The Effects Of Digital Communication On Everyday Speech

Hashtags, abbreviations and digital jargon have steadily become something we are familiar with in the wonderful world of the internet. Lists and guides are even being published to explain, translate and educate people in the ways of digital slang. Commonly used digital phrases appear to slowly be permeating everyday speech.

Verbs such as ’to Google’, ‘to troll’ or abbreviated phrases such as ‘OMG’ or ‘JK’ are increasingly used in normal verbal interactions, especially amongst generations that have grown up with the internet. It begs the question of whether the digital word is having an advancing or deteriorating effect on our language and speech?

Online writer Sam Biddle describes the hashtag as a ‘linguistic tumour—a tic more irritating than any banal link or lazy image meme’. He renders it conformist, non sensical and vulgar and likens its spreading to that of a disease or infection. Many people nowadays can be heard voicing similar opinions, grumbling that our English language is steadily stumbling down a slippery slope of disaster towards a future where we effectively communicate like cavemen once more with no appreciation for rich and refined self expression.

This may well be a valid point. Perhaps we are slowly plunging towards an easy and lazy way of exchanging information with each other. Perhaps in 15 years time our children will try to read classic masterpiece novels wearing expressions of bewilderment and confusion. The common theme, however, often seems to be that older people, as with many other new technologies, take a very negative view on new developments.

Linguists David Crystal and Naomi Baron in fact disagree with this view, asserting that the digital language influences that come from online communication instead serve to broaden, enrich and advance the English language. There is very little to prove that digital simplification of language use or abandonment of the ‘proper’ is going to dumb down the next generation of savvy internet users.

Crystal, in an article published by The Guardian points out that new digital forms of communication can promote motivation to advance one’s skills and demonstrate witty and clever uses of digital communication: “Online you show how brilliant you are by manipulating the language of the internet.”.

With the digital world being a development that is inevitably here to stay, it makes sense to take as positive a view as possible. Here at Parallax we love the freedom and creativity that digital communication offers and gifs are a regular form of our interactions. What’s your opinion? We’d love to hear what you think!