a youthful sort who’s just wading into the fast-paced social streams? Well, it simply suggests that you probably don’t have to fret over the sizable truckloads of new definitions, trends, memes and phrases. You’ll probably never have the time to keep up with them anyway. (Although you can read about a lot of them in Plugged In’s weekly “On the Radar” blog.) Just do your best and encourage the teens to keep it clean and problem free. After all, they’ll know what everything means.
However, I might suggest one thing, just for fun. Stop worrying over what’s in and what’s not, and start using our beautiful, robust language in full glorious sentences. Insert words your kids have never heard of. Start referencing their new britches, or how frowzled their coiffure looks, or maybe ask them if they want to go out and gallivant for a bit. Just see how puzzled they begin to look.
Hey, it’ll make for a secret hootenanny for you.
