The Impact of Social Media on Language Essay Sample

Today the internet, as well as social media, run the public's perspective. The perspectives on climate, government, gender issues, and the interaction of all the people we know. The public uses social media for conversation and to communicate or express anything from opinions to ideologies. With that in mind with steady use of social media people old and young both are losing key language skills influenced through the use of social media. Especially for the younger generation, the use of social media has led to the way that humans speak and communicate to degrade and become almost primal. Dialect and communication have evolved but that doesn’t mean that verbal and written language hasn’t taken several steps in the wrong direction. With that in mind, the use of social media has led to the evolution of simple diction and structured language to crumble.

First of all, the use of social media has created the sub-dialect of slang and the use of shortening and foreign phrases. For example, a recent study stated “Usually, the use of slang is often found among young people. In their daily life, they use slang more often than the standard language that already exists.”(Maulidiya). The language changes are more commonly accepted in the younger generation as they set examples and standards. This leads to the idea of using commonly accepted terms and phrases leading to the popularization of slang. The same study went on to say “Slang is commonly used because it is more comfortable and not stiff when spoken”(Maulidiya). When analyzing language there will always be the use of slang and other ways that are commonly comprehended as simple but acceptable in society. The problem is the amount of slang and simplistic terms being used in higher abundance in today's society damaging linguistic roots.

Carrying on language has a base but branches out and changes. Spoken dialect today and phrases are used differently throughout different communities. Not only different communities but time as well for example the use of Shakespearean dialect and 15th-century grammar in 2022 isn’t common. This is shown in a paper that says “Language, in other words, varieties not only according to a social characteristic of the speaker (such as his social class, ethnic group, age, and sex). The same speaker uses the different linguistic varieties in different situations and different purposes”(Martina). As previously mentioned, language changes and evolves due to several factors including repeated exposure and communal differences. It so happens social media is just one of the many tools that are changing basic communication daily. The popularization of rap slang for example repeated exposure of phrases and slang in music has made them socially recognized. This was demonstrated by a study that said “The results revealed that general use of a hip-hop term most strongly predicted vocabulary acquisition; so the more that a word is used in a similar context by different artists, the more likely it is to be picked up in general language acquisition.”(Rojas). So polarizing figures in the media have demonstrated that they have an effect on the public and the way that common language changes.

Coming off that point it has been observed that the popular figureheads and power figures that have followings have changed common dialect. A huge example was the feud between 2020 Presidential candidates and their followers' use of terms coined by each figurehead. Donald Trump in particular created an overwhelming amount of terms to identify people, political parties, and several other things. He created derogatory and rude slang for fellow opponent Joe Biden calling him names such as Crazy Joe, China Joe, and Sleepy Joe Biden. For example, this article stated, “Trump’s words are aimed at producing strong reactions, he knows that he’ll evoke a strong reaction from both the media and his followers”(Danisch). Many people took to social media and repeated the derogatory names creating commonality with the phrases. Social media allowed for people to view his comments and then spread them to the point almost anyone recognized the phrases and who they were associated with. The widespread use of slang terms was found in the public's diction and dialect when conversing on the topic even to this day.

Wrapping up society has social media to thank or blame for the common language changes we experience every day. The ability to spread terms and phrases is a gift and a curse in itself. It allows for education and people to be informed on terminology and events that affect language. Yet it allows for simplistic terms and slang to dominate social media viewed on billions of screens a day spreading diction that hurts the overall spoken and read language as a whole. But it also depends on the users and influencers in the media whether it be a rapper, political figure, or everyday person to further evolve dialogue for the better. Again it goes to show that social media contributes heavily to the deterioration of language today and for the future.