Twitter Taboo Language

As a child born into a world coloured by electronics and filled with Web 2.0 discourse, social media has painted my worldview. It is difficult to imagine my world without social media and constant “oversharing” as this has been a significant aspect of my life for as long as I can remember. Since receiving my first cell phone in the sixth grade, my mother has always been on my speed-dial and is one of the contacts with whom I am always in constant communication. After dramatically increasing the amount of information I sent to my mother through text messaging, I gained a greater understanding of the amount that oversharing has become naturalized in modern society. Through an emic analysis, I was able to understand the culture of oversharing by actively participating in this culture. An emic analysis is an effective method for studying the culture of oversharing, as being part of the culture highlights the impacts of the culture. In modern-day society, oversharing is taking place as a function of instant messaging through many different forms, such as texting, Facebook, and Snapchat. The participants in these practices have created a new culture of online communities and an entirely new lexicon, including emojis and acronyms. As well as the advantages brought by new technology, any new media will have inherent consequences. With texting, people have started oversharing through “sexting”, sending explicit messages or photographs. Social media platforms also have consequences of

Social Media is a form of communication in which a person shares information, personal ideas, and thoughts online. The foundation of social media began in 1997 when the first social media site Six Degrees was developed. Since 1997, social media has become an iconic name and has become part of this generation's conversation. There are over 100 million people using social media to gain access to the digital world, with over 20 social media sites including Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram (Milanovic 1). Roughly 80 percent of teens and 20 percent of adults use social media daily and almost half of the users were bullied or criticized for a single comment. Comments that include discrimination, sexism, or political beliefs can be retweeted to thousands in a matter of hours. “Accusations go viral, globally, within hours, and instead of having dozens of angry voices baying for your blood, you have tens of thousands” (Haley 1). Although social media has made it easier to communicate these sites, make it easier to be critical or prejudiced to others online instead of face-to-face.

The use of profanity has increased in the past couple of decades. According to Kristin Jay, a psychologist at Marist College who has collected data on public swearing, this is partly because, “…The media we used to consume were much more sanitized, and we had fewer things to choose from and less control over what we exposed ourselves to.” In addition to profanity being more common, there is also decrease in the average age that children learn swear words—in fact, according to Timothy Jay, a psychology professor at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, most children have

the suggestion of abnormality, of having something to hide...was itself a punishable offense” (Orwell, 65). In 1984, looking suspicious or emotional in front of a telescreen was dangerous and considered a punishable offense. In the present day, social media is the equivalent to the telescreens, it’s the means by which individuals display themselves publicly. Posting the wrong thing on social media can be dangerous because if it’s public, it’s exposed to open interpretation. Jon Ronson from the New York Times Magazine published an article giving a few instances of people sharing controversial postings on social media and receiving a major backlash for it. Specifically, Ronson talks about a woman named Justine Sacco who tweeted, “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!” Upon her arrival, she realized this tweet was trending. She was judged by her friends and family, and the tweet generated threats and harassment on the internet from the general public. As a result, Sacco lost her job and was scared to leave her own home. This incident is an example of the reasons why, in this day and age, we must be very careful with what we share publicly. Social media exemplifies of how our world is becoming like 1984. Any misstep in our words or actions can wind us

Over the year’s technology has evolved drastically. Technology that involves social media play a huge role in the way people interacts with one another especially when it comes to grammar. Most people communicate using their computers, mobile device or tablets. As technology is changing so has the language. Social media is one of the main forms of communicating with people. Sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Youtube are major social media outlets that are used daily to communicate with individuals near or far. It has formed language using mainly acronyms and emojis (pictures). Emojis has become popular in the past few

On February 12, 2015, journalist, Jon Ronson, published an article in New York Times Magazine containing information of thirty year old, Justine Sacco. For the time being, Sacco was the senior director of corporate communications at IAC and was bashed publicly on social media after interpreting racism on her Twitter account in 2014. In Ronson’s essay, “How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life,” he presents readers with his one-on-one interviews of Justine Sacco. In 2013, Justine Sacco was traveling during the holidays to visit her family when she began to post on Twitter. The first occasion of her racist tweets took place while she was leaving John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City. She took to twitter, “Weird German Dude: You’re in First Class. It’s 2014. Get some deodorant” (par. 3), in reference to a fellow passenger on her flight. The next episode took place in Heathrow, a London airport, where she tweeted, “Chilly- cucumber sandwiches- bad teeth. Back in London” (par. 5). Her last mishap was on her way to Cape Town, South Africa, as she cited, “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white” (par. 6). Amidst Ronson’s personal interviews with Justine Sacco, the two spoke in regards to what she tweeted onto her account. Sacco found her tweets humorous as she was posting them, but was quick to clarify that she was not being racist, when talking with Ronson. She was referred to as a racist person by tens of thousands of people and she believed she was being misread and wrongfully accused. There is a fine line between humor and seriousness when it comes to social media and Sacco lacked the knowledge of this philosophy.

Language and communication between different cultures is complex; the future holds many technological promises that will make these complexities easier to bear. This dialect decline can be credited to the industrialization of communication which exploits the human interest of entertainment, which in turn, expands and simplifies human communication. Billions of people of all walks of life have assimilated to the language of modern technology and billions more are left in the dusk. “Media exposure can spread new vocabulary and give people in different regions an understanding of the “standard American.” (PBS) The internet has allowed people to communicate farther than ever before, share knowledge at light speed pace. We feel that we do not have time to type “hey that was very funny” instead we type “LOL” we have simplified terms in speech and have become accustomed to the internet world: speed equals success. Society’s entrepreneurs and astute minds are constantly

In her article, “The Word Police”, Michiko Kakutani said “many gung-ho advocates of politically correct language seem to

Upon analyzing Fahrenheit 451, the novel's informal utilization of profanity could instruct students to communicate in an unprincipled method in the social world. In 1987, Dr. Kassinove, a psychologist, uncovered "that profanity led to decreased delayed compliance and to lower perceptions of trustworthiness" (Kurklen). This rigorous study is plainly expressing that utilizing a profane method of communication in society could lead to a privation

But only in the internet age have national conversations—in which anyone with internet can participate—been possible. This is, technologically and culturally, something of a miracle. It can also derail quickly. On Facebook and Twitter, any attempts at civil discourse, especially about matters as charged as rape, tend to quickly unravel. The tenor of national conversations, even among those who agree with one another, usually reach a fever pitch—and not necessarily productively.

Around the world today, there are 2,700 languages with over 7,000 individual dialects spoken. The English language alone has approximately 171,476 words and throughout the day, a person utilizes around 16,000 of them. Walking through a crowded school hallway decorated with banners and filled with chatter, every once in awhile a person hears a snippet of someone else’s conversation. Two teenage boys stand by a group of lockers, a few words made out  include- “slut” and “whore.” Walking further into the school, a group of students pass by, one of them calling out to another with a racial slur. Turning the corner before entering a classroom, another group of students blast a rap filled with violent lyrics and degrading comments.

Millions of people engage in social media every day. It has become a staple of our lives and can be a great thing if used appropriately and considerately. However, many people have come to abuse social media and media in general and have taken to posting content that is personal in nature and is best kept off the Internet. This is why I believe it’s time for people to stop and think of the consequences of what they are posting and consider what kind of content belongs on social media and what doesn’t.

Since the invention of the Internet, people have become indulged with its copious functions, from making advanced programs to learning how to do new projects to social media. Social media has evolved over the years, from Friendster to Myspace to Facebook, since the late 1990s, and people have incorporated it into their lives. It is the modern way for people to connect and communicate with anyone and everyone across the globe. Plus, social media is everywhere; people utilize it when they are on the bus, at the checkout line, and even when they are using the restroom. In Peggy Orenstein’s “The Way We Live Now: I Tweet, Therefore I Am,” she propounds that social media has altered society. Social media has changed society’s priorities, characteristics, and mentality.

For the past decade or so there has been a considerable shift in the way we communicate with each other; instead of speaking face-to-face, we prefer to stay in touch by way of a Facebook post or Tweet. Social media dominates our life whether we’re using it, or not. However, not all online dissonance has been healthy and civil. The internet has seen a rise in the number of trolls and predators that lurk the dark corners of the Internet. Threats, and heinous insults flood media networks like Reddit and Snapchat. Online predators who fling insults are enamored by the internet’s alluring anonymity and can’t give it up. Like Christine Rosen says in her article called, “In the Beginning Was the Word,” “technology has introduced new words, changed the meaning of others, and has even introduced new forms of language and communication” (230). The evolutionary trend and prevalence of people intentionally offending others online has led to a

Social media. We have all heard of it. We have all raved about it at some point in our lives. There is no doubt; it plays an imperative part of people’s lives today – users are reliant on social media. It is great that Mark Zuckerberg reminds us to say, “Happy Birthday” to our friends. Yet, we have all seen the dangers it can cause. From identity fraud to cyberbullying - we become exposed to the dangers of the internet. Not only is it hackers and frauds that cause destruction, but social networking posts. Every day, you scroll through Facebook, or Instagram - liking, sharing and commenting on posts. What people don’t see is how words on a ‘status’ or ‘tweet’ can hurt someone. They can’t see that a person’s feelings behind the screens on a computer have been destroyed, because they can’t see what they don’t want to see.