Research Essay 

A renowned British Linguist, David Crystal once said “The only languages which do not change are dead ones.” With the rise of interconnectivity and the ascent of social media, language is anything but dead. Language and the way we communicate are constantly evolving. The effects of social media have been vast socially, economically, and culturally. Social media usage is at an all-time high and companies are constantly applying new social media language and trends to better appeal to their consumers. What has been considered a trivial form of online communication is now a method used to help people express their individuality and build a community. This essay will be analyzing the benefits social media has had on language and how it has affected how individuals/businesses approach marketing.

Social media has given people the freedom to use the English language however they choose to cause trends to appear that shape how everyone expresses themselves. In Hermione Foster’s article, “How is social media changing the English language?”, she addresses how social media has affected the English language due to the frequency and the way we communicate with each other online. She states that the “majority of what is written by the general public on social media is not edited, supervised or checked to ensure that proper use of the English language is taken into consideration.” (Foster 1) giving most people free reign on how they choose to communicate and can be viewed as a benefit due to the autonomy it allows them to express themselves as they see fit. She explains how this has caused words in the English language to be repurposed as social media has appropriated them. The writer provides one of many examples such as “Troll” which is a term used to describe someone who acts out for attention on the internet by performing making outrageous comments or actions about something or someone. Terms like this are created daily, adding to the constant stream of vocabulary being introduced to us every time we open Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, etc. She highlights the frequency at which new vocabulary is introduced online, its use to its eventual overuse, and finally its death. Due to the constant flood of entertainment and information, people’s attention spans have gradually decreased over time. That being said new words flow in and out of popularity. This is not always the case as some words remain popular and trendy. For example, when describing music as a “banger” has remained popular since the ’80s, and has done so thanks to its use on Social Media. Through Foster’s classification, the reader better understands the effects social media has had on the English language broadly.

Different types of communication allow people to communicate more extensively by allowing them to share ideas and information in various ways. Individuals hoping to capitalize off social media, attempt the most effective approaches to participate in the conversation and gain recognition. This can be achieved by examining the social interactions and linguistic trends found on social media. Katharine Pebworth highlights these linguistic trends in her article “Understanding the language of social media” where she discusses the many forms, they may take such as emojis, abbreviations, slang, neologisms, etc. The article states “There are new fads, trends, and words each week and social media is forever adapting and changing. It is one of the reasons that using new media is so exciting and fun because it doesn’t stay static, but that obviously poses challenges too.” (Pebworth 15) The author acknowledges the ever-changing environment that social media has provided to us as well as the benefit of it being “exciting and fun” while recognizing the difficulty it may have to adapt to these new changes. By following these unspoken rules or challenges that have been put in place, people are not only able to communicate in ways they want but to produce their own methods of communication to the extent that has not been seen in the English Language before. Social Media provides a method of authentically presenting themselves, their ideas, and how they communicate without fear of judgment from those around them outside those platforms. Moreover, the use of these methods can further people’s businesses and organizations if put to good use through online marketing.

In the last two decades, companies’ focus has shifted to better accommodate the changing times and forms of marketing. One of these forms is online marketing. Companies can’t disregard the way that language is utilized and how people interact with one another on such prominent marketing platforms. An example of this is how marketers utilize slang to better communicate with younger people. “Whilst it is essential for businesses to remain professional, social media is also a place for expression and communication and the use of slang is part of that.” (Pebworth 11) Due to informal nature of how people talk to one another, businesses have had to adapt to these language changes to better use social media to their advantage. It has also opened the door for companies to start producing their own methods of online marketing. Similarly, Jenna Wortham, writer for the New York Times, emphasizes how companies make sure that people will remember their businesses in her article “Coining Terminology for Life on the Web.” They create a distinctive identifier through social media language that is strongly related to their brand or products. She provides examples such as “The same goes for “friending,” the act of accepting someone into a social network online – which Facebook helped popularize. Many entrepreneurs are trying to ensure that their invented name – and purpose – is the one that trickles into the daily vocabulary.” This perfectly describes the lengths companies are willing to go to bend the influx of social media trends and its effects on language to their will. In the past, they relied on catchy lingo and anyway for people to recognize their brands. Nowadays companies are still doing the same thing in hopes to solidify themselves in the English language in hopes that’ll benefit them in the long run. In some cases, however, they are unsuccessful in producing their own vocabulary. For example, the search engine company Bing attempted to create its own lingo to rival Google. The author states “The company paid for placement on a popular show, “Gossip Girl,” having characters say the phrase “Bing it!” That effort met with ridicule around the Web.” (Wortham 20) This demonstrates the risk and rewards businesses have faced to adapt to this new social media landscape in terms of language. Although there are many intricacies and things to remember, social media has become a goldmine for companies who know how to play it to their advantage. 

Companies have created complex systems of deciphering and figuring out social media language used to maximum efficiency. Social media offers various advantages, while also posing significant problems. It is common for conversations to be confusing at times and often nonsensical in certain situations. The focus of current text analytics for companies has primarily shifted to the different dimensions of social media language, rather than the intent or meaning behind the words themselves. the research article Text Analytics to Support Sense-Making In Social Media: A Language-Action Perspective”, was written by a number of economics researchers like Ahmed Abbasi et. analyzes every aspect of tackling the new changes in the English language to help people better understand them. First, to demonstrate the extent of businesses and organizations that employ social media and the many methods of use, they produced a study. “According to a McKinsey Quarterly report, 50% of the more than 1,700 organizations surveyed are using social networking, 41% are using blogs, 25% are using wikis and 23% are using microblogs” (Abbasi et. 2)This emphasizes that in a short time, the use of social media marketing has skyrocketed due to the accessibility and numerous benefits it holds.

Due to the relationship between the rise of social media and slang with Generation Z’s population growth, their relationship has always been close. Gen z has contributed to the gradual increase in the use and popularity of social media and in turn the growth of social media language or “lingo.” This lingo is slang, trends, emojis, or even acronyms as this meme, displayed in the article “How Social Media is Changing Language” written by Kate Wilson, portrays. Full-verb phrases have evolved into widespread acronyms that are now utilized in contexts more than simply online due to the demand for quick and brief language and communications online. Examples such as “BTW” or “LOL” for phrases like “By the way” or “Laugh out Loud.” Those of my generation have contributed the most to this change of language. As a result, companies capitalize off of this terminology to better appeal to my generation in hopes to appear as relatable. Although we have had the pleasure of experiencing social media at the forefront, it is still an uncharted territory when it comes to its lasting effects on language. We may analyze and study its impact on language but we do not know how much it will change in the long run. What we do know is there will always be people or groups that will use it to their advantage. Who knows? You could have the opportunity to create a trend or new word that could hit it big.

References

1. Abbasi, A., and Yilu (2018) Text Analytics to Support Sense-Making In Social Media: A Language-Action Perspective, MIS Quarterly. Available at: https://web-p-ebscohost-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid=0f9c4746-f9e2-4308-8041-fbaaf1f70b56%40redis (Accessed: November 12, 2022). 

2. Pebworth, K. (2019) Understanding the language of social media, LinkedIn. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/understanding-language-social-media-katharine-pebworth  

3. Foster, H. (2021) How is social media changing the English language?, Language Services Direct. Available at: https://www.languageservicesdirect.co.uk/social-media-changing-english-language/ (Accessed: November 12, 2022).

4. Wortham, J. (2012) Coining terminology for life on the web, The New York Times. The New York Times. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/technology/creating-a-language-for-the-web.html (Accessed: November 12, 2022). 

5. Wilson, K. (2014) How social media is changing language, Lingua Greca Translations | English-Greek Web & App Localization. Available at: https://linguagreca.com/blog/2014/08/how-social-media-is-changing-language/ (Accessed: November 12, 2022).