Of memes, emojis and LOLs
One night as I was on my way home from traffic-infested Ortigas, I honestly felt lost. Not because I didn’t know where I was, but because people around me started making me doubt my ability to understand coherent sentences.
There were words I could clearly recognize coming out of their mouths, sure, but many words that were being woven into the conversations made me realize how far I was from understanding any of it.
Language has always been dynamic. It adapts to trends and shapes accordingly through word of mouth, with social media playing a vital role in speeding up its evolution.
Let’s face it: We spend most of our time talking to people online – whether on a messaging app or somewhere else deep in the internet.
As easy as communication has gotten over the years, language has drastically evolved and with it come repercussions.
Only a decade ago, we were head over heels over the breakthrough of text messages becoming the mass form of communication, but now, we’re steadily breaking ground at the possibility of virtual reality as a medium for communication.
Everything’s evolving too fast, with advancements in technology along with the continued rise of social media giving way to a hybrid form of language among people everywhere.
Suddenly, we have begun communicating by way of memes, pop culture references, emojis, and a lot more of random expressions that have made conversing a lot more personal but extremely difficult to follow at the same time.
As much as we are able to express our thoughts more creatively, we are left to shoulder the responsibility of being updated with the latest trends in language.
Either you’re able to pick it up right now or you won’t be able to pick up anything at all.
While conversations turn more intimate, language tends to become too diverse and exclusive to certain groups, leading to frequent misinterpretations. As juvenile as some of these methods are, society has slowly begun to accept the evolution and to even expand into newer forms of language.
Communication has always been a two-way process. No amount of pop culture references can let you convey your feelings if the person you’re talking to has never heard of it; no amount of emojis can express your frustration if the person you’re talking to doesn’t have a compatible phone to decode it.
The way language is expanding right now ironically opens itself to many restrictions. In the past, we’re not able to put as much color to our thoughts compared to now, but there’s a certain charm to keeping one’s message straight and simple.
I wouldn’t want to be the only one who couldn’t understand a single thing in a city that never stops talking.