Jayden Szeto - Week 5 - How Social Media and Technology Shapes Language
Growing up in an era of smartphones, computers, and social media, I have witnessed firsthand the way platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok have shaped and added to the American language.
Emojis, for example, have completely changed the way people communicate and have even transformed into a language of its own in a way. How often have we just responded to a message with a thumbs up, heart, or crying emoji? I have met so many people who have just replied to a message with just a single emoji, but I still know what they are thinking even without directly communicating it to me. Emojis convey emotions and reactions with a tiny picture. Even people who know different languages can easily understand what you are trying to say, which is helpful for bridging language gaps.
Then there are memes, which are used to comment on current events, serve as a topic to talk about, or even just a way to communicate everyday struggles. Some are easily relatable, humorous, and always changing. One day, everyone is talking about cats and generative AI and then another day it's about smurf cat.
Social media has also drastically changed the everyday language people use. With word limits on some platforms, and the desire to have a more convenient way of communicating, there has been an increase in acronyms, such as “TDLR” (Too lazy, didn’t read), “lol” (laugh out loud), ”btw” (by the way), and “gtg” (got to go), which have all become solidified their place in our digital, and sometimes even not digital vocabulary. I remembered the first time one of my friends used something like that, I had to ask them what it meant because I was absolutely clueless as to what it meant. Nowadays, I feel comfortable using and understanding them.
It is also important to notice how much social media is influencing us in other ways as well. For example, social media platforms like TikTok, have made songs, phrases, and dances become viral overnight. I still remember my sister trying to teach me the “Renegade” dance after seeing it countless times on TikTok and all over Youtube as well. Platforms like these also have popularized so much slang, such as “its giving ___,” “stop yapping” (stop speaking nonsense), and so much more. While this can lead to a wider variety of vocabulary, sometimes it can also be a bad thing. Some parents, either too lazy to take care of their children or just give their children more freedom than others, have made it easier for their children to learn slang, which is not always a good thing. The internet and social media is filled with some weird and racist stuff these days, which makes it a dangerous place for younger people. This is why I think the media has positive AND negative effects on American language, which is normal because most things always have a good and bad side to it.
Hi Jayden! I love the topic you chose to write about this week, since it is one of the most evident examples of the evolution of English in the modern day. As you said, the internet is constantly evolving, adding new words to the vocabularies of thousands of teenagers every day; many of the examples you provided were very relatable for me due to my familiarity with current internet trends. The conclusion you made about the internet having both positive and negative effects on its users was very enlightening because of the interesting claims it made about life having both positive and negative aspects. I agree with this point, and also the point you made just before it—that the internet is not a safe place for young children due to the nature of the content available on it. That point is likely relatable for anyone who browses through social media for more than a few minutes a day, since it is probable that they have seen some content that they feel is racist, inappropriate, or offensive. This is why I believe that parents should try to be cautious of the ideas and language that their children are exposed to online, especially if the children are young for the platform they are on.
ReplyDeleteHi Jayden, I agree that technology has had a huge effect on the way people in America talk. I like the way you included emojis as an example because now that I think about it, it allows us to accurately convey our emotions through texts. An emoji can entirely change the tone of a message and how a person receives the message. For example, adding a smiley face or the crying emoji at the end of the text can show that it is meant to be light hearted and unserious. In a way, texting with emojis is a helpful tool for people that are unable to communicate their emotions or words properly in person. A negative aspect that I have noticed is that technology has depleted many teenagers’ attention spans, whether it is listening to a teacher’s lecture in class or having a conversation with other people. A big cause of this is Tik Tok or Instagram Reels, as their use of short videos eventually depletes an individual’s attention span. I have personally experienced these effects because when I was younger, I was able to pay attention to people during conversations a lot longer but presently, I find it harder to process or keep up with longer conversations. I think this toll on many teenagers in America will affect the way we talk and make us stray away from deeper and longer conversations.
ReplyDeleteHi Jayden! I really liked your blog topic. I think that the effects of social media are very important to cover, especially today, where people are becoming more and more connected with the internet, and especially after the pandemic, in which the younger (and older) generations became obsessed with social media and online entertainment, as it was the only safe way to communicate with others. I like your concise introduction, and your usage of a rhetorical question to engage the reader more. I also really liked how you included examples of memes, or effects of social media, such as the smurf cat and the new slang that came from acronyms. The examples strengthen your argument and show that you are really familiar with the topic. Although I agree that social media is dangerous to younger kids, who can be exposed to harmful content, I somewhat disagree with slang occasionally being bad. I don't think that the usage of slang is demeaning or damaging to the English language and grammar, but instead a natural evolution of language that people constantly see.
ReplyDeleteHi Jayden! I think your blog topic is very interesting. I agree that social media impacts lanuage greatly but I would not say that it only applies to the American lanuage. Social media impacts everyone greatly no matter where you are. Over the pandemic, I met lots of online friends from all over the world. We were able to bond over the social media we consume and connect over the lanuage we shared. In this lanuage, it was mainly english mix of the abbreviations (gtg, lol, btw, etc) and slang (it's giving, stop yapping, etc) like the ones you mentioned. It is amazing how through the use of main stream social media things like emojis and phrases unique to one lanuage is known throughout the world.
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