The Impact Of Social Media Platforms On The Language Of The 21St Century
Technology and social media platforms such as iMessage, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are impacting the language of the 21st century. As stated, “Since so much of the written language we see is now on the screens of our computers, tablets, and smartphones, language now evolves partly through our interaction with technology”. The language that surround the daily lives of this generation influence the word choices people use in daily interactions. Informal words that have entered the lexicon through technology should be added to the standard usage of language because they are commonly used among this generation due to their versatility and time saving qualities. Informal words used among the 21st generation within technology should be added to the standard usage of language because of their versatility. Informal language provides a new way of communicating through technology and social media.
To begin, abbreviations and acronyms are common uses of informal language within texting and social media. Texting acronyms such as OMG are commonly used among today’s generation. It is stated that, “OMG is only used to express shock or surprise at events or facts which are more trivial relative to the grand scheme of things. It therefore functions as a softer, more light-hearted alternative to the phrase it abbreviates and avoids offending anyone sensitive to references to the 'big man upstairs'”. OMG provides a way to express shock and surprise without having to say the Lord’s name in vain. Therefore, informal abbreviations should be added to the standard usage because they are shortened versions of words or
phrases that do not take away the original meaning of statements.
In addition, emoticons are another common use of informal language today. Emoticons are used among the people of today’s generation because they provide clarity. For example, “Realizing how easily the conversation could be misconstrued, the scientists concluded that they needed a better way to signal sarcasm — to distinguish the jokes from the everything else”. When texting or on social media, emoticons can be used to distinguish the tone of the writer. If the writer is being sarcastic, they might put the laughing emoticon. If the writer is sad, they might put the crying emoticon. These features prevent confusion about feelings among people when communicating.
A final form of informal language commonly used today is hashtags. Hashtags are used to distinguish keywords within a social media post. Posts that contain the same hashtags are then grouped together. It is stated, “Using hashtags makes it easy to cut through digital clutter focus only on the information we really want”. Hashtags should be added to the standard usage because of its organizational value within technology. These examples of informal language have provided this century with a more simplistic way of communicating. The use of these new language strategies is commonly used due to the amount of time they save.
First and foremost, using the abbreviations of words or phrases saves time, effort, and space. As stated, “They reduce long phrases to something we can quickly reference. We do this all the time as we simplify our inner complex thoughts to share information and understanding with others without confusing or boring them”. Abbreviations spread quickly among people because of their time saving qualities within technology. Additionally, emoticons provide a simpler way of communicating feelings. Jan Bruck claims, “It's almost impossible to convey gestures, body language and tone in a short, text message. As a result, Ganster says, emojis are often the only way for us to express emotion in an online text”. Instead of taking the time to write out feelings, a person can simply just put an emoticon which clearly depicts emotions. This technique saves time, effort, and space. Finally, hashtags save time when searching for topics on social media. Taylor states, “Hashtags simplify the process – Searching a hashtag pulls results for each post using that hashtag. Using a hashtag helps you reach your target audience, and likewise makes it easier for others to find your information”. Hashtags group items dealing with the same topic together. Rather than scrolling all over social media to find a specific topic, a person can simply type in the hashtag. This will bring up all the posts containing the specific hashtag that deals with the topic the person was originally searching for. The use of hashtags saves tons of time when looking for specific ideas or topics. Conclusively, abbreviations, emoticons, and hashtags are all forms of informal language that save time, effort, and space when using technology; therefore, these informal techniques should be added to the standard usage.
Some argue that informal words should not be added to the standard language because the overuse of these words can cause a negative effect upon teenagers. For example, “Once the terms become too prevalent in a person’s vocabulary the individual can no longer differentiate between proper English and colloquial talk”. On the other hand, the use of informal words among teenagers is an advancement of language. Informal words and phrases created by teenagers through technology have provided new sources of communication among this generation.
Another argument is the use of informal language is considered lazy among some people. However, informal language is used because it saves time. Teenagers also use it because it is more effective and fun to use when communicating with peers.
In conclusion, social media platforms have allowed this generation to adopt informal words into the everyday vocabulary by connecting formal and informal language. Informal language should be added to the standard usage due to their versatility through abbreviations, acronyms, emoticons, and hashtags. Abbreviations shorten words or phrases without changing the original meaning, emoticons clarify the writers’ tone and emotion, and hashtags group common ideas and topics together. Using these features allow a person to save time due to the informal language’s shortened feature. All in all, informal language continues to enter the lexicon because it provides a simplistic and more effective way to communicate with people around us through technology.
